The interview below with Osama bin Laden was conducted by the
Karachi, Pakistan, daily newspaper, Ummat and published on September 28,
2001, 17 days after the alleged, but unsubstantiated, al Qaeda attack
of September 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center twin towers and
Pentagon. The interview was sensational. The alleged “mastermind” of
9/11 said that he and al Qaeda had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack.
The British Broadcasting Corporation’s World Monitoring Service had the
interview translated into English and made public on September 29, 2001.
Osama bin Laden’s sensational denial was not reported by the US print
and TV media. It was not investigated by the executive branch. No one
in the US Congress called attention to bin Laden’s refusal of
responsibility for the greatest humiliation ever inflicted on a
superpower.
To check my memory of the lack of coverage, I googled “Osama bin
Laden’s interview denying responsibility for 9/11.” Some Internet sites
reproduced the interview, but the only mainstream news source that I
found was a 1 minute YouTube video from CNN in which the anchor, after
quoting an al Jazeera report of bin Laden’s denial, concludes that “we
can all weigh that in the scale of credibility and come to our own
conclusions.” In other words, bin Laden had already been demonized, and
his denial was not credible.
The sensational news was unfit for US citizens and was withheld from
them by the american “free press,” a press free to lie for the
government but not to tell the truth. Obviously, if bin Laden had outwitted not only the National Security
Agency, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the FBI, but also
all 16 US intelligence agencies, all intelligence agencies of
Washington’s NATO puppet states, Israel’s Mossad, and in addition the
National Security Council, NORAD, US air traffic control, and airport
security four times on the same morning, it would be the greatest feat
in world history, a movement building feat that would have made al Qaeda
the most successful anti-imperialist organization in human history, an
extraordinary victory over “the great satan” that would have brought
millions of new recruits into al Qaeda’s ranks. Yet the alleged
“mastermind” denied all responsibility.
I remember decades ago when a terrorist attack occurred in Europe, whether real or an Operation Gladio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Gladio
false flag attack, innumerable organizations would claim credit.
Perhaps this was the CIA’s way of diverting attention from itself, but
it illustrates that every intelligence service understands the value to
an organization of claiming credit for a successful attack.Although bin
Laden denied responsibility, in 2011 some al Qaeda leaders, realizing
the prestige value of the 9/11 attack, claimed credit for the attack and
criticized Iranian President Ahmadinejad for questioning the official
US story.
Although only a few Americans are aware of the September 28, 2001
interview in which bin Laden states his non-involvement with the 9/11
attacks, many Americans have seen post-2001 videos in which a person
alleged to be bin Laden takes credit for the attacks. There are two
problems with these videos. Experts have examined them and found them to
be fakes, and all of the videos appeared after bin Laden was reported
by the Pakistan Observer, the Egyptian press, and Fox News to have died
in mid-December, 2001, from lung disease.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,41576,00.html
See also:
http://www.legitgov.org/News-Bin-Ladens-Death-and-Funeral-December-2001
Bin
Laden also suffered from kidney disease. According to a CBS news report
on January 28, 2002, Osama bin Laden was hospitalized for dialysis
treatment in the Pakistani military hospital in Rawalpindi on September
10, 2001, the day before 9/11.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/where-was-osama-on-september-11-2001/3194
Obviously, a man suffering from terminal lung and kidney disease did
not survive for another decade to be murdered by a US Navy SEAL team in
Abbottabad. A Pakistani TV interview with the neighbor of the alleged
“bin Laden compound” exposed the assassination hoax. This sensational
interview also went unreported by america’s “free press.” I had the
interview translated, and it is available here:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/pakistan-tv-report-contradicts-us-claim-of-bin-laden-s-death/25915
See also:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13329078
Shortly after the alleged assassination 30 members of the SEAL unit
died in a mysterious helicopter crash in Afghanistan, and now we learn
that not a single one of the thousands of sailors on the aircraft
carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, witnessed bin Laden’s alleged burial at
sea from that ship. The press reports with a straight face that for
unexplained reasons it was kept secret from the ship’s sailors. This is
supposed to be the explanation of the sailors’ emails reporting to
family and friends that they witnessed no burial at sea. Some speculate
that the SEALs were bumped off before their questions to one another,
“Were you on that raid?,” reached outside the unit. Apparently, it
doesn’t strike the media or the public as strange that the US government
captured and killed the terror mastermind without interrogating him and
without keeping any evidence or presenting any witnesses to support the
assassination claim.
Adolf Hitler claimed that communists burned down the Reichstag and
that Polish troops had crossed the frontier and attacked Germany. With
9/11 americans experienced Washington’s version of these grand lies. An
omniscient bin Laden dying from terminal illnesses in distant
Afghanistan defeated the American National Security State and drove his
attack through the walls of the Pentagon itself, requiring for our
defense a “war on terror” that destroyed US civil liberties and
financially ruined the country in order to prevent the triumph of a man
who died of natural causes in December 2001.
On May 9, 2011, Professor Michel Chossudovsky republished the September 28, 2001, Osama bin Laden interview in Global Research.
Interview with Osama bin Laden. Osama Denies his Involvement in 9/11
By Global Research
Global Research, May 09, 2011
Url of this article:
http://www.globalresearch.ca/interview-with-osama-bin-laden-denies-his-involvement-in-9-11/24697
Global Research Editor’s Note
We bring to the attention of our readers the following text of Osama
bin Laden’s interview with Ummat, a Pakistani daily, published in
Karachi on September 28, 2001. It was translated into English by the BBC
World Monitoring Service and made public on September 29, 2001.
The authenticity of this interview, which is available in recognized electronic news archives, is confirmed.
Osama bin Laden categorically denies his involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Bin Laden’s statements in this interview are markedly different from those made in the alleged Osama video tapes.
In this interview, Osama bin Laden exhibits an understanding of US
foreign policy. He expresses his views regarding the loss of life on
9/11. He also makes statements as to who, in his opinion, might be the
likely perpetrator of the September 11 attacks. This is an important text which has not been brought to the attention of Western public opinion.
We have highlighted key sections of this interview. It is our
hope that the text of this interview, published barely a week before the
onset of the war on Afghanistan, will contribute to a better
understanding of the history of Al Qaeda, the role of Osama bin Laden
and the tragic events of September 11, 2001.
Michel Chossudovsky, May 9, 2011
Full text of September 2001 Pakistani paper’s “exclusive” interview with Usamah Bin-Ladin
Ummat (in Urdu), Karachi, 28 September 2001, pp. 1 and 7.
http://ummatpublication.com/2012/11/25/
Ummat’s introduction
Kabul:
Prominent Arab mojahed holy warrior Usamah Bin-Ladin has
said that he or his al-Qa’idah group has nothing to do with the 11
September suicidal attacks in Washington and New York. He said the US
government should find the attackers within the country. In an exclusive
interview with daily “Ummat”, he said these attacks could be the act of
those who are part of the American system and are rebelling against it
and working for some other system. Or, Usamah said, this could be the
act of those who want to make the current century a century of conflict
between Islam and Christianity. Or, the American Jews, who are opposed
to President Bush ever since the Florida elections, might be the
masterminds of this act. There is also a great possibility of the
involvement of US intelligence agencies, which need billions of dollars
worth of funds every year. He said there is a government within the
government in the United States.
The secret agencies, he said, should be asked as to who are
behind the attacks. Usamah said support for attack on Afghanistan was a
matter of need for some Muslim countries and compulsion for others.
However, he said, he was thankful to the courageous people of Pakistan
who erected a bulwark before the wrong forces. He added that the Islamic
world was attaching great expectations with Pakistan and, in time of
need, “we will protect this bulwark by sacrificing of lives”.
Following is the interview in full detail:
Ummat: You have been accused of involvement in the attacks in New
York and Washington. What do you want to say about this? If you are not
involved, who might be?
Usamah [Osama bin Laden]: In the name of Allah, the most beneficent,
the most merciful. Praise be to Allah, Who is the creator of the whole
universe and Who made the earth as an abode for peace, for the whole
mankind. Allah is the Sustainer, who sent Prophet Muhammad for our
guidance. I am thankful to the Ummat Group of Publications, which gave
me the opportunity to convey my viewpoint to the people, particularly
the valiant and Momin true Muslim people of Pakistan who refused to
believe in lie of the demon.
I have already said that I am not involved in the 11
September attacks in the United States. As a Muslim, I try my best to
avoid telling a lie. I had no knowledge of these attacks, nor do I
consider the killing of innocent women, children, and other humans as an
appreciable act. Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women,
children, and other people.
Such a practice is forbidden ever in the course of a battle. It is
the United States, which is perpetrating every maltreatment on women,
children, and common people of other faiths, particularly the followers
of Islam. All that is going on in Palestine for the last 11 months is
sufficient to call the wrath of God upon the United States and Israel.
There is also a warning for those Muslim countries, which witnessed
all these as a silent spectator. What had earlier been done to the
innocent people of Iraq, Chechnya, and Bosnia?
Only one conclusion could be derived from the indifference of the
United States and the West to these acts of terror and the patronage of
the tyrants by these powers that America is an anti-Islamic power and it
is patronizing the anti-Islamic forces. Its friendship with the Muslim
countries is just a show, rather deceit. By enticing or intimidating
these countries, the United States is forcing them to play a role of its
choice. Put a glance all around and you will see that the slaves of the
United States are either rulers or enemies of Muslims.
The US has no friends, nor does it want to keep any because the
prerequisite of friendship is to come to the level of the friend or
consider him at par with you. America does not want to see anyone equal
to it. It expects slavery from others. Therefore, other countries are
either its slaves or subordinates.
However, our case is different. We have pledged slavery to God
Almighty alone and after this pledge there is no possibility to become
the slave of someone else. If we do that, it will be disregardful to
both our Sustainer and his fellow beings. Most of the world nations
upholding their freedom are the religious ones, which are the enemies of
United States, or the latter itself considers them as its enemies. Or
the countries, which do not agree to become its slaves, such as China,
Iran, Libya, Cuba, Syria, and the former Russia as received.
Whoever committed the act of 11 September are not the friends of the
American people. I have already said that we are against the American
system, not against its people, whereas in these attacks, the common
American people have been killed.
According to my information, the death toll is much higher than what
the US government has stated. But the Bush administration does not want
the panic to spread. The United States should try to trace the
perpetrators of these attacks within itself; the people who are a part
of the US system, but are dissenting against it. Or those who are
working for some other system; persons who want to make the present
century as a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity so that
their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology could survive. They
can be any one, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia. In the
US itself, there are dozens of well-organized and well-equipped groups,
which are capable of causing a large-scale destruction. Then you cannot
forget the American Jews, who are annoyed with President Bush ever since
the elections in Florida and want to avenge him.
Then there are intelligence agencies in the US, which require
billions of dollars worth of funds from the Congress and the government
every year. This funding issue was not a big problem till the existence
of the former Soviet Union but after that the budget of these agencies
has been in danger.
They needed an enemy. So, they first started propaganda against
Usamah and Taleban and then this incident happened. You see, the Bush
administration approved a budget of 40bn dollars. Where will this huge
amount go? It will be provided to the same agencies, which need huge
funds and want to exert their importance.
Now they will spend the money for their expansion and for increasing
their importance. I will give you an example. Drug smugglers from all
over the world are in contact with the US secret agencies. These
agencies do not want to eradicate narcotics cultivation and trafficking
because their importance will be diminished. The people in the US Drug
Enforcement Department are encouraging drug trade so that they could
show performance and get millions of dollars worth of budget. General
Noriega was made a drug baron by the CIA and, in need, he was made a
scapegoat. In the same way, whether it is President Bush or any other US
president, they cannot bring Israel to justice for its human rights
abuses or to hold it accountable for such crimes. What is this? Is it
not that there exists a government within the government in the United
Sates? That secret government must be asked as to who made the attacks.
Ummat: A number of world countries have joined the call of the United
States for launching an attack on Afghanistan. These also include a
number of Muslim countries. Will Al-Qa’idah declare a jihad against
these countries as well?
Usamah: I must say that my duty is just to awaken the Muslims; to
tell them as to what is good for them and what is not. What does Islam
says and what the enemies of Islam want?
Al-Qa’idah was set up to wage a jihad against infidelity,
particularly to encounter the onslaught of the infidel countries against
the Islamic states. Jihad is the sixth undeclared element of Islam. The
first five being the basic holy words of Islam, prayers, fast,
pilgrimage to Mecca, and giving alms Every anti-Islamic person is afraid
of it. Al-Qa’idah wants to keep this element alive and active and make
it part of the daily life of the Muslims. It wants to give it the status
of worship. We are not against any Islamic country nor we consider a
war against an Islamic country as jihad.
We are in favour of armed jihad only against those infidel countries,
which are killing innocent Muslim men, women, and children just because
they are Muslims. Supporting the US act is the need of some Muslim
countries and the compulsion of others. However, they should think as to
what will remain of their religious and moral position if they support
the attack of the Christians and the Jews on a Muslim country like
Afghanistan. The orders of Islamic shari’ah jurisprudence for such
individuals, organizations, and countries are clear and all the scholars
of the Muslim brotherhood are unanimous on them. We will do the same,
which is being ordered by the Amir ol-Momenin the commander of the
faithful Mola Omar and the Islamic scholars. The hearts of the people of
Muslim countries are beating with the call of jihad. We are grateful to
them.
Ummat: The losses caused in the attacks in New York and Washington
have proved that giving an economic blow to the US is not too difficult.
US experts admit that a few more such attacks can bring down the
American economy. Why is al-Qa’idah not targeting their economic
pillars?
Usamah: I have already said that we are not hostile to the
United States. We are against the system, which makes other nations
slaves of the United States, or forces them to mortgage their political
and economic freedom. This system is totally in control of the American
Jews, whose first priority is Israel, not the United States. It is
simply that the American people are themselves the slaves of the Jews
and are forced to live according to the principles and laws laid by
them. So, the punishment should reach Israel. In fact, it is Israel,
which is giving a blood bath to innocent Muslims and the US is not
uttering a single word.
Ummat: Why is harm not caused to the enemies of Islam through other
means, apart from the armed struggle? For instance, inciting the Muslims
to boycott Western products, banks, shipping lines, and TV channels.
Usamah: The first thing is that Western products could only be
boycotted when the Muslim fraternity is fully awakened and organized.
Secondly, the Muslim companies should become self-sufficient in
producing goods equal to the products of Western companies. Economic
boycott of the West is not possible unless economic self-sufficiency is
attained and substitute products are brought out. You see that wealth is
scattered all across the Muslim world but not a single TV channel has
been acquired which can preach Islamic injunctions according to modern
requirements and attain an international influence. Muslim traders and
philanthropists should make it a point that if the weapon of public
opinion is to be used, it is to be kept in the hand. Today’s world is of
public opinion and the fates of nations are determined through its
pressure. Once the tools for building public opinion are obtained,
everything that you asked for can be done.
Ummat: The entire propaganda about your struggle has so far been made
by the Western media. But no information is being received from your
sources about the network of Al-Qa’idah and its jihadi successes. Would
you comment?
Usamah: In fact, the Western media is left with nothing else. It has
no other theme to survive for a long time. Then we have many other
things to do. The struggle for jihad and the successes are for the sake
of Allah and not to annoy His bondsmen. Our silence is our real
propaganda. Rejections, explanations, or corrigendum only waste your
time and through them, the enemy wants you to engage in things which are
not of use to you. These things are pulling you away from your cause.
The Western media is unleashing such a baseless propaganda, which make
us surprise but it reflects on what is in their hearts and gradually
they themselves become captive of this propaganda. They become afraid of
it and begin to cause harm to themselves. Terror is the most dreaded
weapon in modern age and the Western media is mercilessly using it
against its own people. It can add fear and helplessness in the
psyche of the people of Europe and the United States. It means that
what the enemies of the United States cannot do, its media is doing
that. You can understand as to what will be the performance of the
nation in a war, which suffers from fear and helplessness.
Ummat: What will the impact of the freeze of al-Qa’idah accounts by the US?
Usamah: God opens up ways for those who work for Him. Freezing of
accounts will not make any difference for Al-Qa’idah or other jihad
groups. With the grace of Allah, al-Qa’idah has more than three such
alternative financial systems, which are all separate and totally
independent from each other. This system is operating under the
patronage of those who love jihad. What to say of the United States,
even the combined world cannot budge these people from their path.
These people are not in hundreds but in thousands and millions.
Al-Qa’idah comprises of such modern educated youths who are aware of the
cracks inside the Western financial system as they are aware of the
lines in their hands. These are the very flaws of the Western fiscal
system, which are becoming a noose for it and this system could not
recuperate in spite of the passage of so many days.
Ummat: Are there other safe areas other than Afghanistan, where you can continue jihad?
Usamah: There are areas in all parts of the world where strong jihadi
forces are present, from Indonesia to Algeria, from Kabul to Chechnya,
from Bosnia to Sudan, and from Burma to Kashmir. Then it is not the
problem of my person. I am helpless fellowman of God, constantly in the
fear of my accountability before God. It is not the question of Usamah
but of Islam and, in Islam too, of jihad. Thanks to God, those waging a
jihad can walk today with their heads raised. Jihad was still present
when there was no Usamah and it will remain as such even when Usamah is
no longer there. Allah opens up ways and creates loves in the hearts of
people for those who walk on the path of Allah with their lives,
property, and children. Believe it, through jihad, a man gets everything
he desires. And the biggest desire of a Muslim is the after life.
Martyrdom is the shortest way of attaining an eternal life.
Ummat: What do you say about the Pakistan government policy on Afghanistan attack?
Usamah: We are thankful to the Momin and valiant people of Pakistan
who erected a blockade in front of the wrong forces and stood in the
first file of battle. Pakistan is a great hope for the Islamic
brotherhood. Its people are awakened, organized, and rich in the spirit
of faith. They backed Afghanistan in its war against the Soviet Union
and extended every help to the mojahedin and the Afghan people. Then
these are very Pakistanis who are standing shoulder by shoulder with the
Taleban. If such people emerge in just two countries, the domination of
the West will diminish in a matter of days. Our hearts beat with
Pakistan and, God forbid, if a difficult time comes we will protect it
with our blood. Pakistan is sacred for us like a place of worship. We
are the people of jihad and fighting for the defence of Pakistan is the
best of all jihads to us. It does not matter for us as to who rules
Pakistan. The important thing is that the spirit of jihad is alive and
stronger in the hearts of the Pakistani people.
Copyright Ummat in Urdu, BBC translation in English, 2001
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts is the father of Reaganomics and the
former head of policy at the Department of Treasury. He is a columnist
and was previously the editor of the Wall Street Journal. His latest
book, “How the Economy Was Lost: The War of the Worlds,” details why America is disintegrating.
(Written by Paul Craig Roberts)
Pakistan Cyber Force