10/29/2004

“The Arabic-language network Al-Jazeera released a full transcript Monday [November 1, 2004] of the most recent videotape from Osama bin Laden in which the head of al Qaeda said his group’s goal is to force America into bankruptcy. Al-Jazeera aired portions of the videotape Friday [October 29, 2004] but released the full transcript of the entire tape on its Web site Monday. ‘We are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy. Allah willing, and nothing is too great for Allah,’ bin Laden said in the transcript. He said the mujahedeen fighters did the same thing to the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in the 1980s, ‘using guerrilla warfare and the war of attrition to fight tyrannical superpowers.’ ‘We, alongside the mujahedeen, bled Russia for 10 years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat,’ bin Laden said.”

 – “Bin Laden: Goal is to Bankrupt U.S.,” CNN.com, Nov. 1, 2004