In an October 3, 2001, letter to Taliban leader Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden “claimed that if the United States invaded Afghanistan, the military conflict ‘will impose great long-term economic burdens, leading to further economic collapse, which will force America, God willing, to resort to the former Soviet Union’s only option: withdrawal from Afghanistan, disintegration, and contraction.’ He continued that the campaign against the United States should focus on ‘serving a blow to the American economy,’ which would in turn shake investors’ confidence, causing them ‘to refrain from investing in America or participating in American companies, thus accelerating the fall of the American economy.’ ”
– Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Bin Laden’s Legacy, Page 37