“In November 1996, Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor of the newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, traveled to meet bin Laden at his base in a cave in the Afghan mountains. …Atwan recalled the visit: ‘…I found him to be sincere, simple, not trying to impress. He never portrayed himself as an Islamic leader. He told me that the Saudi government had applied pressure on him. They offered him $400 million if he said the Saudi regime was an Islamic regime. …His followers really, really believe in him,’ Atwan told me [journalist Peter Bergen]. ‘They can see this millionaire, who sacrificed all those millions, and he is sitting with them in a cave, sharing their dinner, in a very, very humble way.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Peter Bergen, Holy War, Inc., Page 96