In an interview in December 1998, Osama bin Laden said: ” ‘There are two parties to the conflict: World Christianity, which is allied with Jews and Zionism, led by the United States, Britain, and Israel. The second party is the Islamic world. In such a conflict, it is unacceptable to see the first party mount attacks, desecrate my land and holy shrines, and plunder the Muslims’ oil. When Muslims put up resistance against this party, they are branded as terrorists. This is stupidity. It is an insult to people’s intelligence. We believe that it is our religious duty to resist this occupation with all the power we have and to punish it using the same means it is pursuing against us.’ “ [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Ian S. Lustick, Trapped in the War on Terror, Pages 131-132