According to testimony of al Qaeda defector Jamal al-Fadl on February 6, 2001, “Bin Laden and his followers became increasingly radicalized during their time in Sudan. Essam Deraz [an Egyptian journalist who was periodically with bin Laden for 3 years] says this was due in part to the presence around bin Laden of many angry young men who faced persecution or even death in their native Middle Eastern countries. Members of al-Qaeda were naturally suspicious of outsiders and extremely vigilant: an informant who penetrated the group in Sudan was shot.”
– Peter Bergen, Holy War, Inc., Page 86