Journalist Abdel Bari Atwan wrote: “By the time bin Laden arrived [in Afghanistan] in May 1996, the Taliban had strongholds in many parts of the country. He told me that he spent some time assessing the situation and approved of the Taliban: they appeared to be free of corruption and had faithfully implemented shari’ah law. Accordingly, he established contact with them in June 1996, and slowly developed a good relationship with them.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– Abdel Bari Atwan, The Secret History of al Qaeda, Page 81