On September 3, 1996, “the United States launched a modest number of cruise missiles against Iraqi military targets after Iraq moved tanks into the northern part of the country. The coalition (essentially down to the United States and Great Britain) also expanded the southern no-fly zone to further reduce Saddam’s ability to control his country […]
9/3/1996
” ‘Our missiles sent the following message to Saddam Hussein,’ remarked the president [Clinton] in his [September 3, 1996] statement announcing a 1996 strike in retaliation for Saddam’s aggression in Northern Iraq. ‘When you abuse your own people or threaten your neighbors, you must pay a price.’ ” – Lawrence F. Kaplan and William Kristol, […]
8/23/1996
“…in his [August 23, 1996] ‘Declaration of War’ bin Laden lists 10 or 12 world hot spots where Muslims have recently died (including Bosnia, Chechnya, and Lebanon) and attributes all of these deaths to a conspiracy led by the United States, even though Americans actually played no role in pulling the trigger.” – Foreign Affairs, […]
8/23/1996
In Osama bin Laden’s August 23, 1996, ‘Declaration of War Against the Americans,’ he wrote, regarding the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia: ” ‘The [Saudi] King [Fahd] said that *the issue is simple, the American and the alliance forces will leave the area in a few months.* Today, it is seven years since […]
8/23/1996
In Osama bin Laden’s August 23, 1996, ‘Declaration of War Against the Americans,’ he wrote: ” ‘We must completely topple the United States and we hope to be the ones who can topple its entire system.’ ” – Fawaz A. Gerges, The Far Enemy, Page 150 […]
8/23/1996
Osama bin Laden’s August 23, 1996, ‘Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Sacred Places‘ read: ” ‘Terrorizing you while you are carrying arms in our land is a legitimate duty we are morally obliged to fulfil…in order to re-establish the greatness of the umma [Muslim community] and to liberate […]
8/23/1996
“In his August [23] 1996 declaration of war against the United States, bin Laden approvingly quoted a hadith, a saying attributed to the Prophet: ‘The martyr has a guarantee from God… [He] marries him to seventy-two of the pure virgins of paradise.’ Al-Qaeda took the idea of martyrdom, which had traditionally been death in battle, […]
8/23/1996
In bin Laden’s ‘Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Sanctuaries,’ delivered on August 23, 1996, he said: ” ‘Each of you knows the injustice, oppression, and aggression the Muslims are suffering from the Judeo-crusading alliance and its lackeys. The blood of Muslims no longer has a price… Their […]
8/23/1996
On August 23, 1996, Osama bin Laden issued a statement to the ummah (Muslim world). “This was the manifesto declaring war on America. Written in anger, it recounts the ‘oppression, hostility and injustice [committed] by the Judeo-Christian alliance’ against the ummah. …Invoking several sayings from the Prophet on the importance of jihad, bin Laden concludes […]
8/23/1996
“[I]n August [23] 1996, bin Laden declared war on America from a cave in Afghanistan. The stated cause was the continued presence of United States forces in Saudi Arabia five years after the first Gulf War. …He presumed to speak on behalf of all Muslims, and even directed some of his lengthy fatwa to Secretary […]