Question 1
Bin Laden believes that the attack on the World Trade Center is totally justified. He says that the WTC is not “A children’s school” and therefore didn’t take into account the children that may have died there. He also says that the Pentagon was a strictly military target due to its status as a center of US military power. The fact that there were women and children killed, though, seems like a kind of poetic justice. He says that the US has been killing Arab women and children for years, in the millions. Any women and children killed in the attacks on the US were, therefore, justified.
Question 2
Bin Laden says that in order for the Americans to not be a target of terrorism, they need to stop leading a crusade against the Islam countries. He says that Bush and others who follow him are targeting attacks on Islam and therefore they need to be stopped. Also, he says that the United States are committing terrorist activities against Islam countries, so anything that Al’ Qaida does back is simply necessary retaliation. Bin Laden uses Islam beliefs to create an “us versus them” situation based on religion, by doing this, he tries to convince others that those who do not follow him are not being good Muslims. In order to truly follow Allah, Bin Laden says that one must fight the Christians, namely the Americans.
Question 3
Bin Laden thinks that the idea of a “clash of civilizations” is exactly what is needed between the United States and the Christians who back them and the Muslim countries, headed by Al’ Qaeda. He would like to see an Islam versus Christian war. He believes that despite fact that Al’ Qaida has far less resources than the States, Allah would grant them victory because they were on the right side. The Western world would be well advised not to encourage this notion, because it is giving credence to the notion of a religious war. For one thing, not all Muslims agree with Bin Laden, and casting a war in those terms would force people to take sides that might not otherwise be involved in it.
