He rose to worldwide attention following the 11 September 2001, attacks. On October 10, 2001, he appeared on two widely circulated videos (first broadcast on al Jazeera television) to defend the attacks and threaten reprisals for the subsequent US invasion of Afghanistan, saying, "Americans should know, the storm of the planes will not stop... There are thousands of the Islamic nation's youths who are eager to die just as the Americans are eager to live." These statements caused the Kuwaiti government to strip him of his citizenship.