Osama bin Laden

[[File:Osama_bin_Laden_portrait.jpg|thumb|165px|"Come Mr. Taliban, turn over Bin Ladin..."]]{{Islam}}
{{cquote|If you tell the truth, that means you are a good Muslim.|||Osama to Robert Fisk. Er...}}
'''Osama bin Laden''' {{lived|1957|2011}} was a Saudi religious wingnut and the leader of [[al-Qaeda]], a [[fundamentalist]] [[Islamist]] [[terrorist]] organization which opposes the intrusion of decadent "[[West]]ern" values (such as 
[[pornography]],
<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/world/asia/14binladen.html?_r=0 Pornography Is Found in Bin Laden Compound Files, U.S. Officials Say]</ref> [[liberalism]], [[feminism]], [[Christianity]], [[Judaism]], ''etc.''), the corruption of [[Middle East]]ern [[government]]s (well, whatever they see as corruption), and certain policies of the [[United States]], notably the stationing of troops inside [[Saudi Arabia]]. Osama responded to the [[Soviet]] atrocities in [[Afghanistan]] by... [[Irony|killing as many people as he needed to let off steam]].

==Background==
Osama<ref group=notes>"Bin Laden" is a patronymic rather than a last name, and hence cannot properly be used on its own, as is often done.</ref> was disowned by his Saudi family in 1994, two years after the first bombing at the World Trade Center. The bin Laden family are billionaire construction-moguls and Saudi royalty, but Osama had been jealous of his brothers, Salem, Tarek (a friend and supporter of [[Ronald Reagan]]), Yeslam, and especially Bakr, the current leader of the Saudi bin Laden group, and Shafig, the Carlyle Group representative. This is due in part to Osama having been the son of one of his father's concubines (whom he later married to avoid the scandal).<ref>
[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0203/19/lad.08.html CNN.com/Transcripts: Bin Laden Family Believes Osama Is Alive], March 19, 2002
</ref> His father, Muhammad, never saw him as a "real" son and he was mostly raised by his mother.

To satiate his jealousy, Osama, seen by his father as the most dull-witted and lazy of his brothers, formed the al-Qaeda movement, through which he hoped to one-up them all. The movement started out small, but Osama developed al-Qaeda into a very efficient force which mostly trained other Islamist insurgents. This has made it very difficult to eliminate al-Qaeda, and has spread their influence within the [[Muslim]] world and beyond. Perhaps in response to the playboy lifestyle of his brothers, Osama was a devout [[Wahhabism|Wahhabi]] for most of his life. (Wahhabism, a fundamentalist variant of Islam, is itself the most rigid of the "mainstream" (''i.e.'', [[Theocracy|state-supported]]) branches of Islam.) In terms of organization, Osama was most influenced by his deputy [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]] of the Egyptian [[Qutbism|Qutbist]] movement. Essentially, Qutbism sees Islam as being [[Persecution complex|suppressed and controlled by Western infidel influences and apostate Muslim regimes]].

Osama, like many religious radicals, was anti-[[socialist]], anti-[[capitalist]], anti-[[corporate]], and anti-[[democracy]]; he used this rhetoric mostly to attempt to cultivate ''personal'' loyalty in his followers, instead of loyalty to his cause.{{cn}}

Osama was also heavily antisemitic.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/19990508145341/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/who/interview.html</ref><ref>http://content.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,17676,00.html</ref> From his "letter to America" (translated from Arabic): 

{{quotebox|You are the nation that permits Usury, which has been forbidden by all the religions. Yet you build your economy and investments on Usury. As a result of this, in all its different forms and guises, [[International Jewish Conspiracy|the Jews have taken control of your economy]], through which they have then taken control of your media, and now control all aspects of your life making you their servants and achieving their aims at your expense; precisely what [[Franklin Prophecy|Benjamin Franklin warned you against]].<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130826184301/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver</ref>}}

However, much of Osama's personality was a carefully crafted façade. He took great pains to appear generous with his [[money]] and to appear to live a simple and "moral" lifestyle, aka. trying to pull off a second [[Jesus]]. He had never been one for ostentation and chose to dress in well-worn clothes, although he always still loved sports [[car]]s.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/6347857/Osama-bin-Laden-sunflower-enthusiast-with-a-passion-for-fast-cars.html Osama bin Laden, a passion for fast cars], ''The Telegraph''</ref> He even ate with his right hand, although he was left handed, because this is what [[Muhammad]] did. However, some reports portray him as [[hypocrisy|quite different in private]].

==Mujahideen==

[[File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Pakistani journalist interviews bin Laden about his Mujahideen days, 1997.]]

Osama was an important leader of the [[Arab]] ''mujahideen'' during the Soviet-Afghan war. Originally a loyalist to the ruling Saudi [[monarchy]],<ref>Osama Bin Laden, Michael Scheuer, Oxford University Press, Jan 20, 2011, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vt-a30Z4_UUC&pg=PA82&lpg=PA82&dq=%22saudi+loyalist%22&source=bl&ots=n6SD37tafr&sig=Z1MEwFLU7IHlRa5K4ZSSSbI1W64&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HF-5VKS5IpK5ogSdi4CABA&ved=0CCEQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22saudi%20loyalist%22&f=false p. 82]</ref> Osama answered the Saudi government's call to jihad against godless communists. Tales of his exploits in support of the war filled Arab media and he became a national hero back home.<ref>The Osama Bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of Al Qaeda's Leader, By Peter L. Bergen, Simon and Schuster, Aug 8, 2006, [https://books.google.com/books?id=_5bmzlNx1iAC&pg=PA50&dq=bin+laden+lionized&hl=en&sa=X&ei=-la5VLi9EYXioASN34DgAw&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=bin%20laden%20lionized&f=false p. 50].</ref><ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/02/world/02osama-bin-laden-obituary.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 OBITUARY | OSAMA BIN LADEN, 1957-2011], ''The New York Times'', May 2, 2011.</ref> By the war's end, and with the death of the jihad's spiritual leader [[Abdullah Azzam]], Osama became the undisputed leader of the international jihad that the Saudis originally unleashed.<ref>''The Mind of the Terrorist: The Psychology of Terrorism from the IRA to al-Qaeda'', by Jerrold M. Post, Palgrave Macmillan, Dec 10, 2007, [https://books.google.com/books?id=ToqOWxwpo-MC&pg=PA196&dq=%22the+enemy+that+is+afar%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=O1y5VIeWJZO0oQSti4LYAw&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22the%20enemy%20that%20is%20afar%22&f=false p. 196.]</ref>

Some people believe that Osama was directly trained by the [[CIA]], but this is a myth propagated by [[conspiracy theorists]]. The CIA worked through the [[Pakistan]]i intelligence services to arm and train any and all anti-Soviet resistance; Osama was part of a parallel operation that indiscriminately funneled fighters and funds to Afghanistan from across the Arab world. Osama didn't need CIA money - he was willing to squander his considerable $350 million personal fortune on jihad. In short, while the CIA may have co-operated with Osama's group, they did not collaborate with them.<ref>See Steve Coll, ''Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Osama, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001''</ref><ref group=notes>IOW, the CIA didn't need to give weapons to bin Laden and his group; bin Laden could afford to pay for the weapons from CIA or CIA fronts and pay the cost of transport himself.</ref>

When [[Saddam Hussein]] invaded Kuwait, Osama offered to use his Afghan war veterans to defend the Kingdom but was rebuffed by Saudi King Fahd. The deployment of U.S. "Crusader forces" in Saudi Arabia to attack other Muslims deeply offended and radicalized Osama. The hometown war hero became openly critical of the Saudi ruling establishment and embraced the [[Salafist]] view of jihad.<ref>[http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2006/09/11/the-master-plan The Master Plan: For the new theorists of jihad, Al Qaeda is just the beginning]. Lawrence Wright, ''The New Yorker'', September 11, 2006.</ref> Osama exiled himself to Sudan to conspire against the regime and the American presence in the Arabian peninsula. He was stripped of Saudi citizenship in 1994 and after several attempts on his life  moved back to Pakistan.<ref>Losing Bin Laden, Richard Minitar, Regnery, 2003.</ref> 

Osama began to see the U.S. as the primary obstacle to political change in the region and a direct military threat to the global Islamic community. Osama concluded that a direct global confrontation with the U.S. was needed.

==9/11==
He denied responsibility for the [[9/11]] terrorist attacks.<ref>http://www.cnn.com/2001/US/09/16/inv.binladen.denial/</ref> In response to this, the [[George W. Bush|Bush]] administration [[Afghanistan War|invaded Afghanistan]], booted the ruling Taliban regime from power, and forced Osama into hiding in the mountains. A while later, the Bush administration [[Iraq War|invaded Iraq]], a country Osama was definitely ''not'' in{{cn}} and also a country that was itself opposed to al-Qaeda.<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A47812-2004Jun16.html The Washington Post: Al Qaeda-Hussein Link Is Dismissed] June 17, 2004</ref> Prior to the invasion, Saddam ran what was at least a mostly secular state (as evidenced by its breweries and distilleries) and drew the ire of al-Qaeda. The rise of the al-Qaeda affiliated insurgency did not begin until Saddam's grip was forcibly loosened.  This was primarily because George W. Bush did not understand 
complicated
 [[scientific]] equipment like maps and globes, and just picked the only country [[Saddam Hussein|whose name he could remember at the time]].  Of course, ISIS was not the violent reality it is today until Obama implemented a subsequent 
naive
 
gutless
 diplomatic withdrawal of US troops from the country.
:[[File:P050310PS-0374POD.jpg|250px|thumb|Assistant to the President for Counterterrorism and Bush holdover [[John Brennan]] briefs [[Barack Obama]] prior to the raid to kill bin Laden. Brennan, implicated in torture allegations, was promoted by Obama to CIA Director.]]

==Desperately seeking urea==
According to rumors circulated by the Paris ''La Figaro'' and the ''Times of London'' Osama had been a kidney patient, and not only was the US unable to detect him amongst all the men in beards and turbans running around the Pakistan/Afghanistan border region, they appeared to also be unable to detect the kidney dialysis machine amongst all the others in the area, much of which does not even have access to electricity on a regular basis.<ref>What They're Saying About the War, [http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,182523,00.html France: In Search of Bin Laden's Urologist], ''Time'', November 01, 2001.</ref>

ABC investigative reporter Brian Ross reported in 2006 the press secretary to the president of Pakistan told him bin Laden would not be arrested as long as he agreed to live as "a peaceful citizen".<ref>[http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Press_secretary_to_president_of_Pakistan_0905.html Press secretary to the president of Pakistan tells ABC Osama bin Laden will not be captured if he agrees to live 'peaceful life'], Ron Brynaert, ''The Raw Story'', September 5, 2006.</ref>

==Death==
Osama was killed in his compound by US Navy SEALs on May 2nd, 2011 in Abbottabad, in northeastern Pakistan in the operation codenamed "Neptune's Spear" (the proclamation "Geronimo E-KIA" was especially controversial because it compared Osama to a 19th century [[Native American]] freedom fighter.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15BiNlD85zk Udall, Senators Denounce Geronimo Connection To Bin Laden]</ref> He was buried at sea to prevent any possible shrines from being made by his followers.<ref>{{wpa|Death of Osama bin Laden#Handling of he body|Death of Osama bin Laden}}</ref>).

The killing of Osama was criticized by some, including left-wing activists [[Noam Chomsky]] and [[Michael Moore]], who claimed that at the very least, the guy deserved a trial. Some{{who}} (both on the left and the right) believed such a trial may be used as a propaganda tool by his fanatic followers, but how much that would've affected the trial itself will never be known.

Other criticisms have been raised that Osama's assassination was a violation of Pakistani sovereignty.<ref name="pakistansov">"[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/osama-bin-laden-pakistan-us-sovereignty Osama bin Laden death:] Pakistan says US may have breached sovereignty" - ''The Guardian''. Published May 5, 2011.</ref> Pakistan itself has said as much, saying that the US never got official permission to conduct an assassination plot against Osama on sovereign Pakistani soil.<ref name="pakistansov" />

There are plenty of [[bullshit]] conspiracy theories surrounding his death, as one would expect, none of which have been substantiated whatsoever. Rest assured, the guy is dead.

===Media ===
The media including books and videos found in Osama's Abbotabad compound give a look into his mind. Some of the English books<ref>https://www.dni.gov/index.php/features/bin-laden-s-bookshelf?start=5</ref> and movies<ref>https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/index_video.html</ref> found were:

#The New Pearl Harbour : Disturbing Questions about the Bush Administration and 9/11
#{{wpl|Tom and Jerry}}
#Bloodlines of the Illuminati
#Conspriator's Hierarchy : The Commitee of 300
#Bible Black
#The Art of Crochet
==See also==
*[[Abu Musab al-Zarqawi]]
*[[Greater Israel]], conspiracy theory touted by Osama
==External links==
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w97jQSwzwpw It's funny because I'm about to kill him.]
*[http://mashable.com/2011/05/01/live-tweet-bin-laden-raid/ The man who tweeted the attack on Osama bin Laden - without knowing it]
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/lifestyle/style/situation-room.html The photo that launched a thousand memes.]
==Notes==
{{reflist|group=notes}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

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[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Fundamentalists]]
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[[Category:We're on a mission from God]]

Categories: Anti-Christian bigots, Antisemites, Anti-Shia, Anti-Western, Conspiracy theorists, Crimes against humanity, Cult leaders, Fundamentalists, Homophobes, Islamic extremism, Islamic fundamentalism, Muslims, Propagandists, Racists, Saudi Arabia, Sexists, Terrorists, We're on a mission from God