Osama Bin Laden “Message to the Peoples of Europe” (transcript)

This message of mine is to the peoples of the states allied to America in the invasion of Afghanistan and I mention specifically Europe.

It isn't hidden from you that the Afghans have tasted the two bitterest things for two decades at the hands of the Russians and their Communist agents, but they persevered, fought, and were resolute and victorious, by the Grace of Allah. And before their wounds had healed and their grief had ended, they were invaded without right by your unjust governments, without stopping to think about or reflect on Bush's claim that this invasion was a response to the events of the 11th, although--as I mentioned previously--the events of Manhattan were a response to the American-Israeli coalition's murder of our people in Palestine and Lebanon.

And it was I who was responsible for 9/11, and I stress that all Afghans--both government and people--had no knowledge of those events and America knows that, because some of the Taliban's ministers fell into its hands as captives, and they were interrogated and that became known. And that's why the Taliban government requested America to produce the evidence for the truth of its claims prior to the invasion, but it didn't produce any evidence, and instead insisted on invading; and Europe marched behind it in that, and had no choice but to be its vassal. It suffices as evidence of this your entering of this war and your excusing of American soldiers from being held to account by the European courts.

For this reason, this address of mine is to you, not to your politicians, as it is no longer a secret that Blair, Brown, Berlusconi, Aznar, Sarkozy and those with him and their like love to shade themselves in the shade of the White House. And there isn't a major difference worth mentioning between them and many of the leaders of the Third World. So to summarize, in this war you have combined two injustices: the first is that this war was waged against the Afghans without right. You didn't have even one piece of evidence suitable for submission to a court. Additionally, you destroyed the camps of al-Qaida and killed some of its members, and you captured others, most of who were from Pakistan. So what is the sin of the Afghans due to which you are continuing this unjust war against them?

Their only sin is that they are Muslims, and this illustrates the extent of the Crusaders' hatred of Islam and its people. Second, in this war, you have not observed the ethics and protocol of warfare. Most of your victims--as a result of the bombing--are women and children, and intentionally so. You know that our women don't fight, yet you target them even on days of celebration, knowingly and adamantly, hoping by that to break the morale of the Mujahideen. This will not benefit you, however, for we are resolute and, by the grace of Allah, the Glorious and Great, continuing to take revenge on the unjust and expel the occupying invaders. I have personally witnessed incidents like these, and the matter continues on an almost daily basis, and the hospitals are full of innocent people.

You have no religion, morals, humanity or shame. And for your information, the Afghan people are a courageous, defiant, jealous, honorable, religious Muslim people who refuse humiliation and submission to invaders. And their history is rich in resolve and victories. They fought Britain in its glory days and defeated it by the grace of Allah, and fought the Russians in their glory days as well and defeated them by the grace of Allah. And today, they are fighting America and its agents under the leadership of the Commander of the Believers, Mullah Umar, may Allah protect him, and under the command of the Knight of the Field, Hajji Mansoor Dadullah. I ask Allah, the Most High to grant them victory and resolve.

In conclusion, I remind you that the American tide is ebbing, by the grace of Allah, and that they shall soon depart for their homeland beyond the Atlantic and leave the neighbors to settle their accounts with each other. So it is better for you to restrain your politicians who are thronging the steps of the White House and work diligently to remove oppression from the oppressed, for justice is right and injustice is torment, and returning to the truth is the hallmark of men of understanding. And peace be on those who follow the guidance.
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(NB: I am posting this transcript for the sole reason that I had a hard time locating it and that it seems that, yet again, the corporate media does not want people to make up their own mind about Bin-Laden, Al-Qaeda or anything else for that matter. I personally find the Wahabi/Salafi ideology at least as bad as US messianic imperialism , Likudnik racism or Neocon Fascism so please do not tell how bad OBL is - I already know. The Saker)