Osama Bin Laden: In the Name of Allah

Although viewers certainly wouldn't know it from the Bush administration's barrage of "good vs. evil" rhetoric, this compelling episode from A&E's Biography series suggests that Osama bin Laden's gripe with the U.S. actually has some foundation after all (even though his response has been insupportably heinous terrorist acts against innocent people). Born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1957, one of 20 sons of self-made construction magnate Mohammad bin Laden, the independently wealthy Osama bin Laden's formal education put him into contact with the conservative teachings of fundamentalist Islamic professors, and he initially combined his newfound religious love with the family business--working on a pair of contracts for the restoration of religious buildings. In 1979, when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, bin Laden joined his Muslim brothers in the rugged mountainous terrain fighting against the invading infidels (a fight in which the U.S. was on the same side), endearing him to the Afghan people. Returning home after the Soviet withdrawal in 1989, bin Laden was incensed when America (a non-Muslim country) launched an attack on Iraq (a Muslim country) purportedly over Iran's aggression in Kuwait (but really, bin Laden believed, because of oil) and warned the Saudi leaders that if U.S. troops were allowed on to the Arabian peninsula they would not leave (in this, bin Laden turned out to be correct). His increasingly outspoken criticism of Saudi policy eventually led to a falling out with his family and ultimately banishment. In the early '90s, bin Laden continued to build his al-Qaeda ("the Base") terrorist network in the Sudan, until political pressure over international terrorist incidents led to his expulsion in mid-1996, and his return to Afghanistan, where he supported the oppressive Taliban government. After a failed assassination attempt during the Clinton administration, bin Laden surfaced on the general American radar in 1998 when he declared jihad or holy war against the U.S., a battle he has since waged with increasingly indiscriminate attention paid to the civilian casualties. Today, the soft-spoken, shy-appearing bin Laden, seen here in archival footage and an earlier interview with ABC News reporter John Miller, is the object of an intense manhunt and carries a multi-million dollar reward for his capture, in President Bush's somewhat embarrassingly Wild West terminology, "dead or alive." Offering some insight into how a rich young man evolved into a murderous zealot steeped in religious fervor, this profile is definitely recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)