(Fwd) [globalobserver] Transcript of Osama Bin Laden videotape

["Davide Bertok" <davide.bertok@adriacom.it>]

La trascrizione dall'arabo all'inglese del famigerato videotape che 
inchioderebbe Bin Laden.
Se qualcuno ha poi la pazienza (io no, scusate) di tradurlo in italiano, 
farebbe un favore a chi ci naviga meno nell'inglese.
Ciao,
Davide

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To:             	globalobserver@yahoogroups.com
From:           	"scalanews" <scalanews@yahoo.com>
Date sent:      	Fri, 14 Dec 2001 12:06:42 -0000
Subject:        	[globalobserver] Transcript of Osama Bin 
Laden videotape
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Transcript of Osama bin Laden videotape

The following transcript of a videotape of Osama bin Laden talking
with others, translated from Arabic into English, was issued by the
U.S. Department of Defense.  CNN spells the al Qaeda leader's name
Osama bin Laden, but the Defense Department spelling -- Usama bin
Laden -- isretained. He is identified as UBL in the transcript.

(Transcript and annotations independently prepared by George 
Michael,
translator, Diplomatic Language Services; and Dr. Kassem M. Wahba,
Arabic language program coordinator, School of Advanced International
Studies, Johns Hopkins University. They collaborated on their
translation and compared it with translations done by the U.S.
government for consistency. There were no inconsistencies in the
translations.)

In mid-November, Usama Bin Laden spoke to a room of supporters,
possibly in Qandahar, Afghanistan. These comments were videotaped 
with
the knowledge of bin Laden and all present.

Note: The tape is approximately one hour long and contains three
different segments: an original taping of a visit by some people to
the site of the downed U.S. helicopter in Ghazni province
(approximately 12 minutes long); and two segments documenting a
courtesy visit by bin Laden and his lieutenants to an unidentified
Shaykh, who appears crippled from the waist down. The visit apparently
takes place at a guesthouse in Qandahar. The sequence of the events 
is
reversed on the tape -- the end of his visit is in the beginning of
the tape with the helicopter site visit in the middle and the start of
the Usama bin Laden visit beginning approximately 39 minutes into the
tape.  The tape is transcribed below according to the proper sequence
of events.

Due to the quality of the original tape, it is NOT a verbatim 
transcript
of every word spoken during the meeting, but does convey the 
messages
and information flow.

EDITOR'S NOTE: 39 minutes into tape, first segment of the bin Laden
meeting, begins after footage of helicopter site visit

Shaykh: (...inaudible...) You have given us weapons, you have given us
hope and we thank Allah for you. We don't want to take much of your
time, but this is the arrangement of the brothers. People now are
supporting us more, even those ones who did not support us in the
past, support us more now. I did not want to take that much of your
time.  We praise Allah, we praise Allah.  We came from Kabul. We were
very pleased to visit. May Allah bless you both at home and the camp. 
We asked the driver to take us, it was a night with a full moon,
thanks be to Allah. Believe me it is not in the countryside. The
elderly ... everybody praises what you did, the great action you did,
which was first and foremost by the grace of Allah. This is the
guidance of Allah and the blessed fruit of jihad.

UBL:  Thanks to Allah.  What is the stand of the Mosques there (in
Saudi Arabia)?

Shaykh: Honestly, they are very positive. Shaykh Al-Bahrani (phonetic)
gave a good sermon in his class after the sunset prayers. It was
videotaped and I was supposed to carry it with me, but unfortunately,
I had to leave immediately.

UBL: The day of the events?

Shaykh: At the exact time of the attack on America, precisely at the
time. He (Bahrani) gave a very impressive sermon. Thanks be to Allah
for his blessings. He (Bahrani) was the first one to write at war
time. I visited him twice in Al-Qasim.

UBL: Thanks be to Allah.

Shaykh: This is what I asked from Allah. He (Bahrani) told the youth:
"You are asking for martyrdom and wonder where you should go (for
martyrdom)?" Allah was inciting them to go. I asked Allah to grant me
to witness the truth in front of the unjust ruler. We ask Allah to
protect him and give him the martyrdom, after he issued the first
fatwa. He was detained for interrogation, as you know. When he was
called in and asked to sign, he told them, "don't waste my time, I
have another fatwa. If you want me, I can sign both at the same time."

UBL: Thanks be to Allah.

Shaykh: His position is really very encouraging. When I paid him the
first visit about a year and half ago, he asked me, "How is Shaykh
Bin-Ladin?" He sends you his special regards. As far as Shaykh
Sulayman 'Ulwan is concerned, he gave a beautiful fatwa, may Allah
bless him. Miraculously, I heard it on the Quran radio station. It was
strange because he ('Ulwan) sacrificed his position, which is
equivalent to a director. It was transcribed word-by-word. The
brothers listened to it in detail. I briefly heard it before the noon
prayers. He ('Ulwan) said this was jihad and those people were not
innocent people (World Trade Center and Pentagon victims). He swore 
to
Allah. This was transmitted to Shaykh Sulayman Al (('Umar)) Allah
bless him.

UBL: What about Shaykh Al-((Rayan))?

Shaykh: Honestly, I did not meet with him. My movements were truly
limited.

UBL: Allah bless you. You are welcome.

Shaykh: (Describing the trip to the meeting)  They smuggled us and
then I thought that we would be in different caves inside the
mountains so I was surprised at the guest house and that it is very
clean and comfortable. Thanks be to Allah, we also learned that this
location is safe, by Allah's blessings. The place is clean and we are
very comfortable.

UBL: (...Inaudible...) when people see a strong horse and a weak
horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse. This is only one
goal; those who want people to worship the lord of the people, without
following that doctrine, will be following the doctrine of Muhammad,
peace be upon him. (UBL quotes several short and incomplete Hadith
verses, as follows): "I was ordered to fight the people until they say
there is no god but Allah, and his prophet Muhammad." "Some people 
may
ask: why do you want to fight us?" "There is an association between
those who say: I believe in one god and Muhammad is his prophet, and
those who don't (...inaudible...) "Those who do not follow the true
fiqh. The fiqh of Muhammad, the real fiqh.  They are just accepting
what is being said at face value."

UBL: Those youth who conducted the operations did not accept any 
fiqh
in the popular terms, but they accepted the fiqh that the prophet
Muhammad brought. Those young men (...inaudible...) said in deeds, in
New York and Washington, speeches that overshadowed all other 
speeches
made everywhere else in the world. The speeches are understood by 
both
Arabs and non-Arabs-even by Chinese. It is above all the media said.
Some of them said that in Holland, at one of the centers, the number
of people who accepted Islam during the days that followed the
operations were more than the people who accepted Islam in the last
eleven years. I heard someone on Islamic radio who owns a school in
America say: "We don't have time to keep up with the demands of those
who are asking about Islamic books to learn about Islam."  This event
made people think (about true Islam) which benefited Islam greatly.

Shaykh: Hundreds of people used to doubt you and few only would 
follow 
you
until this huge event happened.  Now hundreds of people are coming 
out
to join you.  I remember a vision by Shaykh Salih Al-((Shuaybi)). He
said:  "There will be a great hit and people will go out by hundreds
to Afghanistan." I asked him (Salih): "To Afghanistan?" He replied,
"Yes." According to him, the only ones who stay behind will be the
mentally impotent and the liars (hypocrites). I remembered his saying
that hundreds of people will go out to Afghanistan. He had this vision
a year ago. This event discriminated between the different types of
followers.

UBL: (...Inaudible...) we calculated in advance the number of 
casualties
from the enemy, who would be killed based on the position of the
tower. We calculated that the floors that would be hit would be three
or four floors. I was the most optimistic of them all.
(...Inaudible...)  due to my experience in this field, I was thinking
that the fire from the gas in the plane would melt the iron structure
of the building and collapse the area where the plane hit and all the
floors above it only.  This is all that we had hoped for.

Shaykh: Allah be praised.

UBL: We were at (...inaudible...) when the event took place. We had
notification since the previous Thursday that the event would take
place that day.  We had finished our work that day and had the radio
on.  It was 5:30 p.m. our time. I was sitting with Dr. Ahmad
Abu-al-((Khair)). Immediately, we heard the news that a plane had hit
the World Trade Center. We turned the radio station to the news from
Washington. The news continued and no mention of the attack until the
end.  At the end of the newscast, they reported that a plane just hit
the World Trade Center.

Shaykh: Allah be praised.

UBL: After a little while, they announced that another plane had hit
the World Trade Center. The brothers who heard the news were 
overjoyed
by it.

Shaykh: I listened to the news and I was sitting. We didn't...we were
not thinking about anything, and all of a sudden, Allah willing, we
were talking about how come we didn't have anything, and all of a
sudden the news came and everyone was overjoyed and everyone until 
the
next day, in the morning, was talking about what was happening and we
stayed until four o'clock, listening to the news every time a little
bit different, everyone was very joyous and saying "Allah is great,"
"Allah is great," "We are thankful to Allah," "Praise Allah."  And I
was happy for the happiness of my brothers. That day the
congratulations were coming on the phone non-stop. The mother was
receiving phone calls continuously. Thank Allah. Allah is great,
praise be to Allah. (Quoting the verse from the Quran)

Shaykh: "Fight them, Allah will torture them, with your hands, he will
torture them. He will deceive them and he will give you victory. Allah
will forgive the believers, he is knowledgeable about everything."

Shaykh: No doubt it is a clear victory. Allah has bestowed on us ...
honor on us...and he will give us blessing and more victory during
this holy month of Ramadan.  And this is what everyone is hoping for.
Thank Allah America came out of its caves.  We hit her the first hit
and the next one will hit her with the hands of the believers, the
good believers, the strong believers. By Allah it is a great work.
Allah prepares for you a great reward for this work. I'm sorry to
speak in your presence, but it is just thoughts, just thoughts. By
Allah, who there is no god but him. I live in happiness, happiness...I
have not experienced, or felt, in a long time. I remember, the words
of Al-Rabbani, he said they made a coalition against us in the winter
with the infidels like the Turks, and others, and some other Arabs. 
And they surrounded us like the days...in the days of the prophet
Muhammad.  Exactly like what's happening right now.  But he comforted
his followers and said, "This is going to turn and hit them back." And
it is a mercy for us. And a blessing to us. And it will bring people
back. Look how wise he was. And Allah will give him blessing. And the
day will come when the symbols of Islam will rise up and it will be
similar to the early days of Al-Mujahedeen and Al-Ansar (similar to
the early years of Islam). And victory to those who follow Allah.
Finally said, if it is the same, like the old days, such as Abu Bakr
and Othman and Ali and others. In these days, in our times, that it
will be the greatest jihad in the history of Islam and the resistance
of the wicked people.

Shaykh:  By Allah my Shaykh. We congratulate you for the great work.
Thank Allah.

Tape ends here

Second segment of Bin Laden's visit, shows up at the front of the tape

UBL:  Abdallah Azzam, Allah bless his soul, told me not to record
anything (...inaudible...) so I thought that was a good omen, and
Allah will bless us (...inaudible...).  Abu-Al-Hasan Al-((Masri)), who
appeared on Al-Jazeera TV a couple of days ago and addressed the
Americans saying:  "If you are true men, come down here and face us."
(...inaudible...) He told me a year ago:  "I saw in a dream, we were
playing a soccer game against the Americans. When our team showed 
up
in the field, they were all pilots!" He said: "So I wondered if that
was a soccer game or a pilot game? Our players were pilots." He
(Abu-Al-Hasan) didn't know anything about the operation until he heard
it on the radio. He said the game went on and we defeated them.  That
was a good omen for us.

Shaykh: May Allah be blessed.

Unidentified Man Off Camera:  Abd Al Rahman Al-(Ghamri) said he saw 
a
vision, before the operation, a plane crashed into a tall building. He
knew nothing about it.

Shaykh: May Allah be blessed!

Sulayman ((Abu Guaith)): I was sitting with the Shaykh in a room, then
I left to go to another room where there was a TV set. The TV
broadcast the big event. The scene was showing an Egyptian family
sitting in their living room, they exploded with joy. Do you know when
there is a soccer game and your team wins, it was the same expression
of joy. There was a subtitle that read:  "In revenge for the children
of Al Aqsa', Usama Bin Ladin executes an operation against America."
So I went back to the Shaykh (meaning UBL) who was sitting in a room
with 50 to 60 people. I tried to tell him about what I saw, but he
made gesture with his hands, meaning: "I know, I know"

UBL:  He did not know about the operation.  Not everybody knew
(...inaudible...). Muhammad ((Atta)) from the Egyptian family (meaning
the Al Qa'ida Egyptian group), was in charge of the group.

Shaykh:  A plane crashing into a tall building was out of anyone's
imagination.  This was a great job.  He was one of the pious men in
the organization.  He became a martyr.  Allah bless his soul.

Shaykh (Referring to dreams and visions):  The plane that he saw
crashing into the building was seen before by more than one person. 
One of the good religious people has left everything and come here. 
He told me, "I saw a vision, I was in a huge plane, long and wide. I
was carrying it on my shoulders and I walked from the road to the
desert for half a kilometer. I was dragging the plane."  I listened to
him and I prayed to Allah to help him. Another person told me that
last year he saw, but I didn't understand and I told him I don't
understand. He said, "I saw people who left for jihad...and they found
themselves in New York...in Washington and New York." I said, "What 
is
this?"  He told me the plane hit the building. That was last year. We
haven't thought much about it. But, when the incidents happened he
came to me and said, "Did you see...this is strange." I have another
man...my god...he said and swore by Allah that his wife had seen the
incident a week earlier.  She saw the plane crashing into a
building...that was unbelievable, my god.

UBL:  The brothers, who conducted the operation, all they knew was
that they have a martyrdom operation and we asked each of them to go
to America but they didn't know anything about the operation, not even
one letter. But they were trained and we did not reveal the operation
to them until they are there and just before they boarded the planes.

UBL: (...inaudible...) then he said: Those who were trained to fly
didn't know the others. One group of people did not know the other
group. (...inaudible...)  (Someone in the crowd asks UBL to tell the
Shaykh about the dream of ((Abu-Da'ud)).

UBL: We were at a camp of one of the brother's guards in Qandahar.
This brother belonged to the majority of the group. He came close and
told me that he saw, in a dream, a tall building in America, and in
the same dream he saw Mukhtar teaching them how to play karate. At
that point, I was worried that maybe the secret would be revealed if
everyone starts seeing it in their dream. So I closed the subject. I
told him if he sees another dream, not to tell anybody, because people
will be upset with him. (Another person's voice can be heard
recounting his dream about two planes hitting a big building).

UBL:  They were overjoyed when the first plane hit the building, so I
said to them: be patient.

UBL:  The difference between the first and the second plane hitting
the towers was twenty minutes.  And the difference between the first
plane and the plane that hit the Pentagon was one hour.

Shaykh: They (the Americans) were terrified thinking there was a coup.
[Note:  Ayman Al-Zawahri says first he commended UBL's awareness of
what the media is saying. Then he says it was the first time for them
(Americans) to feel danger coming at them.]

UBL (reciting a poem): I witness that against the sharp blade They
always faced difficulties and stood together... When the darkness
comes upon us and we are bit by a Sharp tooth, I say... "Our homes are
flooded with blood and the tyrant Is freely wandering in our homes"...
And from the battlefield vanished The brightness of swords and the
horses... And over weeping sounds now We hear the beats of drums 
and
rhythm They are storming his forts And shouting: "We will not stop our
raids Until you free our lands"...

Bin Laden visit footage complete. Footage of the visit to the 
helicopter
site follows the poem.



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