United States in the early 1990s and in al Qaeda operations elsewhere, includ-
ing the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa.
Saudi Arabia. He continued to do so after he arrived in Sudan. In early 1992,
the al Qaeda leadership issued a fatwa calling for jihad against the Western
"occupation" of Islamic lands. Specifically singling out U.S. forces for attack,
the language resembled that which would appear in Bin Ladin's public fatwa
in August 1996. In ensuing weeks, Bin Ladin delivered an often-repeated lec-
ture on the need to cut off "the head of the snake."
Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. Still, he was just one among many diverse
terrorist barons. Some of Bin Ladin's close comrades were more peers than sub-
ordinates. For example, Usama Asmurai, also known as Wali Khan, worked with
Bin Ladin in the early 1980s and helped him in the Philippines and in Tajik-
istan. The Egyptian spiritual guide based in New Jersey, the Blind Sheikh,
whom Bin Ladin admired, was also in the network.Among sympathetic peers
in Afghanistan were a few of the warlords still fighting for power and Abu
Zubaydah, who helped operate a popular terrorist training camp near the bor-
der with Pakistan.There were also rootless but experienced operatives, such as
Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who--though not necessarily
formal members of someone else's organization--were traveling around the
world and joining in projects that were supported by or linked to Bin Ladin,
the Blind Sheikh, or their associates.
in these early years.Yet it would also be misleading to ignore the significance
of these connections.And in this network, Bin Ladin's agenda stood out.While
his allied Islamist groups were focused on local battles, such as those in Egypt,
Algeria, Bosnia, or Chechnya, Bin Ladin concentrated on attacking the "far
enemy"--the United States.
After U.S. troops deployed to Somalia in late 1992, al Qaeda leaders formu-
lated a fatwa demanding their eviction. In December, bombs exploded at two
hotels in Aden where U.S. troops routinely stopped en route to Somalia, killing
two, but no Americans. The perpetrators are reported to have belonged to a