Yossef Bodanksy authored the first definitive biography of Osama bin Laden. First printed in 1999, a new version of Bin Laden: The Man Who Declared War on America is due this summer. This summer Bodansky, director of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare in Washington, will have completed 30 years of studying Islamic terrorism. Here, he speaks about Bin Laden and September 11.
When did you first begin tracking Osama bin Laden?
I opened a file on him in 1981. An Afghan mujahid, a friend of mine quite unlike the normal mujahid, told me, “Keep an eye on this guy. If he’s not killed soon, he’ll go on to make history.” That Bin Laden was also a follower of Sheikh Abdallah Yussuf Azzam, a Palestinian preacher who helped internationalise Islamic terrorism, and a person I was tracking, added to the allure.
Over the years I grew fascinated with Bin Laden. He was very sophisticated, very intelligent, with a clear vision of what he wanted to do in the world. Bin Laden sees himself as a facilitator of God’s work. He’s pragmatic but also a visionary. Bin Laden is a humble person, an excellent team player. He could have shone in Arab politics, but rather than help others through that way he decided his life would be better spent implementing his terrorist agenda.
He’s not the average Arab by anyone’s yardstick. Bin Laden is not just a terrorist. He’s a theologian. You could call him the Lenin of the great Islamic revolution. He has various Trotskys and Dzerzhinksys to implement the teachings of the master.
Did September 11 surprise you?
Two things. One, we had knowledge of plans to fly airplanes into buildings for terrorist purposes as early as in 1985. I think we had information of Iran providing such training at a civil aviation centre in Iran. So that option has been floating around for some time.
Two, we also know Bin Laden believes in spectacular terrorism to show the supremacy of Islam. Since at least 1998 I’ve been saying he has sought to provoke a world war, that our lack of preparedness and knowledge meant the world was sitting on a volcano. It was just a matter of time before it exploded.
Do you believe Bin Laden is dead?
Since 1999, Osama bin Laden has built up a complicated, elaborate system of relocation and reassembly for himself and his network. He has built it over the years and invested billions of dollars in it. It is safe to assume he had many relocation plans ready when the attack on Afghanistan began and he was in a position to implement them.
The West has not shown the skills to penetrate his inner circle or we would have known about September 11 beforehand. Don’t think that in a mere three to four months of military action we can destroy something built over years. One of these days, he’ll pop up again. And being the populist that he is, he will embarrass the West. Bin Laden takes risks well beyond those of a normal terrorist. It is wishful thinking to say he is sick. He is not paralysed. In all my years of research I have found no evidence that his kidneys are failing.
Where is he exactly? Your guess is as good as mine.
Did the campaign in Afghanistan effect his standing in the Islamic world?
Yes. Bin Laden’s standing in the Islamic world has gone up and up. He’s secured a global audience. He’s talking to millions of people like no one else in the Muslim world. The reason for his popularity is that he is such an eloquent presenter of his cure for the ills of Islamic countries around the world. This is the kind of story he spins to poor Muslims all over: I’m being hunted, but I’m with you. I could have lived a life of unbelievable splendour. But I’ve joined you in the sewer. Now join me, because I have a solution for the many problems that beset you.
The most popular names for newborn babies in the Islamic world after September 11 are Muhammad, after the Prophet, and Osama, after you know who.
Didn’t the fall of the Taliban reduce support for jehad?
There has never been a Taliban. The people who make up the Taliban do not represent a permanent grouping. They are mercenaries who were first on hire to the Soviets and then to the US. The ISI were their last clients. The ISI created the Taliban to serve certain purposes for them.
The Muslim world, the average Arab, does not care if the Taliban were ineffective or incompetent. Jehad is not a concept of governance. It is a response to a simple fact: In the entire Islamic world there is no legitimate, representative government. Pakistan and Iran perhaps come closest to such a thing.
What of the future of terror?
The terrorist network is largely intact. And Osama bin Laden is exceptional. If he does disappear, it will be in a great spectacle. In the meantime, the problem is not ideology but practical. Namely, states that sponsor terrorism.
The war against terrorism has barely begun. Look at our achievements so far. How much money have we seized? How many senior Al Qaeda members have been caught? There is little tangible evidence of success.
I am pessimistic about our ability to find a solution to terrorism. We’ve allowed the situation to deteriorate to such an extent it may be beyond the capability of the West to arrest it. At present, we are only sticking on band-aids. Western society is still reluctant to do what it takes.
Where does Pakistan stand in all this?
Pakistan, as a country, does not
have any raison d’etre other than to perpetrate the jehad. What is Pakistan?
A failed state with nuclear weapons. Muhammad Iqbal, in the 1930s, wrote
of Muslim Indians being the inspiration for Muslims around the world. How
can Pakistan earn that stature? It is economically bankrupt. The few scientists
and technicians who stay there make weapons. Their madrasas are filled
with Yahoos with nothing to show. Their exports: drugs and terrorism. Pakistan
functions under a mafia logic: If we can subvert and destabilise you, then
you’ll have to come to terms with us. So the country has become a spigot
of violence and terrorism from Chechnya to Kashmir.