CIAO Responds to the Terrorist Attacks against the
United States
A Recruiting Tape of Osama bin Laden: Excerpts
and Analyses
video & commentary | essays about video | entire video

Introduction

For several months prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center
and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, a videotape calling
Muslims to a holy war against forces described as Crusaders and
Jews circulated underground in the Arab world. Produced on behalf
of Osama bin Laden and prominently featuring his image, words, and
ideas, the tape is designed to recruit young Arab men to journey to
Afghanistan and train for a war in defense of Islam.

The portions of the tape presented here, and the accompanying
analyses and commentaries, reveal the worldview of the bin Laden
organization and illustrate its propaganda skills. Since the tape was
made at least six months before September 11, it can contain no
secret messages relating to further attacks. Nor is it part of the
propaganda war between the United States and Osama bin Laden
that has become a matter of media controversy since the beginning
of the war in Afghanistan. This tape does not target non-Arab,
non-Muslim viewers. While a case may be made, therefore, that the
decisions of certain news organizations to limit coverage of
messages and images coming from the bin Laden camp, the various
arguments supporting these decisions have little relevance to this
tape. The excerpts and analyses offered here are intended solely to
inform the public of the mindset and propaganda techniques of a
cruel and ruthless adversary.

Following a brief, unlabeled prologue [Excerpt 1], the tape is
organized in three parts: Reel I "The Situation of the Muslim
Community"; Reel II "The Causes"; and Reel III "The Solution."

Reel I further divides into segments labeled by country: "The Land of
the Two Holy Places," i.e., Saudi Arabia [Excerpts 2-3]; "Palestine"
[Excerpts 4-6]; "Chechnya"; "Iraq" [Excerpt 7]; "Lebanon,"
specifically the village of "Qana"; "Indonesia"; and "Kashmir" [Excerpt
8 contains the concluding general speech at the end of this
segment].

Since the copy of the tape available for analysis has a gap in Reel II,
the only segment title available is "The Love of This World and the
Hatred of Death" [Excerpts 9-10]. The several minutes that precede
Reel III contain speeches identifying the United States as the author
of the woes of the Muslim world [Excerpt 11]. The title of this
segment is missing.

Reel III divides into three segments: "Hijra (Migration)" [Excerpts
12-14]; "Preparation" [Excerpts 15-19]; and "Jihad (Holy War)"
[Excerpts 20-23].

The excerpts add up to approximately 42 minutes, or 42% of the
entire 99-minute tape.

—Richard Bulliet and Fawaz A. Gerges, General Editors

Disclaimer

Some images and events captured in this video tape are
graphic and may be disturbing to viewers. While Columbia
University believes this video to be authentic, we make no
representations about the source or authenticity of the
materials.