Murderous Declarations

The September 11 atrocity is the responsibility of the al Qaeda terrorist network, headed by Osama bin Laden.

• Before September 11, bin Laden indicated that he was planning an attack on the United States.

• In August and September, bin Laden operatives around the world were warned to return to Afghanistan by September 10.

• One of bin Laden's closest associates has been identified as conducting detailed planning for the September 11 attacks.

• Of the 19 hijackers, at least three have been identified as al Qaeda operatives.

• At least one hijacker is known to have been involved in the attack on the Navy ship USS Cole and the bombings of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

• In tracking the hijackers' movements prior to September 11, investigators have found that many of them met with bin Laden operatives and regularly received money and support from the al Qaeda network.

More broadly, the planning, pattern, and character of the September attacks were similar to those of previous al Qaeda terrorist attacks. The September 11 operation involved long-term planning, coordinated actions, lack of warning, use of suicide attackers, and an effort to kill and maim as many people as possible, including Muslims and citizens of other nations.

In his notorious, pre-taped statement released on October 7, bin Laden said, "God has blessed a group of vanguard Muslims, the forefront of Islam, to destroy America." Taken as a whole, his words amount to a confession and acceptance of responsibility for the September 11 attacks - and falsely invoke the faith of Islam to justify mass killing. But this is only the latest in a series of bin Laden pronouncements:

• In his 1996 "Declaration of Jihad," he urged coordinated efforts to kill Americans and encouraged others to attack the American "enemy."

• In a 1998 statement published in the Arabic newspaper Al-Quds Al-Arabi, he stated that Muslims should kill Americans - including civilians - "anywhere in the world where they can be found."

• In a 1999 interview on the Arabic-language al Jazeera television, bin Laden stated, "Our enemy ... is every American male, whether he is directly fighting us or paying taxes."

• In two 1997 and 1998 television interviews, he specifically described the terrorists who bombed the World Trade Center in 1993 as role models and urged his followers to "take the fighting to America."

NEXT: Defeating Terror/Defending Freedom: Hijacking the World