Bin Laden, Osama (1957?-2011), was a Saudi-born millionaire and radical Muslim who supported international terrorism. He opposed many United States policies in the Middle East, particularly U.S. support for Israel, as well as the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia from 1991 to 2003. He also opposed governments in the Islamic world that were allied to the United States. Bin Laden was the founder and leader of al-Qa`ida, a global terrorist organization that is allied with other Muslim extremist groups worldwide. On May 2, 2011 (May 1 in the United States), American military forces killed bin Laden in Abbottabad, a city northeast of Islamabad, Pakistan.
United States and other Western intelligence officials believe that bin Laden was the mastermind behind a number of terrorist attacks against U.S. targets. In September 2001, U.S. government officials named him as the prime suspect in the attacks that month on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon Building near Washington, D.C. About 3,000 people died as a result of those attacks. U.S. officials also believe bin Laden was behind the terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Those blasts killed more than 200 people and injured more than 4,500.
Bin Laden was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to a wealthy family. He studied civil engineering and management at King Abdulaziz University in Jiddah. In 1979, he left Saudi Arabia to join the mujahideen in Pakistan who were fighting against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The mujahideen were Muslims from many countries, especially Arab countries, who became guerrillas in what they considered a jihad (holy war) against the Soviets. Bin Laden devoted most of the 1980’s to collecting money and material support for the Muslim guerrillas. He also reportedly participated in several battles. Many of the Arab mujahideen, known as Afghan Arabs, eventually became associated with al-Qa`ida. Bin Laden founded al-Qa`ida in the late 1980’s to resist the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. After the Soviets withdrew from Afghanistan in 1989, bin Laden reportedly returned to Saudi Arabia.
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The invasion led to the Persian Gulf War of 1991. A U.S.-led military coalition sent troops to Saudi Arabia to protect that country from Iraqi invasion and to drive the Iraqis out of Kuwait. Bin Laden opposed the Saudi government’s decision to allow U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, where the holiest Muslim sites are located. The Persian Gulf War of 1991 prompted bin Laden and al-Qa`ida to dramatically expand their goals. They called for removal of foreign influence from Muslim countries and began to oppose the governments of Muslim countries allied to the United States. Because of bin Laden’s activities against the Saudi government, he was forced to seek asylum outside of Saudi Arabia. From 1991 until 1996, bin Laden lived in Sudan. In 1996, the Sudanese government, under pressure from the United States and Saudi Arabia, expelled him. He then moved to Afghanistan, where he lived under the protection of the Taliban, a conservative Islamic group that controlled most of that country.
In 1998, following the terrorist bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the United States launched missile strikes against Qa`ida training camps in Afghanistan. In 1999 and 2000, the United Nations imposed sanctions against Afghanistan for refusing to surrender bin Laden.
After the September 2001 terrorist attacks, the United States demanded that the Taliban hand over bin Laden and shut down Qa`ida training camps in Afghanistan. The Taliban refused to do so. The United States and its allies then launched military strikes in support of Afghan rebels who opposed the Taliban. The military campaign drove the Taliban from power later in 2001.
After the fall of the Taliban, United States and allied forces continued to search for bin Laden and other Qa`ida leaders. Many of the leaders were captured or killed. After nearly 10 years, intelligence efforts traced bin Laden to a heavily guarded compound in Abbottabad. A U.S. Navy SEAL team attacked the compound early on May 2, 2011, Pakistani time. After a brief firefight, bin Laden was shot and killed. He was later buried at sea. Navy SEAL (Sea, Air, and Land) teams are part of U.S. Special Forces.
See also Abbottabad; Navy SEALs, United States; Persian Gulf War of 1991; Qa`ida, Al-; September 11 terrorist attacks; Taliban.
