The Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Wednesday released a huge collection of documents recovered during the raid on the compound in Pakistan that housed notorious terrorist leader Osama bin Laden.
Among the recently declassified documents are letters about revolution, messages addressed to the American people, and correspondence with family members.
He continued: “How will you win a war whose leaders are pessimistic and whose soldiers are committing suicide? If fear enters the hearts of men, winning the war becomes impossible. How will you win a war whose cost is like a hurricane blowing violently at your economy and weakening your dollar?”
The dead terror leader then specifically addressed former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama:
The Bush administration got you into these wars on the premise that they were vital to your security. He promised that it would be a quick war, won within six days or six weeks; however, six years have passed, and they are still promising you victory and not achieving it. Then Obama came and delayed the withdrawal that he had promised you by 16 more months. He promised you victory in Afghanistan and set a date for withdrawal from there. Six months later, Petraeus came to you once again with the number six, requesting that the withdrawal be delayed six months beyond the date that had been set. All the while you continue to bleed in Iraq and Afghanistan. You are wading into a war with no end in sight on the horizon and which has no connection to your security, which was confirmed by the operation of ‘Umar al-Faruq (Var.: Umar Farouk), which was not launched from the battlefield and could have been launched from any place in the world.
As for us, jihad against the tyrants and the aggressors is a form of great worship in our religion. It is more precious to us than our fathers and sons. Thus, our jihad against you is worship, and your killing us is a testimony. Thanks to God, Almighty, we have been waging jihad for 30 years, against the Russians and then against you. Not a single one of our men has committed suicide, whereas every 30 days 30 of your men commit suicide. Continue the war if you will.
Read the full letter here.
In a video, bin Laden delivered another message to the “American people,” this time about “big money.” Here’s the full translation via ODNI:
Praise be to God who has demanded justice and benevolence and forbade tyranny and aggression.
Moreover, O American people, peace be with those of you who follow the right guidance. The subject of my talk is the despotism of Big Money and its role in the current wars between us.
I begin by reminding you that if you had reflected on a little of what has been said, you would have been able to avoid wasting much blood and money.
A good example is what one of your former presidents previously warned you about with the despotism of the Big Money and about a day when you would become its laborers.
The released documents also reveal which books and news articles were found in the compound. There were several articles by Foreign Policy, Newsweek, Washington Quarterly and more.
Below are some of the books that were found on “Bin Laden’s Bookshelf.”
Also included in the release is an al-Qaida job application that begins with the mundane, asking applicants to “please write clearly and legibly.”
It asks conventional questions, such as has the applicant ever been convicted of a crime, before veering into more chilling territory, including: “What objectives would you like to accomplish on your jihad path?”
It then asks whether the applicant wishes to execute a suicide mission.
It ends: “Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?”
You can go through all of the documents here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
