Background of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mahammed bin Awad bin Laden was born March 10, 1957, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He was 17th of 52 children his father had. His parents are Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden and Alia Ghanem. Alia Ghanem was Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden’s 10th wife. They got divorced soon after Osama was born. Mohammed recommended his ex-wife to Mohammed al-Attas his associate. Those two are currently still married. He grew up with his mother and 4 half-siblings. His father was a billionaire construction magnate with close ties to the Saudi royal family. Osama inherited between $25 and 30 million of what his parents made.
Bin Laden was raised as a devout Wahhani Muslim which is a religion. His religion meant so much to him that he later joined a radical pan-Islamic who believed in jihad which is a holy war. He attended a private, all-boys school called Al-Thager Model School then went onto study economics and business administration at King Abdalaziz University. There is no true report of what he earned degrees in, but civil engineering and public administration were thought to be true. His interest included writing poetry, reading, and playing soccer.
When bin Laden was 17, he married Najwa Ghanem at Latakia, Syria. They were divorced before September 11, 2001. In total he has 6 wives and 20-26 children. Iranian authorities are tracking where his kids are located even when most of them fled. His father died after an American pilot misjudged a landing and his half-brother died after he ran into power lines in San Antonio, Texas.
I think Osama bin Laden hates the United States because of these deaths. I mean both of them had to do with America, so if he was looking for something or someone to be mad at, US would be perfect. Isn’t it a coincidence that both deaths took place with planes and so did 911?
He was described by the FBI as a tall (6’4”), 160pounds, left handed, and had an olive complexion. He apparently didn’t wear the usual outfit, but instead a different headdress and white cloth.
The motive for his hate to the US has something to do with the US Foreign Policy. He said “They hate us for what we do, not who we are.” Osama also said that he hated that the United States had homosexuality, intoxicants, and gambling. He hates Israel and Jewish people. Bin Laden wanted to go to war with us and the Soviet Union in the Middle East because it would cause our economy to crash. In 2004 he even said on video “bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy.” This pretty much came true in 2008-present.
When Osama dropped out of college he joined the Abdulla Azzam and used his money and family construction equipment to help fight the Soviet war in Afghanistan. The US was provided financial aid and weapons to Pakistan. He quit later and funneled money and weapons from the region to make a personal profit and use to train al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda was made by 3 leaders.
September 11, 2001, 911 happened. Osama bin Laden lead the terrorist attack of 4 planes being hijacked and flying two into the World Trade Center, 1 into the Pentagon, and one supposedly headed to the White House. In total 2,973 people were killed along with the 19 hijackers. He was inspired by “watching the destruction of towers in Lebanon by Israel during the 1982 Lebanon War.”
A few other things happened after that, but that would take way to long.
Just shortly after 1a.m. May 2, 2011, (May 1st in US) Navy SEAL team six burst into the compound to find the al-Qaeda leader in an upstairs bedroom. They shot 54-year Osama bin Laden in the head and chest. He died instantly. He was prepared in proper Islamic style and was dropped somewhere in the Arabian Sea within 24 hours of his death.
I’m pretty sure they did this so no other terrorist had a place to worship their dead leader. Osama bin Laden was directly on in a lot of cases with what he said. I am happy he is dead.
"Osama Bin Laden." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
"Osama Bin Laden." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
Comments
Excellent summary Paige!