Here’s Osama Bin Laden’s Letter to the American People

Osama bin Laden wanted to speak directly to the American people.

An undated letter promising endless war is one of hundreds of documents collected in the May 2, 2011 raid on his compound in Pakistan that was released Wednesday. The full text is below.

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.

From Usama Bin Muhammad Bin Ladin to the American people,

I speak to you about the subject of the ongoing war between you

and us. Even though the consensus of your wise thinkers and

others is that your time (TN: of defeat) will come, compassion

for the women and children who are being unjustly killed,

wounded, and displaced in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan

motivates me to speak to you.

First of all, I would like to say that your war with us is the

longest war in your history and the most expensive for you

financially. As for us, we see it as being only halfway

finished. If you were to ask your wise thinkers, they would tell

you that there is no way to win it because the indications are

against it. 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 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.

(TN: Two lines of poetry that say the Mujahidin will not stop

fighting until the United States leaves their land.)

Peace be upon those who follow right guidance.

We are defending our right. Jihad against the aggressors is a

form of great worship in our religion, and killing us means a

high status with our Lord. Thanks to God, 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. Justice is the strongest army, and security is the best

way of life, but it slipped out of your grasp the day you made

the Jews victorious in occupying our land and killing our

brothers in Palestine. The path to security is for you to lift

your oppression from us.

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