I was thinking, today, about a reporter I knew when I was working at ABC News in New York. His name was John Miller. Interesting guy and a damned good reporter.
I asked him out to sushi in May 1998, after I read a long transcript of his interview with then relatively-unknown Osama Bin Laden. I couldn't get that interview out of my mind.
Last night, I looked for it online. And here it is. Just as startling today as it was three years before 9/11.
Excerpt:
JOHN MILLER Mr. bin Laden, you have issued a fatwa calling on all Muslims to kill Americans where they can, when they can. Is that directed at all Americans, just American military, just Americans in Saudi Arabia?OSAMA BIN LADEN As we mentioned before, Allah ordered us in this religion to purify Muslim land of all non-believers, and especially the Arabian Peninsula where the Ke’ba is. After WWII, the Americans became more aggressive and oppressive, especially in the Muslim world.
We are surprised this question is coming from Americans. Each action will solicit a similar reaction. We must use such punishment to keep your evil away from Muslims, Muslim children and women. American history does not distinguish between civilians and military, and not even women and children. They are the ones who used the bombs against Nagasaki. Can these bombs distinguish between infants and military? America does not have a religion that will prevent it from destroying all people.
Your situation with Muslims in Palestine is shameful, if there is any shame left in America. In the Sabra and Shatilla massacre, a cooperation between Zionist and Christian forces, houses were demolished over the heads of children. Also, by testimony of relief workers in Iraq, the American-led sanctions resulted in the death of over 1 million Iraqi children.
All of this was done in the name of American interests. We believe that the biggest thieves in the world and the terrorists are the Americans. The only way for us to fend off these assaults is to use similar means.
We do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians; they are all targets in this fatwa. Especially since American officials were released after the Khobar bombing, asking all American civilians to contact the security department in the embassy with information on Muslims and activists. The fatwa includes all that share or take part in killing of Muslims, assaulting holy places, or those who help the Jews occupy Muslim land.
I read your section of the bin laden interview. There is a good link that i think would add to your web site.
http://www.mediaresearch.org/rm/cyber/2004/binladen061704/segment1.ram
Posted by: dana byron | July 23, 2006 at 01:25 PM