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| December 12, 2001 | |||
Facts from the Moussaoui Indictment
The Threat Posed by al Qaeda Yesterday, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced the indictment of Zacarias Moussaoui, who is charged with six crimes of terrorism, aircraft piracy, the use of weapons of mass destruction, and murder. Four of these crimes are punishable by death. Before his arrest, Moussaoui had attended a flight school in Minneapolis for training on the Boeing 747 simulator.
The indictment describes Moussaoui's actions and the allegations against him, but it also recites important facts about al Qaeda, its leaders, and its mission:
Al Qaeda ("the Base") has existed since about 1989. It was founded by Usama Bin Laden and others. Al Qaeda was headquartered in Afghanistan and Pakistan until about 1991 when it moved to the Sudan. In about 1996, the leadership of al Qaeda (including its "emir," or prince, Bin Laden) moved back to Afghanistan.
Members of al Qaeda pledge an oath of allegiance (called a "bayat") to Bin Laden and the group. Those suspected of collaborating against al Qaeda are to be identified and killed.
Al Qaeda is dedicated to violent attacks on the United States and its people. Al Qaeda regards the United States as "infidel" because it is not governed according to al Qaeda's extremist interpretation of Islam. Also, the United States provides essential support for other governments and institutions which al Qaeda regards as "infidels," particularly the governments of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, the nation of Israel, and the United Nations.
Al Qaeda opposed the involvement of the United States in the Gulf War in 1991 and in Somalia in 1992 and 1993. In particular, al Qaeda opposes the continued presence of American military forces in the Saudi Arabian peninsula. Finally, al Qaeda opposes the United States because of the arrest, conviction, and imprisonment of persons belonging to al Qaeda and its affiliated terrorist groups.
For these and other reasons, Bin Laden declared a "jihad," or holy war, against the United States. Members of al Qaeda issued "fatwahs" (rulings on Islamic law) showing that violent attacks against the United States and against Americans were both proper and necessary.
Al Qaeda functions on its own and through allied terrorist organizations that operate under its umbrella, including the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, the Islamic Group, and a number of other jihad groups in the Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Somalia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, the Kashmiri region of India, and the Chechnyan region of Russia. Al Qaeda also maintains cells and personnel in Kenya, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Malaysia, and the United States.
Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda have forged alliances with the National Islamic Front in the Sudan and with representatives of the government of Iran, and its associated terrorist group Hizballah, to work together against their perceived common enemies in the West, particularly the United States. Since returning to Afghanistan, al Qaeda forged close ties with the Taliban. Bin Laden endorsed a declaration of jihad issued by the Ulema Union of Afghanistan.
At various times from about 1992, Usama Bin Laden, working with members of the fatwah committee of al Qaeda, disseminated fatwahs declaring that United States forces on the Saudi Arabian peninsula (which includes Yemen) should be attacked. Similarly, fatwahs were issued declaring that United States forces in the Horn of Africa (which includes Somalia) should be attacked.
On various occasions, an unindicted co-conspirator advised al Qaeda that it was proper under the laws of Islam to commit violent acts against "infidels" (nonbelievers), even if others might be killed by such actions, because if such others were truly "innocent," they would go to paradise, but if they were not "innocent," they deserved to die.
On about August 23, 1996, a "Declaration of Jihad" was issued from the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. The declaration was entitled, "Message from Usama Bin-Muhammad Bin-Laden to His Muslim Brothers in the Whole World and Especially in the Arabian Peninsula: Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holy Mosques; Expel the Heretics from the Arabian Peninsula."
In February 1998, Usama Bin Laden endorsed a fatwah under the banner of the "International Islamic Front for Jihad on the Jews and Crusaders." That fatwah said that Muslims should kill Americans - including civilians - wherever found.
In an address in 1998, Bin Laden alleged that the United States was an aggressor against Islam, and he encouraged a jihad to eliminate all Americans from the Arabian Peninsula.
In May 1998, Bin Laden issued a statement entitled "The Nuclear Bomb of Islam," under the banner of the "International Islamic Front for Fighting the Jews and the Crusaders." It said, "it is the duty of the Muslims to prepare as much force as possible to terrorize the enemies of God."
In June 1999, in an interview with an Arabic-language television station, Bin Laden said that all American males should be killed. In an interview in September 2000, Bin Laden called for a "jihad" to release the "brothers" in jail "everywhere."
Usama Bin Laden and al Qaeda hate America and Americans - and they are sworn to destroy us. The indictment says that from at least 1992, Bin Laden and al Qaeda have attempted to obtain the components of nuclear weapons. That fact, coupled with the events of September 11, show that the civilized nations of the world may be fighting for their very existence.
[Note: All facts in this paper were taken from Moussaoui's indictment which is on DoJ's website.]
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