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The September 11 attacks were consistent with the overall mission statement of al-Qaeda, as set out in a 1998 fatwā issued
by Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Ahmed Refai Taha, Mir Hamzah, and Fazlur Rahman.In the fatwa, Bin Laden directed his
followers "to kill Americans anywhere".He also outlined his objections to American foreign policy towards Israel, as well
as U.S. aggression against the Iraqi people, the ensuing sanctions against Iraq, as well as the continued presence of American
troops in Saudi Arabia after the Persian Gulf War. The fatwa also specifically condemns the U.S. for "plundering" the resources
of the region, oppressing the people by supporting abusive regimes in the region, and dictating policy to legitimate leaders.
It also opposes the presence of U.S. military bases and installations in the region, especially on Muslim holy land, which
are used to "threaten" Muslim countries, while fomenting disunity and strife. By a similar token, it decries the continued
refusal to address the occupation of Palestine.The fatwa uses Islamic texts to exhort violent action against American military
and citizenry until the alleged grievances are reversed, stating "ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed
that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries."
Statements of al-Qaeda recorded after 9/11 add weight to the U.S account of who was responsible for the attacks. In a 2004
video, apparently acknowledging responsibility for the attacks, bin Laden states that he was motivated by the 1982 Lebanon
War, for which he held the U.S. partially responsible. In the video, bin Laden also claims that he wants to "restore freedom
to our nation," to "punish the aggressor in kind," and to inflict economic damage on America. He declared that a continuing
objective of his holy war was to "bleed America to the point of bankruptcy."Bin Laden said, "We swore that America would not
live in security until we live it truly in Palestine. This showed the reality of America, which puts Israel's interest above
its own people's interest. America will not get out of this crisis until it gets out of the Arabian Peninsula, and until it
stops its support of Israel."
The 9/11 Commission Report determined that the animosity towards the United States felt by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the "principal
architect" of the 9/11 attacks, stemmed "not from his experiences there as a student, but rather from his violent disagreement
with U.S. foreign policy favoring Israel."The same motivation was shared by the two pilots who flew into the WTC: Mohamed
Atta was described by Ralph Bodenstein—who traveled, worked and talked with him—as "most imbued actually about...
U.S. protection of these Israeli politics in the region." "When someone asked why he and Atta never laughed, Shehhi retorted,"How
can you laugh when people are dying in Palestine?"Mohammed Atta is described in Lawrence Wright's account to have committed
himself to martyrdom in immediate response to the Israeli strikes at the beginning of Operation Grapes of Wrath.Abdulaziz
al-Omari, a hijacker aboard Flight 11 with Mohammed Atta, said in his video will, "My work is a message those who heard me
and to all those who saw me at the same time it is a message to the infidels that you should leave the Arabian peninsula defeated
and stop giving a hand of help to the coward Jews in Palestine."
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