BRITAIN'S CASE AGAINST BIN LADEN
November 14, 2001

The following is an official summary of the British government's new evidence against Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaida terror network, and an audio recording of Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to the House of Commons.

Online Special Report: Terrorist Attacks International Reaction Afghanistan First British document linking bin Laden and al-Qaida to Sept. 11 attacks The full document of updated evidence published by the British Prime Minister

RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE TERRORIST ATROCITIES IN THE UNITED STATES, 11 SEPTEMBER 2001 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The update has been produced to remind people why we are engaged in this action, and to publish new information: There is now information linking the majority of the hijackers with al-Qaida, rather than just the three originally stated. A senior bin Laden associate has admitted since Oct. 4 to have trained some of the hijackers in Afghanistan. Bin Laden's own statements and those of his lieutenants since Oct. 4 have also been increasingly self-incriminatory. He has made no attempt to deny responsibility for the attacks: - On Oct. 7 he said: "Here is America struck by God Almighty ...so that its greatest buildings are destroyed...I swear to God that America will not live in peace before peace reigns in Palestine, and before the army of the infidels depart the land of Mohammed". - On Oct. 9 one of his spokesmen praised the Sept. 11 atrocities as "a good deed" which "transferred the battle into the US heartland". He warned "the storm of plane attacks will not abate". - On Oct. 13, one of his associates broadcast direct threats referring back to Sept. 11: "we...advise the Muslims in the United States and Britain...not to travel by plane. We also advise them not to live in high-rise buildings and towers". Bin Laden has come closest to admitting responsibility in an inflammatory video made on Oct. 20 which has been circulating among supporters of the al-Qaida network: - Referring to the attacks on U.S. buildings: "It is what we instigated for a while, in self-defence...So if avenging the killing of our people is terrorism, let history be a witness that we are terrorists." - He also issued explicit threats: "Bush and Blair...don't understand any language but the language of force. Every time they kill us, we kill them, so the balance of terror is achieved." - He pledged to continue the campaign of terror: "The battle has been moved inside America, and we shall continue until we win this battle, or die in the cause and meet our maker." - He again admitted to terrorism: "The bad terror is what America and Israel are practicing against our people...what we are practicing is the good terror that will stop them doing what they are doing." In an interview to the Pakistani paper Da'an in November 2001, he again made a number of self-incriminatory threats and statements.