Original subtitles

This way.

Hey, sweetie.

How are you?

Busy.

How's the new job?

I'm getting on top of it.

I'm interviewing President Clinton tomorrow.

Really?

I'll give him my regards.

I will.

What are you thinking?

Oh.

You know the three rules of journalism, sweetie?

One.

Never eat at a place called Mama's Home Cooking.

Two, never play cards with a guy called Doc.

And three, always remember that people deserve the truth.

I'll bear it in mind if I ever take up poker.

How's your mom?

She's good.

We should all get together before you head off somewhere again.

We should.

Got something?

Someone's declared war on the United States.

This is his declaration of war?

Yeah. See? He's got a gun.

Yeah, I can see that. But he appears to be declaring war from a cave, rather

than from an Air Force base with a vast array of missile -laden bombers.

Yes.

But that doesn't mean we shouldn't take him seriously.

Peter.

He's declared war on the U .S.

Who is he?

Off the record?

Of course.

It's from one of the richest families in Saudi Arabia.

Osama bin Laden.

What's he doing in a cave?

Back in 86, he had gone to Afghanistan to fight the Russians.

He led a small force defending a mountain village against the Soviet

He held out for a month.

Finally, the Red Army gave up.

It was seen as a sign that the Russians could be beaten.

Made his reputation.

A reputation known here?

Yes, we befriended him.

Armed him?

Yes.

Subsequently, he seems to have turned on us.

Can't trust anyone.

He got active in Saudi Arabia.

Active? How so? He moved back there, decried the American presence.

He got kicked out, moved on to Sudan, got kicked out of there.

Now he's made this declaration of war.

But does it mean anything? I mean, really.

Someone sits in a cave in Afghanistan and videos themselves declaring war on

United States.

Not me. I went to the office of the Attorney General, and I asked, was it a

crime for someone sitting in a cave in Afghanistan to declare war on the United

States? Is that a crime?

Well, they didn't know.

Ha! That's what I love about the States. You can declare war on it, and you may

well be within your rights.

Finally, they got back to me and said that there was a conspiracy statute from

the Civil War.

Seriously? It forbade instigating violence or attempting to overthrow the

States government.

Could be applied.

Possibly.

So, you are taking him seriously?

We take every threat seriously.

Sure, but how much of a threat would you say he is?

Do you mean is he a five -minute time slot threat or a full commercial hour?

So, is that it?

Is that all you got on him?

Recently, a Sudanese turned up in Germany.

seeking relocation to America in exchange for some information.

I was intrigued, so I went over.

After a while, he started talking about this organization called Al -Qaeda with

training camps and sleeper cells.

Said that they were responsible for the hotel bombing in Yemen and that they

trained the insurgents that shot down our Blackhawks in Somalia.

Well -trained, well -resourced, battle -hardened.

Dedicated to destroying America.

100 men.

but connected to a larger radical movement.

And all under the control of... Osama bin Laden.

We take him very seriously.

We've had him expelled from Saudi Arabia and Sudan.

Afghanistan's his final bulldog. Whereabouts in Afghanistan?

Actually, Peter, that's what we'd like to know.

The CIA don't know where he is either.

When the prophet was expelled from Mecca,

Where did he go?

Medina. But whereabouts in Medina?

A cave.

A cave.

And in this cave, the angel Gabriel appeared to him.

Gabriel announced, you are the messenger of God.

to go find this bin Laden and talk to him?

Someone.

A young reporter, perhaps?

Youngish.

Dad, how old are you now?

What sort of question is that to ask a man of my age? It's a question you ask

someone when you think they should start slowing down a bit.

You've already won all the glittering prizes.

Take it easy.

Let the world go about its business while you go fishing.

How can I go fishing when things keep happening?

And you've got to follow them? Yes.

This is my life.

Elsa, we're almost at the end of the century.

Somewhere out there is something that's going to define the next.

I'm the one who's going to find it.

I read London.

If you want to know what's going on with the jihadists, you start in

Londonistan.

And guess what I found out?

We're not alone.

CBS and the BBC are on the trail.

They've been putting out feelers.

Well, that's great.

How is that great?

Well, because, clearly, this is the story.

Well, what are we waiting for? Budget approval.

Thanks,

sweetie.

So, have you found your man yet?

Working on it.

CBS and the BBC are after him, too.

He won't go with the BBC.

Why would he go with the BBC?

He's declared his holy war on the United States, not Britain.

It's CBS or us.

And you know where he is?

No, but someone does.

Couldn't find out much about him, other than his war with the Russians in

Afghanistan.

What exactly does he want?

At the end of the day, he wants an Islamic state.

A caliphate.

That appears to be it, yes.

Is he serious?

But how and where did he plan to do that in this day and age?

Someone's got to ask him.

Are you sure this is a good idea?

These people are dangerous.

I'm talking to your contacts in dark places.

But it doesn't have to be you.

Yes, it does.

Daniel Loda is from New Zealand.

Priscilla, the queen of the desert, is from Australia.

They're two separate places.

I'm from New Zealand.

You do not get there by driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Peter.

Guess where I am.

We've got a budget.

CPS News.

Yeah. Come on.

Why now, do you reckon?

Bin Laden's decided the time is ripe to follow up his various statements to the

Middle East.

He's calling on the Middle East to rise up.

And he wants to explain why to the Western media.

There's an outfit here in London called the Advice and Reformation Committee.

A media information office set up to push Bin Laden and do a bit of

Group them for what?

Bin Laden's private army?

Looks like.

Hey, you're a long way from the Tower of London.

Good luck with whatever you're pursuing. Hey, buddy.

Although you might be a little late.

Asshole. Come on.

Mr. Berger.

Khalid. You just missed one of your colleagues.

Yes, he didn't miss us.

Such competition in the Western media.

Which I'm sure you'll agree is no bad thing for you.

Khalid, this is Peter Arnett, of whom you will have heard. Of course.

This is Peter Arnett, live from Baghdad.

While other Western journalists were a part of Desert Shield, Peter Arnett

remained in Baghdad and reported from there while it was being bombed. Well,

that's where the story was.

An honour, Mr Arnett.

Peter, this is Khalid Abdurrahman Al -Fawad.

Salam Malikoum.

Alhamdulillah.

Oh. This is the office of the Advice and Reformation Committee.

An active committee.

And this is my colleague, Adel Abdel Pari.

Bonjour.

Bonjour. Bonjour.

This is Mr. Arnett. Please.

We have received three applications to interview Sheikh Osama.

CBS News, BBC News, and yourselves.

All three applications are being examined.

Sheikh Osama himself listens to the BBC.

The BBC News has great prestige and integrity.

CBS offers a mass American audience.

What do you offer?

The most famous journalist in the world.

1966 Pulitzer Prize winner for his coverage of the Vietnam War. The only

reporter to cover the Gulf War from the inside.

What do we offer?

We offer Peter Arnett.

This is the BBC World Service. Here is the news.

Taliban forces have consolidated their grip on Kabul after storming the

presidential palace 24 hours ago.

Ousted President Mohamedine Rabbani, his prime minister, and his military chief

are being hunted by the radical Islamic group who branded them national

criminals.

The former president, Mohamed Najibullah, and his brother.

have already been executed by the militants.

Opposition leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and his Taliban fighters have been

repulsed from Kabul twice before, but this time appeared to have secured the

city.

Hundreds of fighters and civilians have been killed in the conflict, and many

more have fled to areas still held by government forces.

Hello? Hello?

Next time you answer it.

They'll go for you.

I'll go with the BBC.

They want American television.

The BBC has class. But it hasn't got guts.

You've got guts. They'll go for you.

We understand.

Well... Excuse me.

Could you bring us a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and two of your best

crystal glasses, please?

Yes!

Yes, yes, yes!

We do not want them following you.

You are to say, if anyone inquires that you are going to Kuwait, that is what

you say.

If you think you are being followed, you are to abandon your trip and contact

me. If you continue your trip knowing that you are being followed, your lives

will be at risk.

You must take me seriously on this.

Once more into the breach.

Yes. Peter.

Hi. Peter, you know Peter Annette?

Peter, three pizzas.

Must be lucky.

So, where are we going?

Officially, it's Kuwait. We're going to Afghanistan.

Uh -huh.

Know it well.

Then you'll know it's not going to be simple.

Heads up.

Hey, you're up on assignment.

Kuwait.

It's not in Kuwait.

Even I know that.

Khalid, gentlemen.

You will find that Sheikh Osama is a very humble patriot.

He is a hero of the war in Afghanistan.

He escaped death from the Russians.

Allah, praise be his name, was watching over him.

He seems to have it in for a lot of people.

He is opposed to the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia.

This is the birthplace of the Prophet.

The House of Saud who allows foreign troops there for their own purposes.

He considers them not true Muslims.

The House of Saud, they are apostates.

Last I heard, he was calling for the death of all U .S. citizens.

That's 320 million people. These are views I neither condemn nor condone. You

won't take the odd million. I merely work for the Air Force. You go ahead.

catch up.

Dad? It's Dad.

Hey, sweetie.

I'm still in London.

Back in New York soon.

Shouldn't be long.

Just have to make a side trip.

Where to?

I'm going to Kuwait.

Kuwait? Yes.

When will you be back?

Oh, very soon.

Very, very soon.

I'll ring when I've made a booking back to New York.

I'll try.

What are you doing?

I'm having lunch.

You still there?

Sure. I was just thinking of Central Park.

Lunch with you.

Where are you having lunch?

Windows on the World. In the World Trade Center.

Clearly you're not by yourself.

No. Oh, I've just remembered. It's your mom's birthday tomorrow.

Actually, it's today.

Are you sure?

Hold on, I'll ask.

It is your birthday today, isn't it? Yes, it is.

She says it is.

You want to speak to her?

No, no, it's... Passed on my birthday greetings.

Dad wants birthday greetings passed on to you.

She wants to know how you are.

I'm fine. I'm fine.

Mom says slow down.

I will.

She said that people can't keep up with you.

I know.

I know. She says they drop off the pace.

People are looking after me. Then let them do it.

Dad, slow down.

Well, lots of love.

And your mom.

See you when I see ya.

Keep safe in Kuwait.

I will.

You will go to Islamabad.

And you will wait there until you hear from us.

I'll interview any subject I feel is newsworthy, provided I get to ask the

questions that have to be asked.

What about Hitler?

Adolf Hitler?

Of course.

If someone wanted it.

If no one wanted to pay for it, I wouldn't. Ah, so they'd just have to pay

would they? Well, if they wanted it, of course.

And the first question I'd ask Hitler is, why are you murdering all the Jews

Europe? Now, you might say, he wouldn't allow such a question. Mm -hmm.

Pass me that ball.

Come on, come on.

As -salamu alaykum.

What do you want me to do?

Talk to me.

I can't do it.

The Southland Times.

Taught me two things.

Taught me accuracy.

And taught me how to write.

I loved it.

Trouble was, I had itchy feet.

So, I worked in Bangkok.

Got a job as an editor when the last drunk walked out.

Then Laos.

Thrown out of Jakarta.

Drifted on.

Vietnam.

A U .S. major said to me today, it became necessary to destroy the town in

to save it.

Johnson and McNamara, Nixon and Kissinger, they knew the war was

They betrayed the young kids they sent to Vietnam.

The war ended because America finally lost faith in itself.

I met my wife there.

What about Baghdad? You were there in 91.

The Gulf War. Yeah.

The first war broadcast live on TV.

The bombing is intensifying now.

The explosions are coming closer to this part of the town.

34 members of Congress signed a petition accusing me of unpatriotic journalism.

Direct. With history.

Peter Bergen?

Quoi?

It's off.

What? Why?

Wasn't told.

It's not off!

It's off if we say it's off, but right now it's not off.

Who is it? Peter.

It's been an attempt on Bin Laden's life.

His security have built a wall around him.

We have to wait.

How long?

Don't know.

I bumped into that friend of yours.

What friend? Your CIA contact.

O 'Rourke, if that's his name.

O 'Rourke's in Islamabad?

Yeah.

Well, where did you see him? Hotel Foyer.

There's only one reason why he'd be here.

The same reason we're here.

Yeah.

Come on.

Ali!

What's going on?

The CIA is here?

No.

It's not possible.

They offer a million dollars in gold for all information on the localization of

Shah Hassan.

And two million dollars for anyone who can take it and bring it to Pakistan.

Are you going to tell someone why you're here?

No, we're making a story about refugees.

Meanwhile, behind Taliban lines, the average Afghani villager carries on his

-to -day life in a manner little changed over the centuries.

Peter?

Surprise.

So?

Why are you here, Peter?

It's a story we're working on.

Uh -huh.

Refugees pouring across from Afghanistan.

You're not thinking of going over the border?

No one can get over the border.

You been trying?

No way.

It's not in the picture.

Well, you know why I'm here, then.

I can take a pretty good guess.

Peter, where are you?

I'm outside, out the back on the terrace.

Peter, if you're on to his whereabouts, if you have a lead, you have to share

it. It's refugees, Pat.

Plain and simple.

We all have kids back home.

Kids, wives, moms, dads.

I've got this job defending them.

And I need all the help I can get.

Because the bombings, they're not going to stop here.

Peter. Pat O 'Rourke, Peter Bergen. Yes, I think we crossed paths earlier.

Yeah.

I was telling Pat about the refugee program we're putting together.

Yes, why we're here.

Well, I'll leave you to it.

Peter. Pat.

Mr. Bergen.

Don't forget what I said.

What's he been saying?

He wants us to share any info we've got.

We don't have any info.

That's right. That's what we're doing as a program on refugees.

Exactly.

It's on again.

I look happy.

Yeah.

Three guards outside the building died in the blast and nine American

contractors were wounded.

The explosives were hidden inside a vehicle delivering supplies to the

consulate, detonated during the busy morning rush hour.

The attack occurred in one of the most secure areas of the city, surrounded by

government offices guarded by three -meter blast walls and security forces.

Other Western embassies, including the British and German consulates, are

located there.

You've reached Alpha.

Sorry I can't take your call right now. Leave me a message and I'll call you

right back.

Hi, sweetie.

It's your dad.

Just ringing in to say I'm safe and well

in Kuwait.

Hope the same with you.

We'll be home soon.

Lots of love, sweetie.

Hey, Peter.

Everything okay?

Oh, just...

Checking to see if there are any calls from my daughter.

She worries about me.

Okay.

When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains, and the women come

cut up what remains, just roll to your rifle and blow out your brain.

And go to your goal like a soldier. Ah, yes, Kipling.

Same play, another time.

Good advice.

Remember it.

Get a message from your daughter no signal up here, but I've told her all's

We're in Kuwait Not

easy is it sometimes

what's that?

Did you know Abel's buried around here?

Abel?

Abel who?

Abel Tasman?

Who the fuck's Abel Tasman?

Abel. The son of Adam and Eve?

Abel from the Bible.

Abel. Cain flew Abel and dragged his body up here somewhere.

From Mesopotamia?

Well, I don't know, but he dragged his body up here and he buried it. Where

it say that?

What do you mean, where does it say that? Where in the Bible does it say

buried Abel in the Khyber Pass?

Well, I don't know. Well, where does it say it anyway, then? Is there a signpost

up ahead saying, Tomb of Adam and Eve's boy Abel, two kilometers? Look, I read

it on some side. All right?

That could be it.

We'll see.

Drive on, drive on.

I wasn't going to...

How far is the border?

I'd say about 20 miles up ahead.

That's good.

You speak English?

Yeah.

You know you cannot enter Afghanistan without an entry visa?

Yeah. And foreigners are not issued entry visas?

Yeah.

We will be back here within half an hour.

Probably. Possibly alive.

Then again... You're a fun guy.

What are we doing?

Stealing our nerve.

Well, when you reach the Rubicon, you don't go fishing.

I read it somewhere.

Everyone ready?

We insured. Against what?

Death.

Peter's right.

Rubicon reached.

No time for a fishing.

Well, it would have been a comfort to have had entry visa.

Foreigners can't get entry visa.

Yes, we know that, Peter.

Assalamu alaikum.

What's going on?

Check it out.

Videotape in the tree.

I have to be careful with that camera, Pete.

Americans.

New Zealander. Brought up in England.

English. God save the Queen.

Okay. Go.

Drive on in.

You know what Harold Macmillan said?

British Prime Minister, 1950s, 1960s.

He was asked what he'd learned from a lifetime in politics.

A lifetime.

He had a long thing to say.

Never invade Afghanistan.

Better pull over.

Get out or wait.

Stay seated.

Salaam alaikum.

Salaam.

American?

English. Raised in England.

New Zealander.

English. Mile and Road.

Passports American raised in England England

Born in New Zealand Kiwi

We're here to talk to Osama bin Laden Osama bin

Laden

Hello. Hello.

Hello.

Hello. Go!

Go!

Been here before me too different times different bloody times indeed

You're his media advisor?

Correct. He has a media advisor?

Yes. We have ruined an ancient culture.

Well, Mr. Media Advisor, I thought I was to do an interview.

That is correct.

Well, this is not an interview.

This is our interview.

I give you a set of questions.

You go away, come back, and tell me which ones I can ask and which I can't,

then Mr. Bin Laden answers them.

Yes. Well, no, that's not an interview. I don't want to repeat myself.

If we give you prepared questions, all we're going to get are prepared answers.

Yes. Correct.

We're simply here to ask the questions, record the answers, take them back to

the network.

I want to find out what makes him tick. CNN don't want him ticking. They want

him answering questions.

You've got to see this.

What is it?

I'm not sure.

It looks like graves.

Yeah, I think it's a cemetery.

A graveyard. Great.

How many have you got?

I've written down 30.

Okay. His attitude to the Saudi royal family.

What kind of society is he after?

How does the West fit in?

It's jihad against the U .S. in Arabia.

Where's that heading?

He's targeting U .S. troops.

What about U .S. civilians?

They're the questions.

Well, you know what everyone really cares about?

What?

How much is their gas going to cost?

You will not ask any questions about Mr. Bin Laden's family.

Why is that?

He is very protective of his family.

Can we do follow -ups?

Clarification? There will be no need for any clarifications.

Which one of you is the cameraman?

Uh, me.

Let me see your equipment.

Sure.

You can't bring this.

What? You can't bring this.

But this is my gear.

We've come here to film an interview.

You can't use this.

This is my camera and my life.

We don't know what it is. I just told you.

You can't bring this.

We've come here to film an interview with Mr. Bin Laden. This is what we're

going to use to film that interview.

No.

You've got to look at it from their point of view, Peter.

What you claim is a beta cam could well be an AK -47.

And this lighting rig could be a rocket launcher. I've lugged this gear halfway

around the world.

Finally, you're free of it.

Does it work?

Look, it's going to have to do. What about lights?

There is electric light available. We have a generator. If we're filming

of a mountain cave, I'm going to need a bit of light.

Sheik Osama does not live in a cave.

Okay, what about a tripod?

Do you have a tripod?

Okay.

Well, it'll have to do. Exactly.

We will be in touch.

They're off.

Mobile phones.

Give them to me.

You'll get them back when this is over. Give them to me.

Leave.

You know, I left mine inside.

What? What's going on? What?

Give me the bag.

Give me the bag.

I said no cameras. I need a proper camera.

I

needed

a proper camera.

We covered with kidnap insurance?

We're not being kidnapped.

We're doing an interview.

Yeah. With a bloody handicap.

Come on.

Put these on.

Do I look better in these?

What is going on? Don't worry.

They've made so much effort already.

Not them I'm worried about.

We've been tracked from some U .S. satellite.

We'll be right beneath the missile.

This is Peter Arnett, live from Kaboom!

Back in.

I'm going to need more light than these kerosene lamps.

Assalamualaikum. Waalaikumussalam.

You are Mr.

Peter Arnett?

Yes.

You speak English, Mr. Bin Laden?

Of course.

Thank you for agreeing to the interview.

Can I get some light now?

Let me get, I want to get some tea.

I am very pleased to meet you, Mr. Arnett.

You are famous.

I'm on TV.

That's what fame amounts to.

I watched your report from Baghdad.

The Al -Rashid Hotel.

This is Mr. Arnett.

Life from Baghdad.

There were others there, but we were the only ones with a phone line out.

Pretty soon, we were the only ones left.

You could have been killed by the invading Americans.

I could have.

But you weren't.

Allah be praised.

Allah be praised.

You are not American.

I'm a naturalized American.

You are from New Zealand?

Originally, yes.

I have been reading about New Zealand.

If you go there and keep on going, you start coming back.

I have been reading about its dairy industry.

Its dairy industry?

I have milked cows when I was a boy.

I was a city boy.

I have a dairy farm in Saudi Arabia.

I have my own watches.

Dates.

Palms. Thank you.

Junipers.

Orange trees.

Lemon trees.

Limes.

But I am happy here.

I like the mountains.

I like this life.

This life.

is superior to the city.

It makes you strong.

The New Zealand people are close to the country, yes?

Like I said, I was raised in the city.

City life is decadent.

Nations that are close to the country ways, like New Zealand, they are strong.

They have a greater will to fight for their land.

It's a long time since I've been to New Zealand.

Our homeland stays inside us.

It follows us around.

I am from Saudi Arabia.

It follows me.

It tries to kill me.

We heard there'd been an attempt on your life.

It was not a very good attempt.

It was a relief to hear you'd been spared.

Otherwise, you would have had no program.

Ah, thank you.

You

live

in America?

New York. It's a great city.

You live in America, yet it's government that sued you.

It's government also honored me.

That's America.

You have children?

Yes. A son.

Daughter. Families are important.

Yes, I know.

How many wives do you have? We agreed there to be no questions about Sheikh

Osama's family.

I have four.

I have none.

I had one, but we parted.

I regret that.

I keep my wife close to me.

I try to be fair and just.

And divide up my time so each gets an equal share.

Give each wife what is enough for her.

That is how I live.

Perhaps you did not give your wife what was enough for her.

This is my son.

Good to meet you.

Salaam alaikum.

I told my son we must take advantage

of television to spread our message.

I have children who wonder why I do the things I do.

When they grow older, they understand.

My son here understands.

He understands why I was put on earth by God.

I ask

Omar why I was put on earth.

He replies to fight the jihad and find justice for Muslims.

How far would you pursue this?

As far as necessary.

You would die for it?

Of course.

I expect to die someday at the hands of the Americans.

Would you...

Let your son die for this cause. This is not a question. Would you, for example,

let your son wear a suicide vest? This is not a question. You say that all

American citizens are legitimate targets for your war. We agreed on the

question. My kids could be targets. These are not questions for Sheikh

Would you allow your son to be the cause of such death and in the process have

his life taken from him? There is no more interview.

Finished. We haven't started.

I ask Amr if he would give his life for Allah.

He replied, as I would expect him to.

Of course.

Right.

I just need to mic you up.

There is no more interview.

Okay, and Peter, you would send him out as a suicide bomber?

If it was God's purpose.

How would you know if it was God's purpose?

God would tell me.

God spoke to Abraham and asked him to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice.

Okay, not my favorite part of the Bible.

What kind of God would ask such a thing?

A God who wanted to know the strength of his followers.

So if you thought God wanted you to sacrifice your own child, you would?

You Christians tell us your God sacrificed his son. My children are

me. Mr. Arnett, my children are precious to me.

All Muslim children are precious.

And they are scorned.

They are mocked.

Your answer is to send them to die?

Death has no fear for us.

Death is the gateway to paradise.

Mr. Arnett, we defeated the Russians.

This was a great victory for Islam.

This was the first victory in hundreds of years.

We were once the world's greatest culture.

It's more civilized people.

Then we became a defeated people.

A little people.

But now who is defeated?

The Russians defeated so badly their whole empire collapsed.

We have regained our dignity.

We are ready for the next enemy.

America. All Muslims await another Salah al -Din who will come and liberate our

land from infidels like the Russians and Christians and Jews.

And this is you?

No. There was only one Salah ad -Din.

But there remains that hope and belief.

My mission is to ignite that.

Saladin was buried in a great tomb in Damascus.

When Mr. Bin Laden dies, he will too be buried in a great tomb.

No.

My tomb will be the caliphate stretching about the globe, stretching from the

desert to the South Sea.

Say a few words for me, Pete.

This is Peter Arnett.

Yeah, and a few more?

Talking with Osama bin Laden somewhere in Afghanistan.

What did you expect to find, Mr. Arnett, in America when you went there from

your homeland?

I expected to find nothing but America.

But when you go to America, you find yourself as well.

How can you find yourself in America?

It's a whole new world, which...

Forces you to question everything you believe in. What you must look for, what

you must find, is God.

You find God in the desert.

Not America.

You find freedom.

Freedom from servitude.

And do you want to impose this freedom?

God stands with the annihilation of those powers that prevent mankind

discovering him. Annihilation by suicide bomber?

If preaching alone can do it.

You see, I find America tremendous.

The promise of it, the spirit of it.

I chose to become an American.

I was born somewhere else. I was born at the end of the world, but like millions

and millions of others, I came to America.

I melted into the melting pot.

Look what America's given us.

How can you knock it? It is an invader nation.

It turns up where it is not wanted. To murder, loot, and humiliate.

Muslim problems are for Muslims to solve.

The Americans use such problems to invade.

They established their army in Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of the prophet.

They say they are defending Saudi Arabia.

Infidel women in uniform defending Saudi men.

Can you not see how this is seen?

Surely you should take this up with the Sauds. The house of sword are puppets.

The enemy of Islam is the puppet master.

Are you so American?

My position is this.

Its citizens are innocent of crime. Do you know what has happened in Palestine?

Yes. Our people have been robbed of their holy lands by Israel, whose

are paid by America.

Paid for by American taxes handed over by American citizens.

How can I knock America?

I can knock America very easily, my friend.

My New Zealand friend.

My American friend.

Sir Peter Arnett.

I'm from Baghdad.

Right. Seems okay.

Ready whenever you are, Pete.

Yeah.

Oh, you're going there? Yeah.

I am ready, Mr. Arnett.

But you know the rules.

You ask the questions on your sheet of paper.

You ask only those questions.

The questions I have approved of.

You ask those questions or you go away empty -handed.

You have come this far, Mr. Ahmed.

Mr. Peter Ahmed.

You ask only those questions.

Mr. Bin Laden, if Arabia becomes an Islamic state,

what happens to the price of oil?

CNN has obtained an exclusive interview with Osama Bin Laden, the Saudi Arabian

Muslim leader. Last year, the militant Muslim leader declared a jihad, a holy

war, on the United States and is currently a fugitive in Afghanistan.

Tell us something about your life before you joined the struggle against the

Russians. Did you work for your father's construction firm as an engineer?

Reporter Peter Arnett obtained the interview after going through

unorthodox channels and being taken to a secret location in Afghanistan.

We met in a hut in the Tora Bora mountain.

We discussed oil prices, the holy war bin Laden has declared on America, his

experience of the war against the Russians in Afghanistan.

He had very piercing eyes.

He had a presence, a quiet ruthlessness.

He was consciously speaking to the world through me.

I suppose we get back to...

Does he have the ability to wage war?

Can he command a big enough army?

Local operations, yes, but further afield?

Can he touch a Muslim nerve?

Who knows?

We were used, Pete.

Fair game.

But what did we miss?

You will see and hear about them in the media, God willing.

Yeah, really.

Dad!

Hey, great to see you, sweetie.

Thanks for coming out.

Hey, Pete.

Hi, Alistair.

Yeah, talk soon.

Oh, thanks.

How was Kuwait?

Actually... Yes?

I've been in Afghanistan.

You were going to Kuwait.

We took a side trip.

Of course you did.

We found Bin Laden.

What?

You found him?

I don't think I found anything he didn't want me to know.

We have some breaking news right now, and we're going to come back with that

a moment when we're joined by the rest of the network.

These are pictures from the foot of New York City at the World Trade Center.

There's a major fire there.

We don't yet know the details, but there's been some kind of explosion in

upper levels of a building.

There are unconfirmed reports that a large flame has hit the World Trade

and you can see on screen that there is smoke coming out of both sides of the

North Tower.

Elsa? Elsa?

Are you alright?

He spoke to Mom.

How is he?

In shock, like the rest of us.

Andrew, too.

Could you have had any idea that he was coming?

Not a chance.

Unimaginable.

Hindsight makes a fool of you.

I asked him what his future plans were.

You will see and read about them in the media.

God willing.

The simplicity of it.

And now he's waiting for us to respond.

He was using us to send a message.

And we didn't let him.

Thank you, Mr. Bin Laden.

Okay, we're done here.

We can relax.

Relax.

Can we get a couple of still pictures now?

Some photographs?

Come on, guys.

Okay.

Are we ready?

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