On May 2, 2011, shortly after midnight, a United States special forces military unit penetrated the secret residence of Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Following an intense firefight, the unit achieved its objective of killing the previously elusive bin Laden. Less than twenty-four hours later, the body of one of the most wanted figures in modern history was buried at sea.

As he presumably imagined it, bin Laden achieved his objective of martyrdom. In the eyes of many of his countrymen and coreligionists, however, this was the inglorious final chapter of a disturbing life story. The purpose of the present chapter is to examine relevant aspects of this life story, paying special attention to bin Laden's statements regarding his most infamous scheme.

OSAMA

Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden was born in Riyadh on March 10, 1957. His father Muhammad was a Yemeni laborer who had spent most of his life in Saudi Arabia and, despite his humble origins, established both a successful construction company and close ties with the Saudi royal family. When his plane tragically crashed in 1967, he left behind a fortune worth billions of dollars. Having married and divorced dozens of women, he fathered well over fifty children. Osama's mother was a Syrian woman named Hamida Ibrahim (also known as Alia Ghanem), and her association with Muhammad was short lived, Osama being their only shared child. She subsequently married another Yemeni and gave birth to four other children.