Bin Laden Letter To Mullah Omar Among Declassified Documents

Among the al Qaeda documents recently declassified by the Pentagon is a letter thought to have been written by Osama bin Laden to Mullah Omar. The Associated Press reports:

Bin Laden is thought to have written one of the documents - a letter to Taliban leader Mullah Omar. It is not clear whether the letter was written before or after Omar was overthrown.

Bin Laden told Omar that if they continued attacks in the 'Islamic republics' - apparently Muslim-dominated areas of the former Soviet Union - it will 'keep the enemies busy and divert them away from the Afghan issue and ease the pressure.'

'It is a fact that the region of the Islamic republics is rich with significant scientific experience in conventional and non-conventional military industries, which will have a great role in future holy war against the enemies of Islam,' the letter said. It was not specific about the type of non-conventional armaments, but seemed to refer to biological and chemical warfare.
The letter also addressed the importance of communicating with the media, a matter on which Mullah Omar would have disagreed. The Taliban leader was known for refusing press interviews and avoiding cameras.

'It is obvious that the media war in this century is one of the strongest methods (of struggle). In fact, its ratio may reach 90 percent of the total preparation for battles,' bin Laden wrote.

(Hat tip: Counterterrorism Blog.)