The Bin Laden I Met Each Time

I Suppose, In The End, We Journalists Try - Or Should Try - To Be The First Impartial Witnesses Of History. If We Have Any Reason For Our Existence, The Least Must Be Our Ability To Report History As It Happens So That No One Can Say: 'we Didn't Know - No One Told Us.'

How Could Believers, People Who Regard Themselves As True Muslims, Get On Those Planes, Quoting The Words Of God Delivered Through The Prophet To Themselves, Knowing They Were Going To Kill Innocent People? They Saw The Other Passengers On The Plane. They Could See The Woman With Her Little Daughter. They Saw People Making Phone Calls To Their Wives Or Their Husbands. They Knew Who They Were Killing.

People Turn To Violence, Because They Have No Other Avenue Left.

When I Arrived In Beirut From Europe, I Felt The Oppressive, Damp Heat, Saw The Unkempt Palm Trees And Smelt The Arabic Coffee, The Fruit Stalls And The Over-spiced Meat. It Was The Beginning Of The Orient. And When I Flew Back To Beirut From Iran, I Could Pick Up The British Papers, Ask For A Gin And Tonic At Any Bar, Choose A French, Italian, Or German Restaurant For Dinner. It Was The Beginning Of The West. All Things To All People, The Lebanese Rarely Questioned Their Own Identity.

In Palestine, The Israelis Claim They Found A Land Without People,' A Syrian Officer Explained To Us. 'now They Will Take Southern Lebanon And Claim They Have Found Another Land Without People If These Refugees Do Not Return.