March 12, 2015
"He wanted media exposure," Atwan recalled in the interview for Bergen's 2006 book. "He wants to say, 'Now I am an international figure; I'm not just a Saudi. I am aggrieved at Americans who are occupying Saudi Arabia who are desecrating the Holy Land.' " As seen in the photographs, bin Laden always carried a Russian-made Kalashnikov rifle. His comrades addressed him as "Abu Abdullah," for father of Abdullah, his eldest son. Two younger sons, Saad and Ali, then in their early teens, sometimes were at the compound. As one photo shows, Atwan and bin Laden took a two-hour walk around Tora Bora.