Now his face is implanted in our minds as a cold-blooded killer, a man who is the manifestation of absolute evil. He is a man who will stop at nothing to see America crumble. He longs to end America’s apparent influential presence in the Middle East. He is devoted to his cause, ready to sacrifice his life for his enduring struggle against America and American politics. Yet apparently his writing has been on the wall for a very long time.

"I knew it was bin Laden," Peter Bergen, a CNN terrorist analyst said, when asked his reaction to the planes plowing into the World Trade Towers. "There are a limited number of organizations that could have pulled off that kind of an attack, who have had a history of flying commercial jets – there’s only one organization and it’s bin Laden’s Al Queda network."

Bergen, who connected bin Laden to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Towers, has been tracking him for a long time. Interest in bin Laden led Bergen to write Holy War, Inc., which will be published by The Free Press this month (November). The book delves into his character, demonstrating how this wealthy and sophisticated individual manipulated the most advanced technology of the 21st century to wage a medieval Holy War against the United States. Much of Bergen’s information came from the interview he produced for CNN with bin Laden in 1997. He is one of only a very few journalists granted the opportunity to interview him, placing him in a unique position to comment on the reasons behind bin Laden’s Holy War and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th.

Surprisingly, Peter Bergen was not at all nervous about meeting Osama bin Laden or about being blindfolded and taken to his mountain retreat. "As we went into the mountains to see bin Laden, I was excited rather than being apprehensive," he said. "I had spent much time and effort setting up the interview with bin Laden and the efforts paid off." The interview took place in the middle of the night. Bergen remained patient, as bin Laden was not ready and waiting for him upon his arrival, but appeared out of the shadows after Bergen had been served some "unidentified meat to eat which was pretty good." Bergen explained that bin Laden wasn’t exactly friendly, he was more eager to address his political message. "He wasn’t really nice – I think that this wasn’t about a personal engagement – he could care less who we were. He wanted to get his message out. That’s why we were there, and that’s why he spoke with us."

Osama bin Laden’s concept of Holy War is a guise for his political ends, which are somehow "justified by his religious understandings." Bergen said, "The Koran is pretty specific on protections afforded to Christians and Jews, the very people that bin Laden has declared war against. Second," Bergen continued, "The Koran is also very specific about the protections afforded to civilians, even in times of Holy War. And, finally, bin Laden doesn’t have any religious authority to make these kinds of religious rulings. He’s not a religious scholar."