Thaindian News

London, Dec. 28 (ANI): A former Libyan militant, who now lives in a bustling north-west London borough, raining his three children watching his beloved Chelsea and listening to Pink Floyd, recalled how he shocked and upset Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden by saying that the jihadi movement over the last 20 to 30 years had been a total failure.

Noman Benotman, 43, was the leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) - dedicated to overthrowing that country’s dictator, Colonel Gaddafi. And like 200 other militants from across the Arab world, he had been summoned to Kandahar in Afghanistan to discuss Bin Laden’s latest strategy in his terrorist war against the West.

That event took place in the summer of 2000 and within a few minutes of arriving at a modest guest house in the city, Noman recalls that he was greeted by his host and former comrade-in-arms, al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden.

At the Kandahar meeting Bin Laden had a proposal for Noman.

He recalled: “Bin Laden said to me, ‘I need your group’s help, I need your infrastructure, at least your media knowledge and networking’.

“I told him immediately, ‘No, I can’t’. I said, ‘The last 20 or 30 years, the jihadi movement worldwide has been a total failure’.

“It was a complete shock to everybody. They didn’t expect to hear that from someone like me. They stared at me, nobody answered.

“Bin Laden was sitting next to me, smiling, but he was upset.”

Noman, 43, described Bin Laden as a very charismatic guy.

Noman said: “One of the most charismatic guys you will ever meet in your life. But, he’s very calm, cool and not scary. The meeting was extraordinary. Many people had come from all over the world to Afghanistan to listen to Bin Laden’s plans. He was keen to talk about bringing all the different militant groups under his umbrella, including LIFG.”

Noman says he spent a week in Kandahar with the who’s who of international jihadists including Bin Laden’s deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and other key al-Qaeda leaders. (Continue…)