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“You all need to stop what you’re doing and read this – it’s only two pages. Read the ‘Letter to the USA’.”
With this video on the TikTok platform, the American Lynette Adkins triggered a wave of attention:
A letter from terrorist Osama bin Laden to the American people, which first surfaced 21 years ago, is suddenly going viral online.
In it, the former leader of the Islamist al-Qaeda called for attacks on civilians and explained his reasons for fighting against the United States. Including: “You attacked us in Palestine.” It also claims that states like the USA have “capitulated” to the Jews.
Under Adkins’ video, in which she said the letter had triggered an “existential crisis,” users responded with comments like:
“My eyes have been opened.”
“I feel like everything I’ve learned about American history is a lie.”
And: “It was over 20 years ago and yet everything that was said is still relevant.”
Many users also report that this letter also changed their view of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, for which Bin Laden was partly responsible.
“I will never see life the same again, I will never see this country the same again…”
The British “Guardian” published a translation of the letter in November 2002. After the letter went viral, the editors took the text off the page. The reason: The letter is currently being distributed without the original context.
The deletion of the article caused a lot of criticism on social media.
“People on TikTok are talking about the letter, talking about it, having discussions about the problems with places like the United States. And they are afraid of people getting information, so they decided to take the letter down.”
In fact, the “Guardian” now redirects readers to an article from back then that reports on the spread by extremists and the reactions of the British and US governments.
Shortly before the letter became known, an audio recording appeared that was supposed to prove that bin Laden was still alive. Security authorities in Europe and the USA therefore feared new major attacks by Al-Qaeda.
The founder of the terrorist organization was tracked down and killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011.
The current escalation in the Middle East has also reinforced the division into two camps in the USA: While some support Israel, others support Palestine or even the terrorist organization Hamas. This also led to increased anti-Semitism at US elite universities, among others.
