‘Laden saw Arab Spring opening door for jihadists’

Dubai, Nov. 3: A journal made public by the CIA and apparently handwritten by one of Osama bin Laden’s daughters offers a glimpse into how the Al Qaida leader viewed the world around him and reveals his deep interest in the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions unfolding in the months before he was killed in a US raid.

He talks about Libya becoming a pathway for jihadis to Europe; of his visit as a youth to William Shakespeare’s home in Britain; of how quickly turmoil had gripped the Middle East.

The 228-page journal meanders among discussions, thoughts and reflections Bin Laden shared with his family about how to exploit the uprisings, what to make of the rapid changes unfolding in the Arab world and when Al Qaeda should speak out.

“This chaos and the absence of leadership in the revolutions is the best environment to spread Al Qaeda’s thoughts and ideas,” Bin Laden is quoted as telling his family in the document.

Bin Laden’s wife, referred to as Um Hamza, assures him that a tape he released seven years earlier calling out the rulers of the region as unfit could be one of the major forces behind the Arab Spring protests roiling the region.

The Associated Press examined a copy of the journal uploaded by the Long War Journal to its website. The CIA released it on Wednesday.

Bin Laden appears concerned by the speed of some of the region’s revolts, believing that a gradual approach would help avoid the backlash of a counter-revolution as regime figures sought to hold onto power at all cost.

“I am upset by the timing of the revolutions. We told them to slow down,” bin Laden is quoted as saying, though it’s not entirely clear which countries he is referring to.

On Libya, bin Laden says he believes the uprising “has opened the door for jihadists.”