# Did You Know About Osama Bin Laden Before 9-11 **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 22, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559 "2011-03-22T03:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/1 "2011-03-22T03:04:24Z")
Inspired by “Did You Know About WTC Before 9-11” Did you know about Osama Bin Laden before the September 11th terrorist attacks? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/2 "2011-03-22T03:17:40Z")
Yes, thanks to [Bob the Angry Flower](http://www.angryflower.com/osamab.gif) in 1998. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/3 "2011-03-22T03:31:18Z")
In the lead up to Y2k, I remember one particular tv station seemed to be playing a lot of doom-gloom-disaster shows with a theme of “The end is nigh”, and Bin Laden was mentioned on one of those as a psychotic, mega-rich, well-armed, Muslim cult-leader slash madman with an intense hatred of the US, a history of previous attacks on the US (WTC 1993), and military-trained followers inflamed with religious fervor on his side. My thoughts did go to him in the hours following the attacks. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/4 "2011-03-22T03:35:05Z")
[Yes.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cole_bombing) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/5 "2011-03-22T03:40:22Z")
I was very much aware of him and had been ever since WTC 1993. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/6 "2011-03-22T03:54:52Z")
I had to think about this when I saw the thread title. I wanted to say yes, but I wasn’t sure where from. But _Implicit_ reminds me of the USS Cole bombing, of which I was well-aware at the time, and I remember them talking about bin Laden and al-Qaeda on CNN. I think that might have been the first time I heard of al-Qaeda. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/7 "2011-03-22T03:57:39Z")
Yes, thanks to Family Guy. _God I hope I get it. I hope I get it! How many people does he need? How many boys, how many girls?_ Especially ironic in the fact that Seth MacFarland was booked for the flight that hit the first tower, but missed the plane. The guy who created Frasier was early enough to board though! ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/8 "2011-03-22T04:03:58Z")
No, but I am not a US citizen. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/9 "2011-03-22T04:27:47Z")
Yes. The '98 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, in particular, I remember. From what I recall at the time, Bin Laden was fairly well known at least to people who follow the news. It’s hard to go back in time relying on my memory alone, but I would have said he was known well enough by the general populace at the time. I mean, heck, as mentioned above, he was depicted in a _Family Guy_ episode in 2000. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/10 "2011-03-22T05:10:28Z")
He was well enough known to have been mentioned by name on _The West Wing_ before the 9/11 attacks. ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/11 "2011-03-22T07:25:24Z")
I clearly remember when the African Embassy bombings were in the news. Also, I remember an interview with him in Time magazine. I was definitely aware of who he was, even though I had only just turned 14 by 9/11. He was not infamous to the extent he became, obviously, but I think most people had heard of him. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/12 "2011-03-22T07:55:31Z")
Reader’s digest had a picture of him on the cover, with a caption that I believe was “This man wants you dead.” This was at least a year before 9/11, and might have predated the Family Guy episode. I believe I read it in high school, and I graduated in 99. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/13 "2011-03-22T08:36:56Z")
Sure. He was that terrorist the Americans were interested in. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/14 "2011-03-22T09:41:02Z")
The SDMB had a discussion or two about him, pre-9/11. ---
**Author:** ![PlanetCharlie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c37758/32.png) [@PlanetCharlie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlanetCharlie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/15 "2011-03-22T09:54:57Z")
Yes. I was a sophomore in high school. Not only did I know who he was, I had a picture of him that I clipped out of the newspaper from an FBIs Most Wanted list (I knew about the embassy bombings and the USS Cole and things like that.). I dunno why, I guess just in case I ran into him and needed to make a positive ID? Needless to say, when the planes hit (we watched it on tv in class), everyone thought it was so weird that I had that picture (already) with me. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/16 "2011-03-22T10:54:40Z")
No, but my excuses are that I was a. 11 years old in 2001 and b. Australian. I didn’t know what the World Trade Center was before 9/11 either, even though I must have seen it many times on TV and in films. ---
**Author:** ![willthekittensurvive](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@willthekittensurvive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/willthekittensurvive)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/17 "2011-03-22T11:10:50Z")
I’m from Holland and I knew who he was from the Embassy bombings, and Clintons tommahawk strikes on his training camps. But on 9-11 he didnt spring to mind to be honest, I was sure it was either Hamas or some right wing fraction from the US ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/18 "2011-03-22T11:24:58Z")
Yes, because of the first WTC attack. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/19 "2011-03-22T11:45:06Z")
No. When they started talking about him in 2001, I thought it was that blind mullah guy. ---
**Author:** ![Chessic\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7c8e57/32.png) [@Chessic\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chessic_Sense)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2011, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559/20 "2011-03-22T13:12:31Z")
No. I was 15 on 9/11, though, and barely 7 when the first WTC attack happened. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-about-osama-bin-laden-before-9-11/575559.md?page=2)