[liberallarry]

Bin Laden comes from an enormously wealthy family of international businessmen. His family is close to the Royals, which means he's grown up to the intricacies of international high finance. That the terrorists sold short prior to the attack shows he's learned his lessons well.
There are also pictures of him in London in his teens so he has at least some first-hand knowledge of the West.
Yet Naom Chomsky quotes interviewer Robert Fisk as agreeing with the author of this article - that bin Laden doesn't know the West and has no interest in it.
While the author may be right in saying that bin Laden's ideological biases may have blinded him to reality, I find his generalities and conclusions too sweeping for comfort.

[nicollo]

Your #39: "Bin Laden comes from an enormously wealthy family... There are also pictures of him in London in his teens so he has at least some first-hand knowledge of the West"

Bib Laden suffers from new-money angst. In Saudi Arabia he was already a social outcast to whom the entrances his father's cash bought were brick walls. If he was ever in a London party he was probably handed coats and told to bring another Beefeaters as he stood around staring at the floor.

He has all of Hitler's inferiority complex.