Many have reacted to the recently revelations that Osama bin Laden had the audacity to explore seeking asylum in the United Kingdom in 1995. It seems hypocritical of a man who has had only negativity toward the West to seek asylum there. Yet, this was a shrewd move at the time. But, bin Laden is a pragmatist who will use any tool at his disposal or any ends to justify his means if the circumstances suit him. It has often been argued that bin Laden has followed a consistent path in his beliefs but that supposition needs to be heavily nuanced. He will do what is expedient, be it for propaganda or his own future. Bin Laden has continued to attract followers despite the 9/11 atrocities because he has managed to transform the al-Qaeda ethos to a larger jihadist movement, pitting the Muslim world against the Christian aggressor states. He cared less about the Palestinians’ troubles early on in his rhetoric, but he now has gained support by protesting all the ills against the Muslim world — historical, current, and imagined — with a broad brushstroke of blame with an admonition that al-Qaeda will not stop until these wrongs are righted. That is a tall order that he must know will never be met.

Bin Laden is also adept at using people and states for his own means, evidenced by both the Taliban regime and the Sudanese government until he overstayed his welcome. He cut his teeth and began his career fighting with the Muhajideen against the Soviets in Afghanistan , picking up hero status along the way. The fact that a wealthy Saudi Arabian wanted to fight for the commoner gave him stature and respect. At the time, any enemy of the Soviet Union was to be an expedient and temporary necessity in the fight against the Soviet Union. The West?s mistake was believing that an enemy of the Soviet Union would be a Western ally. Bin Laden quickly turned on the West after the Afghanistan campaign.