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Osama Bin Laden: Soviet Union
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Born in 1957, the son of a weathy Saudi businessman who made his fortune in the construction industry, Osama bin Laden went to Afghanistan to join the resistance fight against the Soviet Union, which had invaded that country in 1979. Afghanistan became the Soviets' Vietnam and after a decade of failure Russian forces withdrew.
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After his father died, Bin Laden inherited what was first estimated to be a fortune of $300 million; more recent estimates put his holdings at about $25 million. His wealth and connections permitted him to pursue his interest in supporting the mujahedeen, Muslim freedom fighters fighting the Soviet Union in Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in 1979. See the History of Afghanistan.
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According to the Central Intelligence Agency, which helped arm the anti-Soviet Mujahedeen, bin Laden had between 12,000 and 20,000 supporters trained in arms, explosives and the use of U.S. Stinger missiles. When the Russians pulled out of Afghanistan in 1989, bin Laden went quiet for a while, but he and his supporters were not allowed to return to Saudi Arabia as the rulers feared having trained and battle-tested men in the kingdom.
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“Bin Laden is rarely seen, because the Taliban wants it that way,” said one Afghan source who fought with bin Laden during his days with the anti-Soviet Mujahideen. “But he’s pretty much able to do what he wants.”
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Born in Jeddah in 1955, bin Laden is the son of a construction magnate. In the 1980s he used his inherited wealth to run the "Services Office", which provided fighters and money for Afghanistan's war against Soviet occupation.
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The invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in 1979 changed bin Laden's life. Like many young Islamists, he went to Afghanistan to help fight the invaders, to take part in the jihad against the infidel Soviets.
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