The Shadowy Visitor

BIN LADEN'S COHORT

The man who sat to bin Laden's left on the infamous videotape was not to be outdone in his fulsome praise of his host. He complimented bin Laden for the "great job" of organizing the Sept. 11 attacks. He regaled bin Laden with dreams and prophesies presaging such an act and said it most certainly had Allah's blessing. But there is no such certainty about the identity of bin Laden's mysterious guest. He was first identified by Saudi officials as Sheik al-Ghamdi, a militant Saudi cleric and former professor of Islamic theology known for making firebrand anti-Western speeches. Later, senior Saudi...

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