Palestinian journalist jamal ismail's mobile phone rang just before prayers on Dec. 18. "Peace be upon you," said the voice on the line. "You may not recognize me, but I know you." The purpose of the mysterious call: to deliver the news that Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, was ready to talk. Within days, Ismail was on the road to Afghanistan and to bin Laden's hideout, deep in the mountain ranges controlled by the Taliban, the fundamentalist Islamic regime that now rules most of Afghanistan. Gripping a machine gun, bin Laden on Dec. 22 spoke for more than two hours with Ismail, who provided NEWSWEEK with this transcript. Bin Laden was joined in his tent by two sons but complained that his eldest son and other relatives have been prevented from coming to Afghanistan—or from sending him his share of proceeds from the family business. He prefaced his answers to every question with the same phrase: "Al hamdo lillah"—all thanks and praise to the Almighty.
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机译：巴勒斯坦新闻记者贾斯玛·伊斯梅尔（James Ismail）的手机在12月18日祈祷前响起。 “你可能不认识我，但我认识你。”神秘电话的目的是：传递新闻，美国头号通缉犯奥萨马·本·拉登（Osama bin Laden）准备好讲话。几天之内，伊斯梅尔（Ismail）前往阿富汗和本·拉登的藏身之地，在塔利班控制的山脉深处，塔利班是现今统治阿富汗大部分地区的原教旨主义伊斯兰政权。本·拉登在12月22日紧握机关枪，与伊斯梅尔（Ismail）进行了两个多小时的交谈，后者向新闻周刊提供了这份成绩单。本·拉登（Bin Laden）由两个儿子加入了帐篷，但他抱怨说，他的长子和其他亲戚被阻止来阿富汗—或将他从家族企业中获得的收益分给他。他对每个问题的回答都用相同的词组开头：“ Al hamdo lillah” —感谢全能者。
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