Report Finds that bin Laden did not Finance 9-11

Osama bin Laden may not be the wealthy terror financier once believed. Recent investigations into al-Qaida by the Sept. 11 commission and others have altered the once commonly held view that bin Laden's inheritance and massive fortune - estimated at $300 million at one point - were used to finance his operations. A network of businesses in Sudan, his base from 1991 to 1996, is also not thought to be backing al-Qaida. ``There has been a revision of collective thinking,'' said Kenneth Katzman, a Congressional Research Service expert who has studied terror groups. ``The new thinking is that bin Laden's fortune didn't really enter into al-Qaida that much or wasn't the driving force in al-Qaida.'' The commission's report concluded that al-Qaida has many financing avenues and easily could find new sources, particularly given that the Sept. 11 attack cost just $400,000 to $500,000 over two years. While the report said the government has been unable to determine the source of the attack's financing, the commission said it appears al-Qaida's financial support does not come from bin Laden personally. [more ]