Bin Laden's secret files: What we found and what's been released

Hundreds of documents released

The U.S. government has begun declassifying and releasing documents that were captured during the 2011 raid of Osama bin Laden's hideout in Pakistan, and some of what has been released shows that America's number one enemy for almost a decade was obsessed with the truly bizarre.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The documents that are being released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence include letters sent from bin Laden to his operatives, critiques of current Al Qaeda operations and activities, and strategic lessons on how best to stay save in the face of overwhelming American military power.

Not only do these documents show that bin Laden was extremely devoted to fighting the U.S., but also an overly detail-oriented organizer and controlling bureaucrat.

The documents were published Wednesday under the title "Bin Laden's Bookshelf," which included personal letters and internal al Qaeda messages, analysis of operations that had been conducted, and religious tracts, among others.

One document was actually an application for joining al Qaeda which asked questions about past jobs, criminal convictions, career objectives and also some less standard questions like: "Do you want to execute a suicide operation?" or "Who should we contact in case you become a martyr?"

Also included were several English-language conspiracy theory books that bin Laden had read including: "Confessions of an Economic Hitman", "Necessary Illusions: Thought Control in Democratic Societies" and "Bloodlines of the Illuminati". There were also several books on guerrilla warfare.

While bin Laden's extensive pornography collection was also collected during the raid, it is not being released at this time. It consists of "modern, electronically recorded video and is fairly extensive."

Brian Hale, a spokesman with the Department said that the U.S. will not release the collection, nor detail what was found. "We have no plans to release it at this point in time," he said, because of "the nature of the content the decision was made not to release it."

Finally, with these documents it is clear just how adamant bin Laden was about destroying the United States. "By God, we shall not stop, God willing, except at the doorsteps of the White House, and to raise the banner of monotheism on their so-called Statue of Liberty."

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