EMPIRE BUILDING

Nowhere has the drive for power and domination been as wildly expressed
as among the emperors and ruling families of history. Since the
beginnings of agriculture, when humans first discovered that food, and
then wealth, could be amassed in great stockpiles, rulers have fought
fierce and bloody wars to take over each other’s empires. If the ruling
aristocracies of history can be said to have a culture and heritage of
their own, it’s most distinctive feature is unquestionably a ferocious
competition to conquer greater territories and acquire greater wealth.

Usamah Bin Mohammad Bin Laden is a child of the ruling class. The Saudi
royal family are his extended family. His father is a
five-billion-dollar construction magnate and he himself is purportedly
worth 500 million. This is a man who studied management and economics
at King Abdul Aziz University in Jedda – not theology or the history of
Islam, but the of applications of money and power.

The ruling class are groomed to lead kingdoms and to build and conquer
empires – whether they be nations, corporations, movements, or
religions. The expectation from childhood on is that you will lead on a
global scale. “World Domination” is not the fantasy of an 8-year-old
Star-Trek groupie, it is what you know your lot to be. For generations
back, your family conquered empires. Conquering empires is what you do.

Bin Laden has so far proven to be a master politician, as he should
considering his background. His videotapes have been chillingly
well-constructed to resonate with deep emotional chords in the Arab
Muslim world – he uses poetry, visual and literary metaphors that show
an understanding of sophisticated politics. Stephen Hunter writes of the
Krinkov gun leaning against the wall in the videos, “For him the gun
isn't just a weapon, it's a symbol. He's making a statement, as with the
curved ceremonial dagger that hangs from his belt when he's all duded-up
in his white finery. He is making a claim: I am of the elite. …A fellow
who favors posing with a Krinkov has delusions of grandeur, and he'll
try to take over no matter the venue.”

His villainy is not mysterious or even interesting, and he shouldn’t be
elevated into some sort of fascinating celebrity demon-hero. He is
nothing more than the latest sociopathically spoiled rich son who
aspires to be bigger and badder than his father, than even the Saudi
royal family (both of whom he has rebelled against), bigger even than
the biggest guy on the block - the United States. His goal is to lead a
global conquest, exploiting the discontent of the Muslim world to rally
a huge population around him. His obsession and determination is
frightening and his ability as a strategist should not be
underestimated – not because he is smarter or more demonic than history’
s procession of power-thirsty psychopaths before him - but because he
has been expertly schooled in the art of empire building.