(Also spelled "Usama") A native of Saudi Arabia, was born the 17th of 24 sons of Saudi Arabian builderMohammed bin Oud bin Laden, a Yemeni immigrant. Early in his career, he helped the mujahedeen fight the Soviet Union by recruiting Arabs and building facilities. He hates the U.S. and apparently this is because he views the U.S. as having desecrated holy ground in Saudi Arabia with their presence during the first Gulf War. Expelled from Saudi Arabia in 1991, and from Sudan in 1996, he operated terrorist training camps in Afghanistan. His global network al Qaeda is credited with the attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, the attack on the USS Cole in 2000, and numerous other terrorist attacks.