--- title: Osama Bin Laden's Will and Other Al Qaeda Papers Show description: The U.S. intelligence community released today 113 documents captured during the May 2, 2011 raid on Osama Bin Laden’s hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The documents... canonical: https://time.com/4243275/osama-bin-laden-will-al-qaeda-papers-documents-public-records/ author: Massimo Calabresi article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-01T17:59:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:30:44.409Z article:section: Politics og:title: What Bin Laden's Will and Other Al Qaeda Papers Show og:description: Who he gave his stuff to. og:url: https://time.com/4243275/osama-bin-laden-will-al-qaeda-papers-documents-public-records/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d987c63a1841676/69887fc68e06012ba3464d9d/bin-laden-raid.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Bin Laden's Will and Other Al Qaeda Papers Show twitter:description: Who he gave his stuff to. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9d987c63a1841676/69887fc68e06012ba3464d9d/bin-laden-raid.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What Bin Laden's Will and Other al-Qaeda Papers Show > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Massimo Calabresi](https://time.com/author/massimo-calabresi/)  ## Massimo Calabresi Calabresi is TIME’s Washington bureau chief. Mar 1, 2016 5:59 PM UTC  President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House May 1, 2011 in Washington, DC. The White House—Getty Images  by [Massimo Calabresi](https://time.com/author/massimo-calabresi/)  ## Massimo Calabresi Calabresi is TIME’s Washington bureau chief. Mar 1, 2016 5:59 PM UTC The U.S. intelligence community [released](http://www.dni.gov/index.php/carousel-items/1330-newly-declassified-documents-for-bin-laden-s-bookshelf) today 113 documents captured during the May 2, 2011 raid on Osama Bin Laden’s hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The documents provide a window into the operations of al Qaeda during Bin Laden’s last days, his [personal life](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/Letter%20to%20my%20dear%20father.pdf) (including his [will](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/In%20regard%20to%20the%20money%20that%20is%20in%20Sudan.pdf)) and even his [interest](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/The%20Weakness%20of%20the%20Dollar.pdf) in the health of the American economy. In addition to the historical material, the released documents offer some insight into the relations between extremist Islamic groups and the countries in which they operate. In one [letter](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/Letter%20about%20matter%20of%20the%20Islamic%20Maghreb.pdf), a Bin Laden ally from North Africa discusses a proposed truce with the government of Mauritania. In exchange for ceasing military activities in Mauritania and desisting from kidnapping tourists there, for example, al Qaeda proposed being paid between $10 million and $20 million Euros annually. It is not clear whether Mauritania agreed to the arrangement. Elsewhere, Bin Laden and his associates discussing in passing the need to keep open lines of communication and finance through other Islamic countries. Bin Laden is also concerned with the course of his movement in the Middle East and North Africa. He and his followers correspond with young Islamists rising up in [Libya](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/To%20our%20people%20in%20Libya.pdf), [Tunisia](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/Tunis.pdf) and [Iraq](http://www.dni.gov/files/documents/ubl2016/english/Letter%20regarding%20working%20in%20Islamic%20countries.pdf) to discuss how to parlay the chaos of the Arab spring into an expansion of al Qaeda influence. They also struggle with the divisions between Al Qaeda and the rising influence of other groups like ISIL. [Osama bin Laden’s Will](https://www.scribd.com/doc/301476902/Osama-bin-Laden-s-Will) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4243275/osama-bin-laden-will-al-qaeda-papers-documents-public-records/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4243275/osama-bin-laden-will-al-qaeda-papers-documents-public-records/"},"headline":"What Bin Laden's Will and Other al-Qaeda Papers Show","datePublished":"2016-03-01T17:59:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:30:44.409Z","description":"The U.S. intelligence community released today 113 documents captured during the May 2, 2011 raid on Osama Bin Laden’s hide-out in Abbottabad, Pakistan. 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