The Guardian

Bin Laden's disdain for the west grew in Shakespeare's birthplace, journal shows

CIA released journal as part of 470,000 documents collected from Bin Laden’s house, showing he visited the UK as a teenager and found it to be ‘decadent’
Osama bin Laden’s described visiting Shakespeare’s home but said he was ‘not impressed’ by British society and culture. Photograph: Uncredited/AP

A summer trip to the UK as a teenager and visits to Shakespeare’s birthplace convinced Osama bin Laden that the west was “decadent”, the late leader of al-Qaida and architect of the 9/11 attacks wrote in his personal journal shortly before he was killed by US special forces in 2011.

The journal is among 470,000 documents collected from the house where Bin Laden died that were . The agency said it had released the treasure trove “in

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