In re: TERRORIST ATTACKS ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2001., 2012 WL 257568 (2012) The Origins of al-Qaeda As alleged in plaintiffs’ pleadings and confirmed by countless governmental investigations, al-Qaeda has its origins in the jihad against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which served as a rallying point for *25 Islamic extremists in the Middle East.’ In 1980, Osama bin Laden traveled to Afghanistan to participate i the jihad, and gained prominence for his role in establishing the financial and logistical infrastructure that sustained the mujahedeen fighters. Bin Ladin understood better than most of the volunteers the extent to which the continuation and eventual success of the jihad in Afghanistan depended on an increasingly complex, almost worldwide organization. This organization included a financial support network that came to be known as the “Golden Chain,” put together mainly by financiers in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states. Donations flowed through charities or other non-governmental organizations (NGOs).° Together with Abdullah Azzam, bin Laden founded the Maktab al Khidmat (“Office of Services”) to facilitate the provision of financial and logistic support to the mujahedeen.’ Throughout the Afghan jihad, Maktab al Khidmat worked in concert with a network of purported charities and relief organizations, including the Muslim World League (“‘MWL?”), International Islamic Relief Organization (“IIRO”), Rabita Trust, Al Haramain Islamic Foundation (“Al Haramain’”), Muwafaq Foundation *26 (“Muwafaq”), and the Saudi Red Crescent Society, to provide travel documents, funds, transportation, training facilities, arms, physical assets and other support to the mujahedeen.'° Fueled by donations from wealthy supporters in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, this network of ostensible charities established a vast infrastructure to support the mujahedeen opposition to the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan." At the conclusion of the Afghan jihad, bin Laden determined that the