UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Baker Atyani. And I met with bin Laden on the 21st of June 2001, in Kandahar City, Afghanistan.
AMANPOUR: In the summer of 2001, Baker Atyani was working for the Middle East Broadcasting Center in Pakistan when al Qaeda contacted him and made him an offer, an interview with bin Laden. Atyani was taken to Kandahar.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I went to the bedroom (ph). Osama was there. He stand up, and he shook hands and he said welcome.
AMANPOUR: Also there, the Egyptian, Ayman al-Zawahiri.
(on camera) What was your impression of Ayman al-Zawahiri?
BAKER ATYANI, EGYPTIAN: I don't believe that Ayman al-Zawahiri was under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. But the impression which I read I got from the meeting, that I have two leaders at the same place.
AMANPOUR: So they're equals?
ATYANI: It looks like they're equal, because everyone has their own point of view.
AMANPOUR (voice-over): Bin Laden told Atyani that he could not do the interview because his host, the Taliban, did not want him to make incendiary public statements. But bin Laden and Zawahiri did sit for this photo opportunity, and they had a message, another dire warning that bin Laden wanted broadcast to the world.
ATYANI:
They said next few weeks will carry a big surprise. We will target American and Israeli installations. Now, Osama himself looked like he was very happy, and he smiled.
AMANPOUR (on camera): And what was your reaction to this?
ATYANI: Well, I think it was big news. I told my channel that his followers were
telling me that the coffin business will increase in the states, the United States.