premise: At about the time when the Taliban were making their final drive toward Jalalabad and Kabul, Bin Ladin issued his August 1996 fatwa, saying that We . . . have been prevented from addressing the Muslims, but expressing relief that by the grace of Allah, a safe base here is now available in the high Hindu Kush mountains in Khurasan.
hypothesis: Bin Ladin was not prevented from addressing Muslims prior to his August 1996 fatwa.