TRANSCRIPT
"Does the Brotherhood exist?"

"That, Winston, you will never know."

George Orwell
Nineteen Eighty-Four

INTRODUCTION
Kandahar Provice, Afghanistan. May 1998.

John Miller, an ABC News correspondent who would go on to become the FBI's chief spokesman, ends an 11-day journey through the wilds of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The first thing he notices is the rumbling of the generators providing the camp with power and the smell of gasoline. The second thing he notices is a hail of bullets. Bin Laden's convoy is arriving.

Osama bin Laden is flanked by seven bodyguards, who—as Miller immediately recognizes—are simply there to put on a show. "Their eyes darted in every direction for any attacker," he later recounted. "This was either merely theatrical or entirely pointless, because with hundreds of rounds being fired into the air, it would have been impossible to pinpoint an assassin."

Following the security detail into the hut, there Miller became one of the handful of Western journalists to interview the elusive Osama bin Laden.

OSAMA BIN LADEN (VIA INTERPRETER): We believe that the biggest thieves in the world are Americans and the biggest terrorists on earth are the Americans. The only way for us to fend off these assaults is by using similar means. We do not differentiate between those dressed in military uniforms and civilians; they're all targets in this fatwa.

SOURCE: Osama bin Laden: "The Most Dangerous Man You've Never Heard Of" - June 10, 1998 - ABC News Nightline

Miller has traveled halfway around the world to interview bin Laden, the reclusive terrorist leader who has just issued a religious fatwa requiring Muslims to kill Americans. But this interview, too, is just for show. Forced to submit his questions in writing ahead of time, Miller is informed that the answers will not be translated for him. There will be no follow-up questions.

It is spectacle. Theater and little else. As such, it is a fitting introduction to the man who would become the bogeyman of the 21st century. The interview was followed in short order by a more explosive drama.

PETER BERGEN: What are your future plans?

OSAMA BIN LADEN: You'll see them and hear about them in the media . . . God willing.

SOURCE: Exclusive Osama bin Laden - First Ever TV Interview

FALSE FLAGS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF AL QAEDA
PART ONE: ORIGIN STORY
Around the world, a frightened and confused public received their introduction to the age of terror on the morning of September 11, 2001, through the media. It was there, in the flickering images of their TV screens, that the masses began to learn about the world of Islamic terrorism and of the cave-dwelling Saudi exile in Afghanistan who was bringing that terror to their doorstep.

ANCHOR: Tell us a bit about Osama bin Laden—what sort of resources in manpower and money he's got and what he's trying to achieve.

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 5:28pm EDT (10:28pm BST)

RAY SUAREZ: What is Osama bin Laden? Is he a politician? Is he a warrior? Is he a preacher? A little of all?

SCHEUER: A little of all, I think, sir. He's a . . .

SOURCE: Who Speaks For Islam?

HODA KOTB: . . . millionaire Saudi businessman believed to be living in exile in Afghanistan.

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 5:20-5:30pm EDT on WRC

REPORTER: He controls and finances Al Qaeda, an umbrella network of Islamic militants.

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 6:30-6:40pm EDT (11:30-11:40pm BST) on BBC

SCHEUER: . . . he is a very soft-spoken man . . .

SOURCE: Who Speaks For Islam?

SIMON REEVE: . . . a man who is prepared to use overwhelming force in pursuit of his objectives.

SOURCE: September 13, 2001 - 6:21am EDT on CNN

ANCHOR: He is the face that has been put on this by almost everyone.

SOURCE: September 15, 2001 - 8:20-8:30am EDT on WTTG

SCHEUER: . . . a man of eloquence . . .

SOURCE: Who Speaks For Islam?

KOTB: He has declared all US citizens legitimate targets of attack.

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 5:25pm EDT on WRC

JOHN SIMPSON: When I was in Afghanistan just a couple of days ago, I heard that he had . . .

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 5:20-5:30pm EDT (10:20-10:30pm BST) on BBC

DAN RATHER: . . . operations in at least 55 countries . . .

SOURCE: CBS Evening News - 2001-09-13

KOTB: Including last year's bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen . . .

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 5:25pm EDT on WRC

REPORTER: . . . the mastermind behind the bombings of two US embassies in Africa . . .

SOURCE: September 16, 2001 - 11:30-11:40pm EDT on CNN

REPORTER: . . . and the last attack on the World Trade Center eight years ago.

SOURCE: September 11, 2001 - 6:20-6:30pm EDT (11:20-11:30pm BST) on BBC

SCHEUER: Bernard Lewis has called him almost a poetic speaker of Arabic.

SOURCE: Who Speaks For Islam?

KATIE COURIC: Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden is a name that we have been hearing all day long as an individual who may—and we emphasize may—be responsible for these terrorist acts. It is a name we have heard before as well . . .

SOURC