The Long Fuse, S01E02: "The Base"

Runtime: 33:59 · Season One · A Will Sigmon Media production Season / Episode: 1 / 2 · episodeType: full

Cold open

Langley, Virginia. August, two thousand one. The Commission calls her "Mary". She was an FBI analyst on loan to the CIA's bin Laden unit. That summer, a CIA official the Commission calls "John" asked her to go back through the files from Kuala Lumpur, one more time. Not as an assignment. In her free time. She started on July twenty-fourth. That same day, she found a cable reporting that a man named Khalid al-Mihdhar held a visa to the United States. A…

About this episode

August 2001: an FBI analyst on loan to the CIA, working in her free time, finds the cable that puts a known al Qaeda associate inside the United States. Then back to 1979: revolution in Iran, the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the Arab volunteers who came to fight it, the rich young Saudi who helped pay for them, and the organization he and his mentor built when the war ended. Its name meant "the base."

Disclaimer: a dramatization based on public records, including The 9/11 Commission Report, court filings and trial testimony. Some scenes and dialogue are reconstructed or composited. Voices are AI-generated and are not intended to resemble any real person. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any person or agency depicted. Allegations in court filings are unproven claims. No private victim is named beyond the public record, and people the Commission identified only by pseudonym keep those pseudonyms.

Content note

This episode discusses terrorism and the events leading to the September 11 attacks. No victim is voiced or depicted. No hijacker speaks.

Beat outline / chapters

These are narrative beats from the production script, not timed audio chapters.

• LANGLEY. August 21 to 22, 2001
• Opening titles
• THE YEAR EVERYTHING MOVED. 1979
• NOVEMBER 20, 1979. Mecca
• THE INVASION. December 1979
• THE SEVENTEENTH OF FIFTY-SEVEN
• THE MONEY AND THE PIPELINE
• THE RECRUIT. Brooklyn to Peshawar, 1986 to 1988
• THE CAMPS. Khost, late 1980s
• THE BASE. 1988
• THE WITNESS. Manhattan, February 2001
• ANY ORDER
• TWO NAMES
• NOVEMBER 24, 1989
• THE SURGEON
• THE ENGINEER
• NO COUNTRY. 1989 to 1994
• THE COURIER. Pakistan to Cairo, about 1990
• THE ADVANCE PARTY. Khartoum, 1990 to 1991
• THE CONFEDERATION. 1991 to 1992
• TWO SALARIES. Khartoum, early 1990s
• ERRANDS. Budapest, Zagreb, Amman and the Egyptian border, 1992 to 1993
• FIFTEEN HUNDRED DOLLARS. Khartoum, early 1990s
• TWENTY HOURS IN NAIROBI. Late 1991 or early 1992
• EVERYTHING EGYPTIAN. Peshawar
• ADVICE AND CALL. Khartoum and London, 1993 to 1994
• THE FATWA IN THE GUESTHOUSE. 1990 to 1992
• ANYONE AROUND THEM. 1992 to 1993
• BACK TO AUGUST

Key people

• Osama bin Laden
• Abdullah Azzam
• Ayman al-Zawahiri
• The Record (narrator)

Key places

• LANGLEY. August 21 to 22, 2001
• THE YEAR EVERYTHING MOVED. 1979
• NOVEMBER 20, 1979. Mecca
• THE INVASION. December 1979
• THE RECRUIT. Brooklyn to Peshawar, 1986 to 1988
• THE BASE. 1988
• THE WITNESS. Manhattan, February 2001
• NOVEMBER 24, 1989
• NO COUNTRY. 1989 to 1994
• THE COURIER. Pakistan to Cairo, about 1990
• THE ADVANCE PARTY. Khartoum, 1990 to 1991
• THE CONFEDERATION. 1991 to 1992

Sources

Bibliography

• CR2. The 9/11 Commission Report (2004), ch. 2, "The Foundation of the New Terrorism"
• CR3. The 9/11 Commission Report (2004), ch. 3, "Counterterrorism Evolves"
• CR5. The 9/11 Commission Report (2004), ch. 5, "Al Qaeda Aims at the American Homeland"
• CR8. The 9/11 Commission Report (2004), ch. 8, "'The System Was Blinking Red'"

Method. CR2 §2.3 and CR8 ("August 2001: The Search for Mihdhar and Hazmi Begins and Fails"), verified against the official text. CR5 for KSM's 1980s path. Narrator: the Record only. Nobody is voiced. Analysts appear only under the Commission's pseudonyms.

The 9/11 Commission Report: https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/index.htm

Scene-by-scene source notes

• 1. LANGLEY. August 21 to 22, 2001. "Mary", FBI analyst detailed to the CIA's bin Laden unit; "John" asked her to review the Kuala Lumpur materials "in her free time"; began July 24; found the visa cable that day; a week later the New York destination; on August 21 the March 2000 cable that "noted with interest" Hazmi's January 2000 flight to Los Angeles; "She immediately grasped the significance of this information."; August 22 INS: Mihdhar entered Jan 15, 2000 and July 4, 2001: CR8, fn 73–75. "Seventeen months": March 2000 → August 2001. "Seven weeks": July 4 → August 22. Langley as the setting: the CIA's bin Laden unit was at CIA headquarters (CR8 context); the exact building is not specified, so the scene says only "Langley, Virginia". "Mary", "John" are Commission pseudonyms; the real people are living and uncharged and are not identified. Mihdhar and Hazmi were hijackers (deceased); not voiced.
• 3. THE YEAR EVERYTHING MOVED. 1978 to 1980. Iran 1979 and the "Its success encouraged Sunni fundamentalists elsewhere." quote: CR2 §2.2. Communist government 1978, unable to establish control; Soviet units "at the end of 1979"; resistance "that defeated Soviet forces"; volunteers quote: CR2 §2.3 fn 19. "The largest numbers came from the Middle East. Some were Saudis, and among them was Usama Bin Ladin.": CR2 fn 20. "Afghan Arabs": CR2 fn 21 uses the term. "Ten years": 1979–1989 (CR2: "A decade of conflict in Afghanistan, from 1979 to 1989"). Deliberately not used: the Grand Mosque siege (not in the Commission text checked tonight; would need a secondary cite).
• 4. THE SEVENTEENTH OF FIFTY-SEVEN. Arrived 1980 at 23; "the seventeenth of 57 children of a Saudi construction magnate"; "Six feet five and thin"; "ungainly but was in fact quite athletic, skilled as a horseman, runner, climber, and soccer player"; Abdul Aziz University; "By some accounts" interest in religious studies, inspired by tapes of sermons by Azzam, "a Palestinian and a disciple of Qutb"; conspicuous for access to the family fortune, not learning; "at least one actual battle"; "became known chiefly as a person who generously helped fund the anti-Soviet jihad": CR2 fn 20. The Report writes "Abdul Aziz University"; the narration uses the institution's full name, King Abdul Aziz University (as in the Smithsonian source used in E03). Azzam is not voiced.
• 5. THE MONEY AND THE PIPELINE. "increasingly complex, almost worldwide organization"; the "Golden Chain" of financiers mainly in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf; donations through charities/NGOs; "Mosques, schools, and boardinghouses served as recruiting stations in many parts of the world, including the United States."; bin Laden and Azzam's "Bureau of Services" (Mektab al Khidmat, MAK) channeled recruits: CR2 fn 21–22. US/Saudi "billions of dollars worth of secret assistance", via the ISID; the "little or no assistance" sentence: CR2 fn 23 (VERBATIM). The myth framing ("a story many people believe") is the Record's; the refutation rests only on the Commission sentence. Coll, *Ghost Wars*, reaches the same conclusion, but it is not quoted here.
• 5b. THE RECRUIT. Brooklyn to Peshawar, 1986 to 1988. *US v. bin Laden*, S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D.N.Y.), al-Fadl Day 1 (Feb 6, 2001), tr. 164–174 (VERBATIM where quoted): came to the US in "1986" on an "I-20 for school" visa; "In New York, Brooklyn"; grocery work; "I work for Farouq Mosque"; office "help for Afghani… during the war against Russia"; raising money and recruiting; "It's part of Khidmat service in Peshawar." (interpreter: "Services"); "He made the tickets and the visa for us and give us some money and I went with other people."; "Including me, four."; Karachi, Peshawar, hotel two nights, guesthouse, documents in envelopes, nickname "for security", "Abu Bakr Sudani"; Khalid Ibn Walid camp; "the personal small gun and Kalashnikov"; RPG "against tank and against helicopter… 600 meter"; the lead arithmetic (20 mph → 200 m; 200 mph → 2,000 m); fired at "six helicopter… the target is not successful". "Soviet" helicopters: the war was against the Soviet Union (his "Russia"). The office's emir is named in the transcript but not named in narration. The name reveal is deferred to scene 6b, where al-Fadl is already introduced.
• 6. THE BASE. 1988. April 1988 Moscow announcement, withdrawal "within the next nine months"; the debate over what next; "Al Qaeda" = "the base": the Report's own gloss. "Organization chart" is the Record's characterization of the listed structure.
• 6b. THE WITNESS. Manhattan, February 2001. *United States v. Usama bin Laden et al.*, S(7) 98 Cr. 1023 (S.D.N.Y.), testimony of Jamal Ahmed al-Fadl, Day 1, Feb 6, 2001, transcript pp. 190–198. Quotes are VERBATIM from the transcript ("Around area of '89."; "He said we going to make group…"; "Al Qaeda."; "'Bayat' means you swear…listen to the emir", cut at "emir" mid-sentence, shown by the quote ending). The trial concerned the 1998 embassy bombings: public record. Al-Fadl stealing from al Qaeda and cooperating: his own Day 2 testimony and CR2's reliance on him (CR2 notes cite his testimony repeatedly). His dating ("around '89") differs from CR2's "by August 1988" for bin Laden's leadership; the narration presents his account as his. The prosecutor is not named. Al-Fadl is a living public trial witness; named because he testified publicly under his own name.
• 7. NOVEMBER 24, 1989. The differing aims and the "Whether the dispute…" sentence (VERBATIM), "The killers were assumed to be rival Egyptians.", "indisputably in charge": CR2 fn 26–27. Soviet pull-out "by then" follows from CR2's April 1988 announcement of withdrawal "within the next nine months" and its 1979–1989 framing; no specific date is spoken. Azzam's sons are not named.
• 7b. THE SURGEON. CR2 fn 29 (VERBATIM): "The most important Egyptian in Bin Ladin's circle was a surgeon, Ayman al Zawahiri, who led a strong faction of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Many of his followers became important members in the new organization, and his own close ties with Bin Ladin led many to think of him as the deputy head of al Qaeda. He would in fact become Bin Ladin's deputy some years later, when they merged their organizations." Zawahiri is deceased (2022); not voiced.
• 8. THE ENGINEER. KSM grew up in Kuwait, Baluchistan lineage; 1983 to Chowan College (Murfreesboro, NC), then NC A&T in Greensboro; mechanical engineering degree December 1986; "apparently did not attract attention for extreme Islamist beliefs or activities while in the United States"; first visit to Pakistan early 1987; "KSM claims he then fought the Soviets and remained at the front for three months before being summoned to perform administrative duties for Abdullah Azzam": CR5 fn 1–4. "His own statements… in interrogation": CR5's "Detainee Interrogation Reports" box, which warns that assessing such statements "is challenging". KSM is not voiced. Legal/dignity review (pending): interrogation-derived claims are attributed, never stated as fact.
• 9. BACK TO AUGUST. Jane responsible for the search inside the United States: CR8 fn 75–77. "Eighteen days": Aug 24 → Sep 11. The watchlisting on Aug 24 is E05's cold open.

Credits

Written and produced by Will Sigmon for Will Sigmon Media. Narrated by The Record (AI voice).

Listen next

Next: Episode 3, "The Blind Sheikh" — Sudan, New Jersey, and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

Episode page: https://shows.willsigmon.media/long-fuse/episodes/s01e02

---

Disclaimer: a dramatization based on public records, including The 9/11 Commission Report, court filings and trial testimony. Some scenes and dialogue are reconstructed or composited. Voices are AI-generated and are not intended to resemble any real person. Not affiliated with or endorsed by any person or agency depicted. Allegations in court filings are unproven claims. No private victim is named beyond the public record, and people the Commission identified only by pseudonym keep those pseudonyms. The Long Fuse is produced by Will Sigmon Media. The narrator, The Record, and the few unnamed composite characters in the dramatized scenes are synthetic voices; no victim, hijacker or real official is voiced, and documented words are read by The Record as attributed quotations. Quotations from The 9/11 Commission Report keep its spelling, "Bin Ladin".

Plain-text transcript · Download MP3