DeepSummary
In this episode, Aimen Dean, a British spy working undercover with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, witnesses the testing of a deadly poison gas bomb called the Mubtakar. He is also tasked with delivering a message to four al-Qaeda members in London, instructing them to leave Britain before the end of August due to a major planned attack.
Dean attends an al-Qaeda celebration where he overhears a conversation about a plot on the scale of Pearl Harbor that would provoke the Americans to invade Afghanistan. On September 11, 2001, Dean watches the 9/11 attacks unfold on TV screens in London, realizing this was the plot he had been warned about.
Years later, Dean is contacted by an al-Qaeda member in Bahrain who reveals that they have the Mubtakar and plan to use it in a subway attack in New York City. Dean must find a way to stop this attack while maintaining his cover as a loyal jihadi.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Aimen Dean, a British spy, went undercover with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan to gather intelligence on their plans.
- Al-Qaeda developed a deadly poison gas bomb called the Mubtakar, with plans to use it in a major attack.
- Dean witnessed the testing of the Mubtakar and learned of al-Qaeda's intentions for a large-scale attack to provoke an American invasion of Afghanistan, later realized as the 9/11 attacks.
- Years after 9/11, Dean discovered al-Qaeda's plans to use the Mubtakar in a subway attack in New York City, posing a new threat he needed to stop.
- Dean's undercover work put him in constant danger, as he had to maintain his cover while gathering intelligence on al-Qaeda's plots.
- The episode highlights the crucial role of intelligence gathering and the risks taken by spies to prevent major terrorist attacks.
- Al-Qaeda's pursuit of increasingly deadly weapons, like the Mubtakar, escalated the threat they posed to civilian populations.
- The episode portrays the intricate planning and foreshadowing by al-Qaeda leading up to the 9/11 attacks, as witnessed by Dean.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Before the end of August. We have something planned. Something big. After this, the Americans will come to Afghanistan.“ by Abu Hafs al-Masri
- “That's no accident.“ by Aimen Dean
- “Perhaps. But the american people won't support war in Iraq without a major provocation. I see. It would require something on the scale of Pearl Harbor.“ by Abu Hafs al-Masri
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Episode Information
The Spy Who
Wondery
6/17/24
Aimen Dean is now working undercover posing as a loyal jihadi in Afghanistan, while actually spying for the British intelligence service MI6. And he knows that one mistake is all it will take to wind up dead. But that’s not his only worry because the sense that al-Qaeda’s got a major plot in the works is growing by the day.
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