128. Al Qaeda’s Deadliest Plot: CIA vs Pakistan (Ep 3)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.4 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2026

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The “Special Relationship” is under strain as MI5 and the CIA butt heads over how to stop an Al Qaeda cell in East London from committing the next 9/11. With the Americans visiting Pakistan and making risky unauthorised decisions, will the intelligence alliance survive? Listen as David and Gordon take us to Islamabad in the latest episode of their series on the Liquid Bomb Plot, and try to understand why a lone agent acted so impulsively. ------------------- Join the Declassified Club to go deeper into the world of espionage with exclusive Q&As, interviews with top intelligence insiders, regular livestreams, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, and weekly deep dives into original spy stories. Members also get curated reading lists, special book discounts, prize draws, and access to our private chat community. Just go to ⁠⁠therestisclassified.com⁠ or join on Apple Podcasts. ------------------- Get a 10% discount on business PCs, printers and accessories using the code TRIC10. Visit https://HP.com/CLASSIFIED for more information. T&C's apply. ------------------- EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ ⁠⁠https://nordvpn.com/restisclassified⁠⁠ Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee ------------------- Email: therestisclassified@goalhanger.com Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@restisclassified Video Editor: Joe Pettit Social Producer: Emma Jackson Assistant Producer: Alfie Rowe Producer: Becki Hills Head of History: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.0	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books.
0:13.1	Join the Declassified Club at the rest is classified.com. A plan to bring down transatlantic airliners with liquid bombs, all monitored by MI5.
0:31.1	But now the CIA gets involved and puts at risk those carefully laid plans.
0:39.3	Well, welcome to the rest is classified. I'm David McCloskey.
0:40.3	And I'm Gordon Carrera.
0:41.3	And Gordon, last time we looked at how MI5 had carried out a covert entry into the sort of
0:48.3	bomb-making factory of Abdullah Ahmed Ali and his cohort at Forest Road.
0:55.7	MI5 has installed audio and video surveillance there.
0:59.3	They've been watching this crew for some time.
1:03.3	And MI5 now realizes that the plotters are building liquid bombs that'll go on planes.
1:10.1	The idea is essentially blow a hole in the side of a
1:14.3	plane as it's going across the Atlantic and bring it down. In the first week of August 2006,
1:20.9	we left off last time with the surveillance team in a frightening way, seeing Ali and his team
1:27.4	researching flights to the US and recording
1:30.8	martyrdom videos. So this operation has gotten into the very late stages of planning.
1:37.0	Yeah. And it's running very hot. People are getting worried. At this point, the operation,
1:42.3	which is codenamed overt. It's terrible code name.
1:45.0	It's terrible for a covert operation.
1:47.0	For a covert operation.
1:49.0	But it's running as the biggest investigation ever in MI5's history.
1:53.0	So it's pushing the envelope. They're suspending other investigations to bring people in.
	...

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