383: Aimen Dean | Nine Lives of a Spy Inside Al-Qaeda Part One
The Jordan Harbinger Show
Jordan Harbinger
4.8 • 12.3K Ratings
🗓️ 27 July 2020
⏱️ 86 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Aimen Dean (@AimenDean) was once one of al-Qaeda’s most respected bomb-makers who swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden himself. He eventually switched sides and spent eight years as an MI6 spy trying to take al-Qaeda down from the inside. He is the author of Nine Lives: My Time as the MI6’s Top Spy Inside Al-Qaeda and co-host of podcast Conflicted. This is part one of a two-part episode that will conclude later this week!
What We Discuss with Aimen Dean:- The radicalizing circumstances that contributed to Aimen's recruitment by Islamic extremists after memorizing the Quran by age 12.
- Early misgivings about the cause brought about by witnessing a brutal revenge massacre instigated by his own side during the Bosnian War when he was only 17.
- What Aimen learned about "logistical back-office jihad" and financing terrorism on a global scale while creatively accounting for a now-infamous charity front.
- Aimen's trip to Afghanistan at the behest of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed that led him to swear allegiance to Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda.
- What Aimen learned -- and taught -- about ingenious and terrible methods of torture that would extract confessions from victims without leaving permanent marks.
- And much more...
Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/383
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Transcript
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| 1:05.0 | Welcome to the show. I'm Jordan Harbinger. On the Jordan Harbinger Show, we decode the stories, secrets and skills of the world's sharpest minds and most fascinating people. |
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| 1:47.0 | Today on the show, Aiman Dean, man, where do I begin with this guy? He was a top informant for MI6 in Al Qaeda. |
| 1:55.0 | So in other words, he joined Al Qaeda, gets radicalized, turns into a double agent from MI6, informing on Al Qaeda. |
| 2:01.0 | Now he works with banks and finance. So I'm not sure if there was an improvement here because, you know, he went from terrorists to banker. |
| 2:07.0 | And I've been in finance. I'd never joined Al Qaeda, but I gotta say there's gotta be similarities. |
| 2:12.0 | Now he's investigating terror finance among other things. His cover was blown by an intelligence leak in the United States. |
| 2:18.0 | You're welcome. Sorry about that. This episode went very long. It was fascinating. I wanted to get more time with Aiman. |
| 2:25.0 | Poor guy at COVID-19 still did the show. So these are tough guys. What can I say? |
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