It's September 2001 and America is reeling.

Al-Qaeda has struck and thousands are dead.

The country scrambles to respond but the Pentagon has no plan for Afghanistan.

The country where Osama bin Laden masterminded the 9-11 attacks to make it worse he's protected by the Taliban.

It's here that the CIA steps forward with a plan to spearhead the war.

I'm your host James Rogers, this is the warfare podcast and I'm joined by Toby

Hardin, the Orwell Prize-winning author and former foreign correspondent for the

Sunday Times. Toby has been tracking this CIA operation and for the first time he reveals how eight officers were dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan on October 17, 2001, just a few weeks after the attacks.

Code-named Team Alpha, this eclectic band of linguistics, tribal experts, and elite warriors were the first Americans to operate

inside Taliban territory, with their primary mission being to track down Al Qaeda and

to stop the terrorists from infiltrating the United States once again.

Were they successful? Well, you're about to find out.

Here is Toby Hardin on the first operation in Afghanistan.

Hi Toby, welcome to the warfare podcast.

How you doing today?

Hi James, great to be with you. I'm well thanks.

Good to hear. Now you are a foreign correspondent, a journalist who has

reported on war and terrorism from 33 countries around the world. You've even been

imprisoned for keeping your sources confidential, but this is perhaps arguably

your biggest story. First casualty, the untold story of the CIA mission to avenge 9-11.

So take us back over 20 years now to September 2001.

9-11 had just taken place.

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