The Spy Who Rode with Warlords | Graveyard of Empires

The Spy Who

This episode follows CIA operative David Tyson and 'Team Alpha' as they navigate the volatile landscape of Afghanistan in the immediate aftermat

Key takeaways

• CIA operative David Tyson leveraged linguistic skills to build critical rapport with the 'Lion of Panjshir,' Ahmed Shah Massoud.
• The assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud by al-Qaeda operatives removed a vital pillar of the Northern Alliance resistance.

Main topics

• 9/11 terrorist attacks response
• CIA covert operations in Afghanistan

Notable quotes

Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, my friend.

Conclusion

A profound look at how intelligence operations must navigate deep-seat

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:05) A note to Speaker 5 (0:11) listeners. This episode contains graphic depictions of violence, animal slaughter and strong language. Speaker 5 (0:25) September 13th, 2001. Washington, D.C. In the White House Situation Room, the mood is somber and focused. It's two days since the 9-11 terror attacks. The nation is reeling. And President George W. Bush's inner circle have gathered to discuss America's response. Among them is Kofa Black, the head of the CIA's counterterrorism center. He's a broad, jowly man with round spectacles and an intense stare. And right now, that stare is trained on Bush's Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who's attempting to dominate the discussion. Speaker 4 (1:02) Mr. President, we Speaker 5 (1:03) need to bring Speaker 4 (1:04) overwhelming force. That means building up our forces, then unleashing all our firepower. Speaker 5 (1:12) President Bush looks troubled. America is hurting on his watch, and he's promised to hunt down and punish those responsible. Building up our forces could take months, Don. Hasn't anyone here got action in mind that we can execute right now? Speaker 5 (1:29) Bush turns to CIA Director George Tenet, who in turn gives Black a nod. Black takes a deep breath. This is the agency's chance to put itself front and center of the response to 9-11. Mr. President, we've spent years cultivating relationships with resistance groups inside Afghanistan. We have a plan. We're ready to deploy covert pathfinder teams, small squads consisting of intelligence officers and special forces. These operatives can coordinate the local anti-Taliban forces to start the attack. With these guys on the ground and backed with American air support, Speaker 4 (2:10) we can overrun the Taliban fast. Speaker 5 (2:14) Bush leans back, considering the CIA's plan to use Kobo's intelligence and US air power to unseat the Islamic fundamentalists who nurtured al-Qaeda. How fast is fast? Black notices Rumsfeld's enraged expression at the president's interest in the Pathfinder plan. Everyone expected the Pentagon would lead the response. Black knows that to cement the CIA's position, he needs to talk in terms this president responds to. Sir, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are tough sons of bitches. Our allies in Afghanistan say they never caught one alive. They'd rather die fighting. But with our plans, there are flies walking across their eyeballs. Once our teams are deployed, we could see the Taliban fall in weeks. Weeks? Kofa, can you really do this? Black is making huge claims. But with the U.S. under attack, he believes the CIA is best placed to take the fight to the enemy. He Speaker 6 (3:19) looks Bush in Speaker 5 (3:20) the eye. Mr. President, there's not a doubt in my mind. A smile breaks on the president's face. That's what I'm talking about. Go get him. The decision's made. The CIA's covert Pathfinder teams will lead the U.S. and its allies into war in Afghanistan. But its first team on the ground is about to enter a war zone where warlord rivalries and Taliban traps threaten to end their mission in defeat. I'm Raza Jafri, and this is The Spy Who, an Audible original. Beneath the veneer of the everyday lurks the realm of the spy. It's a dank, murky world full of dark corners, sinister motives and corrupted morals. A place of paranoia and infiltration, sabotage and manipulation. This season, we open the file on David Tyson and the CIA's Team Alpha squad that led the US into Afghanistan in the aftermath of 9-11. Their mission was to kickstart the overthrow of the Taliban and then hunt down terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden. Not all of them would make it out alive. What you're about to hear are dramatized reconstructions of events based on the information that's been made public. But remember, in the shadowy realm of the spy, the full story is rarely clear. This is Episode 1, The Graveyard Speaker 8 (4:55) of Empires. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Business Wars from Audible Originals. In our new season, FanDuel and DraftKings turned a legal loophole into a $167 billion industry. Now they're facing off against new competitors, angry regulators, and a growing backlash from the fans and athletes caught in the crossfire. Listen to Business Wars Speaker 1 (5:15) on Audible or wherever you get your podcasts. James Arthur Ray was a charismatic self-help guru who promised his followers a path to wealth and enlightenment by becoming the best versions of themselves. But not all who followed him finished their journey. For the best Bingeable series, listen to the Audible True Crime Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 5 (5:50) Two years before October 20th, 1999, CIA officer David Tyson looks out over the mountains of northern Afghanistan. Through the helicopter window, he sees a vast labyrinth of peaks and ravines spreading out into the distance. His breath catches at the jagged beauty of the landscape. Tyson is normally stationed in Uzbekistan, but today he's part of a six-man CIA team that's crossing the border into Afghanistan on a covert mission. Below him, he notices something down on the mountainside glinting in the sun, the burned-out wreck of a Soviet jet fighter. The valleys are littered with these grim artefacts of Moscow's failed invasion in the 1980s and are a reminder of the many armies that have perished in these lands. Tyson's stomach lurches as the helicopter begins its descent. The CIA team touch down in the courtyard of a large compound. Tyson stretches out his powerful 6ft2 frame, sore after the long helicopter ride. Several Afghan troops are standing guard with AK-47s slung over their shoulders. One motions the Americans to enter a small, single-story building. Tyson feels his heart pounding. He's about to negotiate with the warlord. Tyson is led into a low-ceilinged room. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust. But then he sees him. Ahmed Shah Massoud. the warlord known as the Lion of Panjshir. He's tall and wiry with a piercing gaze. Tyson greets him with deference. Masoud's eyes light up at the traditional Afghan greeting. You speak Dari? My Uzbek is better, but I try to keep up with Dari and Tajik as well. Masoud's smile widens and he motions for Tyson to sit. Tyson joined the CIA as a linguist before becoming a case officer, and now his skills are proving their worth. Masood leans back on a couch and looks Tyson up and down. So, you are hunting bin Laden, and I am fighting the Taliban. Perhaps we can help each other. Massoud is the last Afghan commander still fighting the Taliban, who captured most of Afghanistan three years earlier with support from Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network, al-Qaeda. But earlier this month, al-Qaeda attacked the naval destroyer, the USS Cole, killing 17 American sailors. So the CIA has sent Tyson's team here to seek Massoud's help in hunting down those responsible. We would appreciate any intelligence on bin Laden's location. We can provide communications equipment and some funding. I don't need communications equipment. I need weapons. If you want to stop al-Qaeda, help us defeat the Taliban. Tyson pauses. The U.S. State Department will resist supplying weapons to Massoud because of his reported connections with Iran and interests in the heroin trade. That may be possible in the future. I Speaker 4 (9:17) would have to talk to people back in Washington. Speaker 5 (9:20) I've heard this from America before. When the Soviets invaded, you gave us rockets to fight them. But as soon as the Russians were beaten, you disappeared. That's how the Dalibs took over. Speaker 5 (9:35) You see, there is risk in inaction too. As the poet Rumi advised, we should run from what is comfortable and forget safety. Tyson almost smiles. Massoud's habit of quoting Persian poetry has made him a favorite of Western journalists. And meeting him now, Tyson can understand why. Massoud radiates charisma, an aura not just of battle-hardened ferocity, but of dignified wisdom. Speaker 4 (10:04) I understand Speaker 5 (10:05) you've been disappointed in the past. And I can only promise to speak to Washington. But we do want to help you. To work with you. We don't want to repeat the mistakes Russia made here. Now, Masoud's wry smile returns. All those of the British. Afghanistan is the graveyard of empires, my friend. But believe me, there will come a time when you will have to deal with this Al-Qaeda. And when that day comes, Your only hope will be here in the north, with our alliance. Almost two years later, September 9th, 2001. Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Inside the CIA station, David Tyson clenches his fists in anger. The intelligence reports on the desk in front of him confirm his worst fears. Massoud, the Lion of Panjshir, is dead. He looks up at his boss, the CIA station chief. I can't believe they finally got him. Tyson spent nearly two years cultivating Massoud as an ally. He was the last bastion of opposition to the Taliban. Now he's gone, killed in a suicide bombing by two al-Qaeda operatives posing as TV journalists. Tyson shakes his head in disbelief. Massoud wasn't just an asset, but someone he had genuinely come to respect for his strategic vision. The station chief leans forward in his chair. Dave, I know. It's tough when you lose an agent. But we have to think about what this means for Afghanistan and our position here. What can we expect now Massoud's gone? Honestly, sir, it's a goddamn nightmare. Without Massoud to hold them together, the Northern Alliance may fall apart. The Uzbeks are going to fight the Tajiks. The Tajiks are going to fight the Hazaras. The ethnic factions within the Alliance will likely split open. It is a fucking mess and the Taliban know it. The station chief grimaces at Tyson's downbeat assessment. All right. I'm going to need you to fly out to London to brief our people there. They'll need an update on the implications for the Stinger buyback program too. During the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the CIA supplied Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers to the Mujahideen to counter Russian air superiority. Now, hundreds of these weapons are unaccounted for, and the CIA is trying to recover them by offering to buy them back for up to $150,000 apiece. But that's not the only concern, because now that Massoud is dead, al-Qaeda will be stronger than ever, and the Taliban indebted to them. Tyson dreads to think what