There is a book, well an e-book: The Eternal Bridge Over the River Innocence. See:http://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Bridge.../dp/B00J3YYCS0 and for the UK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eternal-Brid.../dp/B00J3YYCS0
Catching up, these reports are nearly two weeks old. Basically:There is a partial transcript of a BBC Q&A radio interview, by Peter Marshall (one of the BBC's best journalists), which touches on many issues:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31700894Aimen Dean is a founder member of al-Qaeda, who changed tack in 1998 and became a spy for Britain's security and intelligence services, MI5 and MI6.
Note how his role ended:It appears he was a spy from 1998 to 2007. Perhaps a book will appear next?Valued first by al-Qaeda and then British security and intelligence, Aimen Dean's life under cover came to an abrupt end when the cover was blown. An American writer disclosed his identity with details that could only be sourced to Dean. That was eight years ago.
A short non-BBC report:http://www.theweek.co.uk/62771/mi5-d...npTyXw.twitter
Aimen Dean was interviewed on BBC World's Hardtalk, which asks:Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...alk-aimen-deanWhat does his extraordinary story tell us about the nature of the jihadist threat?
davidbfpo
There is a book, well an e-book: The Eternal Bridge Over the River Innocence. See:http://www.amazon.com/Eternal-Bridge.../dp/B00J3YYCS0 and for the UK:http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eternal-Brid.../dp/B00J3YYCS0
Last edited by davidbfpo; 10-30-2018 at 10:01 AM. Reason: 20.6k views until merged today
davidbfpo
Aimen Dean, who worked for UK intelligence within AQ for four years (1998-2002), has now written - with two co-authors - a book "Nine Lives: My Time as the West's Top Spy Inside al-Qaeda". His motive to change sides:Link to publisher:https://oneworld-publications.com/nine-lives.htmlBetrayal of the treacherous is loyalty in the eyes of God. I betrayed a bunch of criminals, it’s as simple as that.
In after his defection, following a US media report "outed" him, he did go public with interviews with the BBC in early 2015.
Link:https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31700894
As part of the publicity he has now been interviewed in the UK, at least twice and in the USA - with a CNN documentary to come. Link to UK interview on C4 News (8 mins):https://www.channel4.com/news/i-was-...nside-al-qaeda A longer interview on LBC (20 mins) with Maajid Nawaz:https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/vide...iew/vi-AAyqlUs
Link to short CNN item:https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/23/w...spy/index.html
davidbfpo
A NBC report, with a filmed interview and with alas an accurate headline: 'He spied on al Qaeda from the inside, until he had to run for his life; Aimen Dean was a double agent, feeding al Qaeda's secrets to Western intelligence, but then someone spilled his secret.
Link:https://www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast...un-his-n883681
Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-03-2018 at 09:17 AM. Reason: 788v today
davidbfpo
A balanced review from WSJ; the second paragraph says:Link:https://www.wsj.com/articles/nine-li...eda-1533078183His memoir, “Nine Lives,” should dispel doubts about the essential truth of his tale. Detailed and weird, it contains enough verifiable fact, and enough idiosyncrasy, to establish, as his co-authors Tim Lister and Paul Cruickshank write, that “there simply wasn’t another informant inside al-Qaeda like him.” Mr. Dean’s book is a major contribution to the literature of espionage, and a rare book to say something original about contemporary jihadism.
davidbfpo
The Quilliam Foundation, a counter-extremism group (UK based), has a twenty four minute podcast interview with Aimen Deen and this is an excerpt:Link:http://journal.quilliaminternational...y-in-al-qaeda/Eight years undercover do really take their toll on you. I became diabetic during that time. The stress of a double life is too much. You are constantly on the move, monitoring cells, infiltrating organisations that want to do harm to others. So you do not have a normal life whatsoever. So I remember, when my identity was compromised in 2006, in the beginning I was angry and I thought it was a terrible calamity, a few months later I realised what a relief it was. Because I finally started to feel at ease – that I do not have to look over my shoulder all the time…
Last edited by davidbfpo; 12-10-2018 at 07:30 PM. Reason: 1,472v today before merged here I think.
davidbfpo
A review of the book via the Changing Character of War Programme @ Oxford University; which starts with:Following the link at the bottom you get the full two page review:http://www.ccw.ox.ac.uk/blog/2018/12...-florence-gaubDean’s account is more than the story of a Generation X traveller lost in a post-modern world – it is a gripping description of his trajectory from a young Mujahedeen overlooking Sarajevo to an early joiner of Al-Qaeda and ultimately informer for Britain’s intelligence services that makes this book a worthy and touching read.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 12-10-2018 at 07:34 PM. Reason: 22,782v today
davidbfpo
Discovered, rather late, that Aimen Deen has another taped interview (32 mins). Their explanation:Link:http://ournal.quilliaminternational....t-of-al-qaeda/So… there was a choice between either the British, the Americans or the French. As far as the Americans were concerned… my defection took place around December 1998, and in August 1998, I was just lucky to escape with my life from a cruise missile attack by the Americans against the camps… So I thought basically that it would be extremely difficult to work with people who just a few months ago pressed the button, trying to kill me. So I thought, ‘forget the Americans’. As far as the French were concerned, basically, it meant that I would have to learn another language – a language I don’t like the sound of at all…not to mention that the French are rude, and aloof and arrogant…
Last edited by davidbfpo; 02-15-2020 at 02:08 PM. Reason: 23,516v Dec '18 and 35,754v today
davidbfpo
In the last week Aimen Deen has given two interviews to British newspapers. This one is open to read: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeands...s-for-al-qaida
The second is behind a pay wall and is slightly different: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thin...n-doesnt-work/
davidbfpo
An interview in May 2020, available as a podcast and in a transcript. The intro states:Link:https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/cha...maker-mi6-spy/n this episode of Changed My Mind, Aimen Dean talks to academic Thomas Small about what triggered him to join al Qaeda and then leave the terrorist organisation. Decades on, he reflects on why it remains difficult to stop others following in his footsteps.
Last edited by davidbfpo; 08-11-2020 at 09:19 AM. Reason: 67,412v today
davidbfpo
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