The Spy Who: "The Spy Who Lived Inside Al-Qaeda | The Struggle Within" | Episode 2

Hosts: Indira Varma & Raza Jaffrey
Date: November 4, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode continues the extraordinary true story of Morten Storm, the Danish biker-turned-jihadi-turned-spy, as he navigates life as a deep-cover operative inside Al-Qaeda circles. The central theme focuses on Storm’s role in a high-stakes operation: using a Western convert, "Amina," as bait to help Western intelligence locate and kill Anwar Al Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric turned senior Al-Qaeda figure in Yemen. The episode explores the moral ambiguity, logistical complexity, and personal toll of espionage amidst the war on terror.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Yemen, 2009 – Awlaki Summons Storm

• Storm travels to meet Anwar Al Awlaki in the dangerous northern badlands of Yemen, bringing his wife Fadia along under pretense.
• Awlaki expresses concern about compromised communication, introducing Storm to new encryption software ([02:00]).
• Storm’s trust is questioned after a mutual contact accuses him of being a British agent.
  • Quote:
    • Awlaki: "Muhammad Usman... he’s suspicious of you. He thinks you work for British Intelligence." (03:50)
    • Storm (wryly): "Well, he won't be staying with us again." (04:15)

2. The Spy's Mission: Finding Awlaki a Wife

• Storm, to bolster Awlaki’s trust, agrees to find him a third wife—a white Western convert ([06:29]).
• Through a Facebook fan page, Storm makes contact with "Amina," a 32-year-old Croat convert ([07:30]).
• Dialogue highlights Amina’s naivety and willingness to face hardship for Awlaki’s cause, reinforcing the desperation and danger involved.

3. The Recruitment Debate: Ethics of Espionage

• In a Copenhagen hotel, Storm briefs his CIA, MI5, and Danish PET handlers on using Amina as bait, planting a tracking device in her suitcase ([10:00–13:00]).
  • Lively ethical debate unfolds across agencies:
    • Kevin (MI5): "We're talking about sending a naive, vulnerable woman into a volatile country to live with a terrorist." (11:10)
    • Jed (CIA): "Anwar Al Awlaki is instigating mass murder on our nation's soil. Or have you already forgotten what just happened in Fort Hood?" (11:40)
• The MI5 handler expresses concern for Amina’s safety; CIA is focused on the operational opportunity.

4. Shifting Loyalties: The Special Relationship Frays

• Over a meal in Scotland, MI5 urges Storm to stop the operation—"We do not want to see you get screwed over." (16:00)
• In Iceland, PET handler Clang bluntly steers Storm toward the Americans, promising higher pay and a bonus ([17:00]):
  • "If I were you, I'd go with the Americans. Yeah? Yeah. It'd be much more fun. And more money too." (17:39)
• The episode exposes how national interests and money influence field decisions and alliances.

5. The Suitcase Plot—and Its Failure

• Storm delivers the CIA’s bribe and suitcase with transponder to Amina in Vienna ([19:20]).
• Memorable moment:
  • Amina: "I might not be able to fit all I hoped in this."
  • Storm: "The Sheikh himself requested this very case." (20:05)
• Later, word arrives: Amina made it, but was forced to abandon her suitcase before reaching Awlaki, foiling the high-tech assassination attempt ([22:30]).
  • "The suitcase and its hidden tracker never made it to Al Awlaki." (23:20)
• CIA is left empty-handed, Storm collects his $250,000 reward from Danish intelligence—but his guilt grows.

6. Consequences and Fallout

• Storm is alienated, suspected by CIA, and witnesses his Danish handlers celebrating success carelessly ([26:47]):
  • "You're the ones hooking up with women who are probably sex trafficking victims."
  • Clang (PET): "Screw you, Morton." (28:00)
• A period of self-destruction follows; Storm turns to drugs and burns bridges with his last intelligence contacts.

7. Resurrection: Bin Laden’s Death and Renewed Purpose

• After a year’s spiral, news of Osama bin Laden’s death brings Storm back into CIA and PET’s good graces. Awlaki is now America’s top target ([29:00–30:00]).
  • Jed (CIA): "Osama's worm food. And now we're talking again." (30:30)
  • Storm: "I'm ready. Let's get him." (30:55)

8. Cat-and-Mouse: Awlaki Survives Drone Strike

• Illustrative scene: Awlaki narrowly escapes a U.S. drone attack in Yemen’s mountains, helped by his followers’ sacrificial swap of vehicles ([31:30]).
• Awlaki’s increasing paranoia thickens the fog of war, making further operations ever-riskier.

9. Back to Espionage: Encrypted Thumb Drives and Courier Chains

• With Yemen in chaos post-Arab Spring, Storm attempts to re-establish communication with Awlaki using trusted go-between Abdul ([33:45–36:00]).

  • Awlaki sets up a complex courier chain to mask locations; even a portable fridge is requested, likely for explosives ([38:00]).

• Storm’s handlers stress-test the risk, discuss using thumb drives for tracking, and dangle a $5 million reward if the operation succeeds ([38:45]):

  • Klang (PET): "With that much money, you could buy one of the expensive villas here... If you do, you better let us come and stay." (40:20)
  • Storm, conflicted: "I'm about to become a millionaire by facilitating the murder of a man I once considered a friend." (41:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ethical Dilemma in Espionage:

  • Kevin (MI5): "We're talking about sending a naive, vulnerable woman into a volatile country to live with a terrorist." (11:10)
  • Jed (CIA): "All our Lucky is to be found and dealt with. And Amina can lead us right to him." (12:15)

• On Money and Motivation:

  • Clang (PET): "And I’m not supposed to tell you this, so act surprised when Jed tells you there’ll be a bonus if the mission with Amina goes well." (17:50)

• Moral Reckoning:

  • Storm: "I'm about to become a millionaire by facilitating the murder of a man I once considered a friend." (41:46)

Important Segment Timestamps

• Al Awlaki's Paranoia & Encryption: 02:00–04:15
• Recruiting Amina as Awlaki's Wife: 06:29–09:00
• Agency Ethics Showdown in Copenhagen: 10:00–13:00
• Storm's "Special Relationship" Dilemma: 16:00–18:00
• Vienna Hand-Off – Amina Gets the Suitcase: 19:20–21:00
• Suitcase Mission Fails: 22:30–23:20
• Debrief & Fallout, Storm's Isolation: 26:47–29:00
• Bin Laden's Death, Awlaki Becomes Top Target: 29:00–31:00
• Awlaki Evades Drone Strike: 31:30–33:20
• Courier Chain & $5M Bounty: 38:45–41:45

Themes & Tone

The episode is tense, gritty, and unflinching, maintaining the underlying paranoia and moral uncertainty of its real-life plot. Dialogues reflect Storm’s conflicted loyalties and his handlers’ cold calculus—never shying from the life-and-death stakes or from the cost of deception.

Summary

Episode 2 details Morten Storm’s high-wire act as a triple agent—balancing demands from Western intelligence and jihadist leaders, grappling with personal guilt, and encountering sharp divides among his handlers over operational ethics. The failed attempt to use Amina to track down Awlaki sets off a series of betrayals and investigative setbacks, before intelligence priorities shift and Storm is called back as the only man who can help eliminate America’s new top terrorist target. The account is as much an exploration of moral boundaries as it is of real-world espionage tactics.