My guest today is Toby Harnden, who is an author, journalist, and winner of the Orwell Prize, UK’s most prestigious prize for political writing. His most recent book, First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11, is the story of the first US team into Afghanistan post the attacks of September 11, 2001. A former Royal Navy officer before becoming a journalist for the likes ofThe Sunday Times and The Daily Telegraph who has subsequently reported from 33 countries, was imprisoned in Zimbabwe, and faced prosecution in Britain for protecting confidential sources, Toby is uniquely qualified to tell this story. Some of the topics we covered are: Toby’s journey into journalism, building credibility with the CIA, the story of Team Alpha, the battle of Qala-i Jangi, human terrain of Afghanistan as well as the scars of Team Alpha in the years to come.
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Full show notes:
My guest today is Toby Harnden, who is an author, journalist, and winner of the Orwell Prize, UK’s most prestigious prize for political writing. His most recent book is First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11 and will be the main focus of our discussion today. A former foreign correspondent for The Sunday Times of London and The Daily Telegraph who has reported from 33 countries, he specializes in terrorism and war. Born in England, Toby was imprisoned in Zimbabwe, faced prosecution in Britain for protecting confidential sources, and was vindicated by a $23 million public inquiry in Ireland. A dual British and American citizen, he spent a decade as a Royal Navy officer before becoming a journalist. He holds a First Class degree in Modern History from Corpus Christi College, Oxford and is the author of Bandit Country: The IRA & South Armagh (1999) as well as Dead Men Risen: An Epic Story of War and Heroism in Afghanistan (2009), for which he received the Orwell Prize. Previously based in London, Belfast, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Washington D.C., he now lives in Virginia.
Some of the topics we covered are:
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89. Ambassador Robert ‘Bob’ Bowker - Understanding the Middle East: Lessons from Five Decades of Life and Work in the Region
88. Will Storr - The Status Game: Understanding Its Significance, Implications, and Why We Play It
87. Special Release: Robert Hartley - From War Zone to Ketamine: A Veteran’s Journey Through Trauma and Healing
85. Dr Elizabeth Boulton - Tackling the Climate Change Hyperthreat: Plan E, Entangled Security and harnessing a Hyper-response
84. Amos Fox - Beyond the illusion of manoeuvre: Navigating the clash between intentions and reality in modern warfare
83. Dr Alison Broinowski - How Australia goes to war and the prospect of war powers reform
82. Dr Samir Puri - Decoding the echoes of empire: how imperial legacies shape today’s geopolitics
81. Professor Greg Barton - Understanding radicalisation, extremism and terrorism
80. Dr Alex Lim - On veterans’ mental health: the good, the bad and the promising
79. Announcement of a significant change to The Voices Of War
78. Ye-Min Wu - Multilateral negotiations: on the trials and tribulations of building peace
77. Special Release: Natalia Konstantinova - How Russians view the invasion of Ukraine
76. Andrew Quilty - ’August in Kabul’ and the return of the Taliban
75. Dr Pauline Shanks Kaurin - On obedience and the fine line between hero and villain
74. Special Release: Jasmin Mujanovic - On the unfolding constitutional crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Part 2
73. Special Release: Jasmin Mujanovic - On the unfolding constitutional crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina - Part 1
72. Special Release: Wolfgang Sporrer - On diplomacy alongside combat operations in Ukraine
71. Dr Alexander Bellamy - R2P, Just War and prospects of World Peace - Part 2
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