# “First Casualty” – Inside the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11

An episode of [SpyCast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/201680433), 19 Oct 2021, 2 h 26 min.

Audio: https://pdst.fm/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/YfZO4tERxneauNcW9Fgn/traffic.megaphone.fm/CYBW2443127637.mp3?updated=1644873813

On October 17, 2001, Team Alpha were dropped into the mountains of northern Afghanistan. Two of the eight appear in this week’s episode alongside the author of a new book telling the story of the first Americans behind enemy lines after 9/11 – and what a story it is. Justin Sapp was a Green Beret detailed to CIA, he would go on to be a commander in the Asymmetric Warfare Group, and is currently Senior Military Advisor to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. David Tyson was a polyglot former Central Asian academic who fought jihadists at close-hand to help his comrade, ex-Marine Mike Spann, the first American casualty in a war that would go on to become the longest in American history. In an extended podcast that is both conversation and historical document: this is their story. Award-winning journalist and author Toby Harnden helps contextualize the story of Team Alpha. You can learn more about the book here.

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