National Geographic Documentaries Season 2006 Episode 5 Triple Cross: Bin Laden's Spy in America

In this episode of National Geographic Documentaries, titled "Triple Cross: Bin Laden's Spy in America," viewers are taken on a journey through the story of a man who infiltrated the American intelligence community on behalf of Al Qaeda. The man in question is Ali Mohamed, an Egyptian-born former member of the U.S. Army who became a trusted advisor to Osama bin Laden.

The episode begins with background information on Mohamed's early life, including his time in the Egyptian Army and his move to the United States in the mid-1980s. We learn that Mohamed used his military training to secure a job with the U.S. Army, where he was eventually granted top-secret clearance due to his Arabic language skills and expertise in Middle Eastern affairs.

As the episode progresses, we see Mohamed's allegiance to Al Qaeda begin to take shape. He travels to Afghanistan to train with bin Laden, where he becomes a trusted confidant and advisor. Mohamed uses his position within the American intelligence community to pass along sensitive information to bin Laden and his cohorts, including details about U.S. military operations and even the location of a U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

The episode is filled with interviews with experts on terrorism and intelligence gathering, as well as journalists who covered Mohamed's story when it broke in the late 1990s. These interviews provide insight into the ways in which Mohamed was able to deceive and manipulate those around him, including his American wife and the members of his own mosque in California.

Throughout the episode, viewers are left questioning how Mohamed was able to continue his double life for so long without being detected by the U.S. government. Experts interviewed for the episode suggest that Mohamed was able to fly under the radar due to a combination of his own cunning, a lack of communication between different branches of the U.S. intelligence community, and a reluctance to acknowledge the threat posed by Islamic extremism.

The episode concludes with Mohamed's eventual capture and confession, as well as the aftermath of his betrayal. Viewers are left with a sense of unease, knowing that such a successful infiltration of the U.S. intelligence community is possible and that the risks posed by foreign spies and terrorists remain very real.

Overall, "Triple Cross: Bin Laden's Spy in America" is an engrossing and thought-provoking episode of National Geographic Documentaries. Through the story of Ali Mohamed, viewers are given an insight into the complex world of intelligence gathering and the alarming potential for infiltration by those who mean to do us harm.