Camp - Boots on the ground: the fight to liberate Afghanistan from al-Qaeda and the Taliban, 2001-2002

The Fight to Liberate Afghanistan from
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, 20012002

Dick Camp

With great admiration for the service and sacrifice of the Marines, Special Forces, and the National Clandestine Service during Operation Enduring Freedom.

Till the last landing made

And we stand unafraid

On a shore no mortal has seen.

Till the last bugle call

Sounds taps for us all

Its Semper Fidelis, Marine

Special thanks to Richard Kane for shepherding thebook through the publishing wickets, Scott Pearson for working his editing magic, and Lt. Col.Wild Bill Cody USMC (Ret) for producing the wonderful maps.

THE GUESTS SLOWLY FILED INTO the lavish dining room of the recently refurbished Afghan presidential palace. Eleven-year-old Najiba recalled, It was like something from a movie: the staircases, the golden lift, the chandeliers, and the glitterthe beauty of it. As the guests took their seats, Afghan President Hafizullah Amin invited them to partake of his favorite soup, a creamy vegetable specially prepared by his Soviet cook. One guest thought that it was particularly tasty. The cook, KGB secret agent Lt. Col. Mitalin Talybov, was particularly pleased. He noted that the soup bowls came back to the kitchen empty, a sign that his mission was successful. As the guests left the luncheon table, several remarked they were feeling very sleepy. Within minutes the sleepiness had progressed to immobilizing agony. Amins wife called for assistance. Two Soviet military doctors quickly responded. As the doctors entered the palace lobby, they were confronted with dozens of people lying on the floor and on the stairs, some unconscious and others in considerable pain. Amin was found in a deep coma, near death. The doctors diagnosed the problem at oncewidespread poisoningand immediately began life-saving procedures. After several hours of treatment, they were successful in saving the president.

No sooner did the half-drugged Amin regain consciousness than shots and explosions racked the palace. He ordered his aide to notify his Soviet military advisors that the palace was under attack. The Soviets will help us, he exclaimed.

Nonsense, the aide shouted sarcastically. The Soviets are doing the shooting! At that moment, not only were Soviet Spetsnaz (special forces) attacking the palace with orders to kill Amin and install a pro-Soviet stooge, but upwards of 80,000 Soviet army soldiers were invading Afghanistan to bring the country more closely into its sphere of influence. This massive invasion, and the subsequent occupation of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989, is the root cause of the rise of al-Qaeda and Americas involvement in two Middle Eastern wars.

Map of Afghanistan showing the political breakdown of the country and its major cities, roads, and air networks. Bill Cody

After ten years, 15,000 dead, and billions of rubles spent, the Soviet bear limped back over the mountain with its tail between its legs. In its wake, the war-ravaged Afghan population was inflicted with further insult to injury as murderous warlords vied for power. This rampage was then followed by the rise of Mullah Omar and the Taliban, who promised relief from the deadly cycle of violence. The movement swept the country, liberating it from the warlords except for a small slice of northern Afghanistan. The Taliban soon proved to be another form of intolerance and incapable of providing good governance. Osama bin Laden took advantage of the countrys instability to train and launch his al-Qaeda operatives on their 9/11 suicide mission. In response, the United States demanded that he be ousted from the country, which the Taliban refused to do. Within days of the attack, CIA paramilitary officers were inserted into northern Afghanistan to make contact with the Northern Alliance, an eclectic assortment of former warlords brought together by a common enemy and millions of dollars in cold hard cash. The CIA was followed by U.S. Army Special Forces, supported by massive American air power and a task force of U.S. Marines. This combination made short work of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, forcing them to flee to surrounding Muslim countries, primarily Pakistan and Iran. A new government was installed, and the United States proclaimed victory.

The 20012002 liberation of Afghanistan was done on the cheap. A tiny military footprint, a few million dollars to buy Afghan loyalty, and an acceptable casualty rate, brought victory. Marine Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong remarked, We had accomplished in eight weeks what the Russians couldnt accomplish in ten years. Unfortunately, after defeating the al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, the United States took its eye off the ball... Iraq became the focus of attention. The veteran CIA and Special Forces teams were pulled out to refit and prepare for the invasion of Iraq. Afghanistan was put on the back burner. As a result, the Taliban and al-Qaeda was able to refit, regroup, and return from sanctuaries in Pakistan, Syria, and Iran. The cost of this resurgence has yet to be quantified and may very well negate the sacrifice of those Americans who were the first in.

Hamid Karzai, after learning of the assassination of Ahmed Shah Massoud

CHAPTER 1

LATE ON THE AFTERNOON OF 12 December 1979, four senior members of the Kremlins top leadershipchief party ideologue Mikhail Suslov, KGB head Yuri Andropov, Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and Defense Minister Dmitriy Ustinovgathered in General Secretary Leonid Brezhnevs private office. The growing political crisis in Afghanistan had brought them together to discuss the latest intelligence. They concluded that the situation in Afghanistan was spiraling out of control, threatening the security of the Soviet Unions southern borders. At the time of the meeting, two bloody coups had resulted in the establishment of a communist-style government under Nur Mohammad Taraki, a brutal dictator who was strongly supported by the Kremlin. His rule brought about increasing violence by Muslim extremists. Revolts broke out across the country. The Afghan army was sent in to restore order. However, in many cases the army joined the rebels or simply melted away. Taraki begged the Soviets for emergency military assistance.

General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev ordered Soviet troops to invade Afghanistan, after secretly infiltrating Spetsnaz forces to prepare the way. He was convinced that the incursion would only last three to four weeks.