On the 25th anniversary of the US invasion of Afghanistan, Marshal Abdul Rashid Dostum, leader of the Jombesh-e-Milli party, has described how the United States first contacted him to overthrow the Taliban government. The account was sent to Afghanistan International in a note on Wednesday, October 7.
On October 7, 2001 (15 Mizan 1380), then-US President George W. Bush officially ordered an attack on Al-Qaeda and Taliban positions in Afghanistan. Marshal Dostum, who was a key commander of the United Front at the time, fought alongside US special forces against the Taliban. The Taliban government was eventually toppled by US-led coalition airstrikes and ground operations by opposition forces.
In his note, Mr. Dostum says the initial contact with the United States was established through the Republic of Uzbekistan. He states that a man named David Tyson, an American citizen fluent in Uzbek, contacted him and proposed coming to his area of control to start the war against the Taliban.
“I told him to come. We have thousands of horse-mounted fighters. We will continue the struggle from here and will liberate Afghanistan,” Marshal Dostum writes. He recalls the first team of nine US special forces arriving in civilian clothes with heavy boxes of communications equipment at his and Mohammad Mohaqiq’s headquarters.
According to Dostum, he explained the geography and the position of his forces in several northern provinces to the Americans. He adds that Tashkent played a crucial role in the operation's success, providing a military base in Qashqadaryo for US forces to use.
Marshal Dostum also highlights the strategic importance of capturing Mazar-i-Sharif, stating he had assured the Americans that with the city's fall, seven other provinces would be liberated immediately. He says that after Mazar-i-Sharif was captured, the area from Badghis to Pul-e-Khumri fell in a single day, and thousands of Taliban fighters, including Mullah Fazil and other senior commanders, were captured. Among the prisoners were American citizen John Walker Lindh and the deputy of an Al-Qaeda commander.
Source: Afghanistan International
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