The Lords Of War


		The Lords Of War A Different Perspective Northern Alliance Dominates Afghan Parliament A Special Editorial- By Jack Idema, United Front Military Forces 10/19/2005 - 8,500 Words - Copyright 2005

	Lords Of War-A Different Perspective Northern Alliance Dominates Afghan parliament A Special Editorial for Afghan United Press Agency By Jack Idema, United Front Military Forces Kabul – 10/21/2005 Barren sweeping deserts, stunning jagged mountains, burning heat in the day, and freezing cold in the night. Twenty miles out of any village, and you won't see a living thing for another hundred miles. If the desert doesn't kill you, the minefields will. If the mines don't kill you the Taliban, the narco-traffickers, or the nomad bandits will kill you. Better an opium smuggler shoots you then the Taliban decapitates you. Both options are better than falling into the hands of nomad bandits— who will skin you alive and tear off your limbs in a camel pull contest. It is a brutal, unforgiving wasteland marked with the scars of five thousand years of war. Alexander the Great, the Roman Army, the Hun, Kublai Khan, the Imperial British, and the Soviets; all of them once ruled, or tried to rule its deserts. The worlds first PMC (Private Military Corporation), The East India Trading Company, had its own courts, laws, government, and one of the largest armies in the world, controlling more than one fifth of the world's population. It put down countless rebellions in India, including its own Sepoy (Indian Soldiers) rebellion in 1857. Arguably the most powerful force on earth at one time, the Company, as the Indians and the Crown referred to it, met a bloody devastating defeat in 1853. It came at the hands of a vicious ragtag coalition of tribal warriors who drove the East India Trading Company from their land leaving behind the bleached white bones of countless Empire soldiers to mark the desert for 100 years. Each time, the invader left in defeat roughly 100,000 troops lighter than when they started. Afghanistan—is the forgotten land, again. Nobody seems to care much about Afghanistan anymore. Like so many times before, it is left for the history books. Iraq has dominated the news for more than two years. Networks and news agencies have a meager, barely visible presence in this war torn region. Exploding cars, carnage, and bodies make for bigger audiences. Iraq is better for television, and the print journalists follow the cameramen. It is our fascination with the morbid and violent. Bad news sells, good news doesn’t. Everyone knows that. But in its forgotten niche of the world, where Iraq stands as a perfect example of how not to fight, win, and then lose a war, Afghanistan stands as the one place where we actually did make life better. Where the people really did want democracy, and where, unlike the Iraqi’s the Afghans really did fight by our side to free their country. My friend Lieutenant Colonel Jim Morris, author of War Story, the definitive book on the Vietnam experience, asked me “does anyone even give a damn about Afghanistan anymore?” Most Americans probably do not. If we aren’t being bombarded with headlines and breaking news, and with images of blood and twisted metal, we quickly sweep the old news from our cluttered psyche. So here is a tip. We better start caring. Iraq insurgents are flooding into Afghanistan. Afghan Taliban extremists are being trained in Iraq and sent back to Afghanistan to import a new strategy against Afghan democracy. That strategy is car bombs, IED’s improvised explosive devices, and suicide bombings; something new in Afghanistan after 25 years of war. If we don’t start caring Afghanistan will very quickly go from a miracle of democracy to the explosions and flames of defeat. Our defeat—and the Afghans’ defeat. Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida movement cannot allow Afghanistan to be a success. This is clear in a letter just released by ODNI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The letter, dated July 9, 2005, between two senior al-Qaida leaders, Ayman al-Zawahiri and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was obtained during counterterrorism operations in Iraq. While its contents may come as a revelation for the ODNI, it is something those of us fighting in Afghanistan have known for years. Al-Qaida is working hard to open up a two front full scale insurgency against America, and Afghanistan in the second front. Still, Afghanistan will remain a forgotten place, covered by third-string journalists, a spattering of independent filmmakers, and a few photographers here and there. Until the flames rage—and that may be inevitable. But not if the “Warlords” have their way, and hopefully they will. For the "Warlords" have seized back their country, not with guns, but with votes, and that gives new hope that Afghanistan will not follow the path of Iraq. Contrary to every press report I have seen, Afghans have shown the world not fractured tribal mobs, but a coalition hell-bent on freedom. Massoud’s “Alliance” has risen from the ashes. Pro-democracy Afghan military commanders have swept Afghanistan’s first parliamentary elections. This shouldn't be a surprise to Americans. George Washington's Continental Army did the very same thing 218 years ago. While western journalists, political “experts,” and foreign diplomats are reporting that Afghanistan's new parliament "promises to be a fractured one with former warlords, ethnic groups and a few former anti-Karzai ministers faring well in the polls," the actual case is quite different. Ahead of the formal declaration of results for the September 18 elections, the counting of votes for the Wolesi Jirga (House of Representatives) showed that "the warlords," as the western press calls them, “continue to be a force and cannot be wished away easily.” With the days of power by bullet seemingly over, the "former warlords" or jihadis have opted for the ballot instead to keep themselves a force in Afghanistan's destiny. As hard as president Karzai and the United Nations tried, they could not stop the will of the people. United Nations and US State Department propaganda caused more than 40 Northern Alliance "warlords" to be barred from elections due to their alleged links with armed groups. Imagine what American patriots would have said if they had been banned from running for seats in the Congress of the United States in 1780. The UN and US calls them "illegal military commanders." A 180 degree reversal from the days they called them trusted allies in the American backed ouster of the Taliban in 2001 and 2002. Sure, they beat the Taliban with US air support, money, and Special Forces. Just like George Washington's Continental Army beat the British with ships, arms, and money from the French. All underdogs need a helping hand to defeat tyranny and raise the flag of liberty. What if George Washington had been banned from the Presidency in 1789 because he had been a "warlord?" What if we were to compare America's Revolutionary heroes and leaders to Afghanistan's Mujahadeen who fought against the Soviets and Taliban? The 55 American delegates who attended the Constitutional Convention of the first 13 united States were a distinguished body of men who represented a cross section of 18th century American leadership. Most were well-educated men of means, who were dominant in their communities and states, and many were also prominent in national affairs, but many were simply men of strong will and principles. Virtually all had taken part in the Revolution—at least 29 had served and fought bloody battles in the Continental forces—most holding positions of command. They were revolutionary militia commanders. They to, were the Lords Of War. War against an oppressive King and against a foreign invader; the British. They fought for liberty, for justice, for trial by jury, to stop taxation without representation, and to guide their own destiny, rather than be guided by a foreign power 6,000 miles away. Washington is best compared with Commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, except that Massoud never owned slaves. Massoud was not the pro-Communist or fundamentalist he was often accused of by reporters who had never been to Afghanistan—nor was his alliance backed by the Communists just because they fought with Russian weapons. Like George Washington, Massoud fought with what he had and believed in a higher purpose. He fought for not just his village and his country, but all of humanity. "We consider this our duty — to defend humanity against the scourge of intolerance, violence, and fanaticism." — Ahmed Shah Massoud Like Washington, Massoud was a selfless defender of freedom in his country. He wanted democracy and he demanded liberty. He willingly sacrificed everything to get it for his people. Massoud never allowed a road to be built to his village. He often said the last road built in Afghanistan would be the road to his village. Massoud showed pride in the fact that he lived in an austere mud hut with the worst road in Afghanistan running to his door. George Washington had let Mount Vernon go into a virtual state of disrepair and ruin during the revolution. Massoud did the exact same with his own house and village. Under Hamid Karzai’s leadership, the first new road was built to Karzai’s village and birthplace. It was already the best road in Afghanistan—the Taliban had made sure of that. The road to Kandahar was the longest and still the most difficult to build. At a staggering cost I might add. Often said in jest by US Special Forces soldiers, but with much truth, the Kandahar road accomplished little more than giving the Taliban a fast smooth ride to Kabul. If the purpose of building roads was to boost the economy and rebuild the country, the best road to have built first would have been the road between Jalalabad and Kabul, which was the principle route of supplies and trade. But if the logical choice was made then Karzai’s relatives couldn’t visit his palace in comfort. But like America’s first president, Karzai is keen on capes, chapan capes. Didn’t someone once say, “Senator, I worked with John F. Kennedy; I knew John Kennedy. Senator, you’re no John Kennedy.” Well, President Karzai, I know you, and I knew Commander Massoud, and you sure as hell aren’t him. Nor will you ever pass through, no less stand, in the shadow of George Washington. While Massoud’s hope for Afghanistan was one of liberation and democracy for all people, he was also realistic about politics, diplomacy, and cultural and religious influences. Massoud understood that it would be a long struggle and worked day and night to make it a reality before his time left on earth was over. Those around him never realized how soon he would be taken. His loss for Afghanistan was no less than America’s loss of John F. Kennedy, who died before his dream was realized. But other Afghans do stand in the shadow of America’s Founding Fathers. Northern Alliance leader Yunis Qanooni can be best compared with Thomas Jefferson, War Governor of the State of Virginia in 1780 and Secretary of State under George Washington. One difference is that Jefferson was more of a talker and thinker (he is acknowledged as the principle author of the Declaration of Independence) than fighter—Jefferson was criticized for turning tail instead of defending Richmond. Qanooni on the other hand, took enemy bullets on four separate occasions. What they do have in common is brains and charisma. That and a lust for freedom from tyranny at any cost. Besides the Declaration of Independence, Jefferson considered his other major accomplishment the 1819 founding of the University of Virginia at Charlottesville. He conceived it, planned it, designed it, and supervised both its construction and the hiring of faculty. Yunis Qanooni resigned as the all-powerful Minister of Interior in Afghanistan so he could keep peace with the Pashtun and fix Afghanistan's completely broken education system. Serving as Minister of Education for just a few short years; Qanooni built and opened more schools in Afghanistan during that time than in the previous 500 years combined. Alexander Hamilton, another of America's "founding fathers," firmly believed in action against America's oppressors, so he enlisted in the militia and fought in New York battles in 1775 and 1776. His passion and organizing ability brought him to George Washington's attention and a commission to lieutenant colonel in the Continental Army as aide-de-camp to its commander. He served next to Washington for four years. Though admired as a superb staff officer, Hamilton longed for a field command. He achieved his desire in time to lead a regiment of New York troops at the Battle of Yorktown in October 1781. Immediately after the war Hamilton ran for, and was elected, a member of the Continental Congress in 1782. Much like Hamilton, General Mohammed Daoud, Commander Haji Qarabiq, and two dozen other "warlords" running for office in Afghanistan came from the same mold. First fighting in the militia they earned their commissions in the fulltime army, and are now taking the brunt of a jaded press. Jaded because they just can't bear the fact that the people of Afghanistan want strong leaders and military heroes to guide them through perilous times, and to continue the fight AGAINST the terrorists, not greet the terrorists into the government in the interest of peace. They had peace under the Taliban, and it was brutal. Now they want to finish their fight for freedom. John Jay, American statesman and patriot of the Revolution, opted for politics instead of battle, but he was always at the side of the military commanders, offering advice, and dealing with political strategy. Like Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, Commander Massoud's right-hand statesman, John Jay later became the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the first 13 united States. Dr. Abdullah remains the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan, and rightly so. The press loves to make fun of his matching first and last names; apparently forgetting that William Williams of Connecticut signed the Declaration of Independence on January 18, 1777. The press rails Burhanuddin Rabbani, religious leader of Massoud's Jamiat Party, who served as president twice. As the only leader in Afghan history to have voluntarily stepped down for a peaceful transition of leadership, I personally stood there as he graciously turned the presidency over to Karzai on December 22, 2001. Rabbani, like others, gets a hard time for being so religious. Someone forgot to remind reporters that in America’s first 55 delegates, Baldwin had been a minister, and Williamson, Madison, Ellsworth, and others had studied theology but had never been ordained. George Washington once wrote an entry in his diary about how upset he was that he missed church one day because the snow was impassable. God forbid a religious leader like Burhanuddin Rabbani lead his country. I guess the pundits forgot that George Washington was also a preacher frequently giving sermons and leading prayer services for his soldiers. Both of these “religious leaders” led armed groups of resistance against a foreign oppressor, while giving services themselves. Imagine if John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and John Jay had been barred from running for office because of their past "links to armed groups" that fought the British? How would America have fared today? Would the Bill of Rights ever have been written? Journalists report that “a slew of prominent warlords against whom the human rights watchdogs have been crying hoarse also did well. They include Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf, Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, Pacha Khan Zadran, Commander Perum Qul, Hazrat Ali and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's follower Khalid Farooqi.” I cannot believe that American allies and Afghan leaders like Mohaqiq, Hazrat Ali, and Zadran are lumped into the same sentence as wanted terrorist Hekmatyar’s hatchet man, Khalid Farooqi. Let’s just say that Adolph Hitler and Roosevelt both did well at the polls in 1940. Farooqi did well in a region permeated with insurgents and terrorists and where the populace is openly and viciously opposing a new government and freedom. While Associated Press and other writers, like Carlotta Gall at the New York Times call them “uneducated” and insinuate they’re not worthy of holding public office, if these journalists had stayed awake in school, they might have learned that many of our Founding Fathers, like Benjamin Franklin, were largely self-taught and had received scant formal training in any subject. It does not take a degree in astrophysics to lead a country—it takes courage and charisma. Hell, no one is writing about Karzai’s lack of education— yet all of his degrees are honorary— and until the CIA gave him $3 million in cash and flew him over the Pakistani border on November 14, 2001; he was chopping tomatoes in his brother's American restaurant. Three weeks after he landed with a Special Forces A-Team led by Captain Jason Amerine, and run by Master Sergeant Jefferson Davis, he was named President. During his ten days of actual "war" he started with two dozen relatives, and bought a mercenary army of a thousand with CIA money. Unlike the true Lords Of War, Karzai never fought himself, opting for the safety of well-guarded rear areas, and being flown out by BlackHawk helicopter twice when the fighting got tough. Now that's a warlord. Or at least a wannabe “warlord.” Of course Karzai was put in power by the United States government, and why not, America had financed Afghanistan's war of liberation, therefore it could be argued that we were just repeating historical precedent. On May 25, 1787, guards stood on the cobblestone street in front of the entrances of the Pennsylvania State House. Inside, Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, the "financier" of the Revolution, opened the proceedings with a nomination— General George Washington for the presidency of the Constitutional Convention. Morris had once loaned Washington $50,000 for his militia payroll. The vote was unanimous. Like Karzai, on the phone to the Bonn Conference, General Washington, with characteristic ceremonial modesty, expressed his embarrassment at his lack of qualifications to preside over the new country, and apologized in advance for any errors he might make in the future. Besides, former president Burhanuddin Rabbani, former education minister and Ahmed Shah Massoud's close friend Mohammad Yunis Qanooni and General Abdul Rashid Dostum's spokesman Faizullah Zakki have also been elected to the new Afghan Parliament. AP, Reuters, and others love to report that “there are a very large number of complaints of electoral malpractices against commanders-turned-politicians.” But is there any proof? And exactly who are the complainants? Afghan-Americans who returned home after fleeing their country 30 years ago and now cannot understand why the degree they earned at a community college in Los Angeles isn’t getting them elected? Or is this all based on the press’ disbelief that the Afghan people could vote for anyone that had been a soldier, or even worse, the commander of Afghan soldiers, and therefore a Warlord? Among America's top Warlords, Major General Nathaniel Greene was second only to George Washington. Together, they shared the distinction of being the only Continental generals that served throughout the entire War of American Independence. Greene repeatedly distinguished himself on the battlefield in the Northern Campaign. Arguably the war's greatest strategist, he successfully waged a war of attrition against the Crown forces in the South. He led the Southern Army at Guilford Courthouse, Hobkirk's Hill, Ninety-Six, and Eutaw Springs. Before the war, Greene worked as both iron-maker and blacksmith. In his early military career he was a lowly private for the Rhode Island militia then brigadier general in the Continental Army. Greene soon became George Washington's most valued and trusted general. General Atta Mohammed was one of Massoud’s most loyal and faithful commanders, and also a great strategist against the Soviets and the Taliban. He came from simple beginnings, and had worked as a blacksmith before the Jihad. Like America’s General Greene, Atta rose from lowly soldier, to bodyguard, to Commander, and then led the liberation of Mazar-i-Sharif in 2001. General Mohammed Daoud, who liberated Kunduz, rose from the ranks the very same way to corps commander in Afghanistan, as did Massoud's chief military advisor, General Zabet Saleh, both of whom have been elected to Parliament. In March of 1776, after the British troops had evacuated Boston, Greene, like Mujahadeen Commanders Atta and Daoud, was given command of the city. Greene defended New York in April 1776 and was promoted to major general for his actions. Greene proved a combat commander in the Battles of Trenton, Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and Rhode Island. In 1780, Washington sent him south to command the army there. Following months of engagements, Greene conquered the south. Because Greene spent his entire personal fortune supporting the war of liberation, the state of Georgia rewarded him with a plantation near Savannah. Atta and Daoud received similar land grants in the north, and then distributed the land to the people. Yet now, Atta is a “warlord” and “criminal” in the eyes of the press. Still, under Atta’s command as governor, Mazar remains one of the safest areas in Afghanistan. Journalists seem exceptionally upset that in Paghman, just at the outskirts of Kabul, “the notorious warlord Abdul Rab Rasul Sayyaf (sic) has won.” While western journalists write that "during the fight against the Russians, warlord Abdul Rab Rasul Sayaf was reported to be close to Osama bin Laden, who used his training camps for training Al Qaeda recruits," they leave out the important part. Sayaf was close to bin Laden, but even the American CIA was close to bin Laden then. Before Osama turned international terrorist, he was our terrorist, bringing terror to the Soviet invaders, although, like Karzai, bin Laden preferred to stay in the rear areas during battles. But front line stories, as mythical as they might be, make good copy, good propaganda, and good will. Perhaps that's why the CIA chose to build the same legend for Karzai and why I perpetuated the same myth in the Karzai chapters I wrote in the NY Times bestselling book, The Hunt for Bin Laden. Just ask the Special Forces team that was with him, codenamed TEXAS 12, at least the ones left alive. On the very day Karzai was named president, Jefferson Davis, Daniel Petithory, and Cody Prosser—all Green Berets with Karzai—were killed. Six others were wounded, including Special Forces hero Mike McElhiney, who lost an arm. Karzai was safe in a rear building, heavily guarded by the CIA—although the dust from the safehouse shaking did cover him. Sayaf, “a notorious warlord” with terrorist links twenty years ago before the terrorists were terrorists? Certainly. Anti-government? Possibly. Did some "bad things?" Well, let’s not forget two of America's Founding Fathers, Blount and Dayton, both members of the first Congress, were accused of "treasonous activities." Yet, as they had done before the Congressional Convention, most of America's first Congress continued to render outstanding public service, particularly to the new government they had helped to create. Other journalists report that "the international rights body Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Sayaf of a series of war crimes." Accusations and proof are infinitely different. I was accused of torturing innocent Afghans, but has anyone ever seen any proof? Any? No doubt Sayaf did not treat his enemies well, but war is hell, especially in the mountains of Afghanistan. At least he didn't cut off Russian heads, as the Iraqis and Taliban do to us. One article states that “Hazara Northern Alliance Commander and former vice president in Karzai's transitional government, Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, who bagged the most votes in Kabul, is also accused of serious atrocities like hammering nails into the heads of prisoners of war.” Again, is there any proof to these rumors? I was accused of burning my prisoners with cigarettes, yet not a single one had a single mark. Now there’s a fact the press clearly saw with their own eyes during my trial, but somehow missed in their articles. The fact is that Mohaqiq was a US ally during the 2001/2002 war and America was more than glad to help him, align with him, and fight with him. Now that Mohaqiq has laid down his weapons voluntarily and run for office, he’s a torturing psychopathic pariah to the press. Obviously his people love him; he won more votes that anyone in Kabul—even though his Hazara ethnic group is the smallest. The press does see two silver linings in the election, first the new parliament’s constitution along ethnic lines, “with the Pashtun grabbing the highest number of seats.” They also speculate that “Afghan President Hamid Karzai, himself a Pashtun, may use this factor to manipulate a majority in the house.” This got a robust laugh out of me. First, although the Pashtun make up 60% of the country, they won only 30% of the seats. Second, the majority of Pashtuns that won were Northern Alliance aligned commanders or supporters; who will clearly side against Karzai. Interestingly enough, Karzai’s brother only mustered 2,602 votes although he spent a half million dollars in alleged drug money on his campaign. The other Pashtuns that won were from Kandahar and southern regions where only Pashtuns were running, and where the Taliban is strongest. They will find their Taliban ties and Islamic fundamentalist ideals quickly kicked to the curb by a Northern Alliance controlled parliament. According to the press, Northern Alliance commanders from the smaller ethnic groups of Uzbeks led by Abdul Rashid Dostum and Pashayees by Hazrat Ali won seats supposedly “on the basis of their numbers and areas of influence.” The reality is that they won because their people loved them and followed them, and most of all, trusted them. Like other Massoud Generals, both Dostum and Hazrat Ali have mirror image in the American Revolution—Brigadier General Daniel Morgan. Born of Welsh parents in 1736, Morgan left home without his parents’ permission, and moved to Virginia. He could barely read and write. His manners were rude, and he enjoyed fist fighting. He eventually became adept at gambling and enjoyed strong drinks and brawling. He served in the British Army—just as Dostum and Ali served with the Soviet Army. In 1756, Morgan characteristically knocked out a British officer with a single blow of his fist. Dostum had a similar incident with a Russian officer in the early 80’s. Morgan was court-martialed and sentenced to 500 lashes. Dostum and Ali just deserted and joined the resistance. Morgan was severely wounded in battle when a bullet struck him in the back of his neck and exited his cheek. He carried that scar the rest of his life. Scars much like the scars that Dostum and Ali carry into the new Afghan government. And a mirror image of the battle scar one of Qanooni’s campaign managers, Dean Mohammed, carries from a Russian bullet. Hating the British, Daniel Morgan joined the American army when the Revolutionary War began. He spent eight months in a British jail after the battle of Quebec in December 1775. Dostum and Ali, both hating the Soviets more than Massoud’s Panjshiris, joined Massoud’s Northern Alliance, and fought Russians, Hekmatyar, and later the Taliban. Both spent time as prisoners in Russian jails. In 1779, having been passed over for promotion, Morgan resigned from the Army—Dostum also resigned from Karzai’s Army in 2003, after being passed over. Congress offered Morgan command of the Southern Theatre of the war. Morgan declined and remained a civilian. When the Continental Army was defeated at Camden, Morgan put aside his personal feelings for the good of the country and rejoined the army. In 1998, Dostum and Ali split from Massoud, but with Massoud barely holding out against the Taliban they later rejoined him and put aside their differences. Massoud promoted them to General and they fought the Taliban together. In 1780, Congress finally promoted Morgan to General. Dostum rejoined the government in 2004 when Karzai finally made him the Chief of Staff of the Afghan military. On January 17, 1781 at the battle of Cow Pens, Morgan with his experienced, but untrained, militia defeated the better-equipped, better-fed, and far better-trained British army under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton. Morgan knew his men and his opponent, knew how they would react in certain situations, and used his experience and the terrain to his advantage. The night before the battle Morgan went amongst the men: encouraging them, telling them what he expected of them, and showing them his back, complete with the scars from his flogging. I remember Dostum showing his Mujahadeen his scars before one of the battles to take back Mazar in 2001. The next morning Morgan outflanked the British and rode into them slaughtering most of their army. So to did Dostum, in a battle on October 28, 2001 outside of Mazar, ride into the Taliban tanks in a charge right out of Kipling’s Light Brigade. Neither one showed fear nor hesitation. A US Special Forces Sergeant on TIGER 02, the codename for the team assigned to Dostum would later write in his report back that night: “I am advising a man on how to best employ light infantry and horse cavalry in the attack against Taliban Russian T-55 tanks, Russian armored personnel carriers, BTR’s, mortars, artillery, ZSU anti-aircraft guns and machineguns. I can’t recall the US fighting like this since the Gatling gun destroyed Pancho Villa’s charges in the Mexican Civil War in the early 19th century… we have witnessed the horse cavalry use bounder overwatch from spur to spur to carry wounded… Frankly I am surprised we have not been slaughtered… I have ridden 15 miles a day since arriving, yet everywhere I go the civilians and the ‘muj’ soldiers are always telling me they are glad the USA has come here with planes to kill the Taliban. They all speak of their hopes for a better Afghanistan once the Taliban are gone. We killed the bastards by the bushel-full today, and we’ll get more tomorrow. The team sends its regards.” Between November 9 and 10th, 2001, Mazar-i-Sharif fell to Generals Atta and Dostum, and the American Special Forces teams with them. The people of the newly liberated Mazar threw rose petals and flowers at the feet of their liberators. Hamid Karzai was still working in his brother’s restaurant in Maryland. Did the journalists that were in the safety of their study at home in America that day not realize that the same Afghan peasants throwing those rose petals for their liberators would be the ones voting in this new “warlord” parliament? When Massoud’s General Baryoli Khan and his TIGER 03 Special Forces team led by Master Sergeant John Bolduc liberated Khal-e-Khatah in November 2001, they killed more than 10,000 Taliban in the process. All the world hailed them as heroes. Baryoli resigned after the war and went to live in Holland as a civilian. He declined to return to lead Karzai’s Ministry of Defence, complaining about the Taliban infiltration of the army. Afghanistan’s top “warfighting general” returned this year to fulfill the final orders of his dead Commander. Following Massoud’s wishes, Baryoli did not return for war, he returned to run a political campaign for Yunis Qanooni. Like Afghan Generals Atta, Baryoli, Daoud, and Dostum, and American Revolution General Morgan, Hazrat Ali showed no fear of the front lines either at Tora Bora, refusing to accept a Taliban and al-Qaida surrender and instead pushing into the mountains with experienced but untrained Mujahadeen Army. In 1797 Morgan was elected to the House of Representatives. 208 years later, Dostum's spokesman Faizullah Zakki, also a former Northern Alliance Commander, General Daoud, and Commander Hazrat Ali were elected to Afghanistan’s Parliament. This used to be the American way. We used to elect American war heroes to office, but now service to your country has been turned into a blemish for a politician. Daoud, Dostum, and Ali, like Daniel Morgan, are prime examples of what one can accomplish in life without an education if they work hard and plan well. As his biographer James Graham stated, Morgan’s "strength and spirit, his frank and manly bearing, his intelligence and good-humor, set off by a rich fund of natural wit, which he kept in constant exercise, rendered him a favorite among the people, and contributed to give him a great influence over his associates." He could have been speaking about all five, Morgan, Baryoli, Daoud, Dostum, and Hazrat Ali. Some journalists report that Karzai is going to have problems from former allies: “A number of former ministers alienated from President Hamid Karzai have also done well. They include French-educated former planning minister Ramazan Bachardost, Mustafa Qazami, Sayed Mohammad Ali Jawed, Mohammad Arif Noorzai and Shakir Karyar. They left the cabinet after differences with Karzai and are now daggers drawn with him, promising to give him a tough time in parliament.” Of course the journalist that wrote that on October 14, 2005 obviously isn’t paying close attention to daily life in Afghanistan. The real dagger pointed at Karzai’s heart was Asahraf Ramazan, who was assassinated in the north a week before, and Karzai loyalists tried to blame Atta. There’s another laugh. You’d have to assume Atta would kill the one guy from Mazar that would always take his side against the Kabul government. More likely, Karzai’s people had him killed because he vowed to unseat the restaurateur president. But it makes for good bash the “warlord” propaganda. Karzai should worry less about those “daggers” than the 10 million daggers drawn by starving Afghans who have seen little change in their standard of living while Karzai’s cabinet and appointed officials, many of which are his relatives, both close and distant, grow fat and rich off reconstruction. Their houses loom large in Kabul and the outer provinces, many mimicking the lavish style and grace of Saddam’s inner circle. Other journalist pundits, like Carlotta Gall at the New York Times, have slowly started to fall on their sword. On October 11, 2005, Gall wrote: “As expected, former commanders or members of the mujahedeen (sic) factions that formed during the past two decades of war are likely to dominate the Parliament. Centrist, reformist figures are doing less well than expected, suggesting that the Parliament will be predominantly socially conservative and religious, political analysts say. A rough tally of results so far indicates that mujahedeen (sic), or jihadi, figures have already won nearly 50 percent of the seats in the 249-seat lower house, the Wolesi Jirga. Many will fill the ranks of the opposition, led by three rivals of President Hamid Karzai, which is expected to make up the largest bloc in the Parliament.” Funny, last time I checked, and spoke to Ms. Gall, she was predicting that the Mujahadeen and Northern Alliance leaders would be firmly rejected by the voters. Yes, Ms. Gall, that’s right, the Afghans want leaders, not dockswashers and journalists running their government. Gall seemed genuinely confused that the Taliban could not win in some of her reports. In her October 14, 2005 article she writes: “Former officials of the Taliban, the militant religious movement that was ousted from power in 2001, also did poorly, with only two former Taliban commanders winning seats so far. Some former senior Taliban officials, including the former foreign minister, Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, and Maulvi Qalamuddin, who led the Taliban's Department for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue, did poorly.” First, let me point out that these “former” Taliban officials were not running in any place except the most insurgent infested areas. Literally places controlled by the Taliban, like Khost, Kandahar, and Helmand. And even still they lost in all but two hotbeds of Taliban resistance. Second, I always put quotes around “former” when discussing reformed Taliban leaders. I don’t believe there can be such a thing. Does the press ever call Auschwitz death camp officials “former Nazis?” And exactly why are Taliban allowed to run for anything except a cave or into hiding? Can you imagine letting Nazi’s run for office in post WWII? Or letting Japanese Generals run for office under McArthur’s administration of Japan? Not only no, but hell no. America put them on trial and sentenced them to death. In the days of Generals Patton, McArthur, and Eisenhower, we lined up war criminals in front of firing squads and let them dance on the ends of ropes. But in our kinder gentler world, we let them run for office in the new Afghan government Americans are funding. My dad, God bless him, is an 85-year old Iwo Jima Marine. He started out a private in WWII. He made island assaults on Iwo, Guam, Tarawa, and Okinawa. We were talking about Iwo twenty years ago—one of the rare times he did—and I asked him what wave he was on. “The 5th wave,” he answered reluctantly. I asked, “Dad, the fifth wave? So you missed the battle?” His answer gave me a rude awakening on real war. He mustered a cynical smile and quipped back, “What the hell is wrong with you? The first four waves died before they ever got off the beach. If I was on them you wouldn’t be here.” My dad went from private to Marine First Sergeant and Master Gunnery First Sergeant—the highest enlisted pay grade in the USMC in World War II. He did it with sweat, and blood, and because he was lucky enough to out-survive his superiors. Americans have forgotten about sacrifice, Afghan Mujahadeen have not. Twenty years later, last month, I was talking about how the Taliban were back in the government and how the military was being restrained from fighting them. His latest response was no less than straight forward, “Marines had a saying in WWII; the only good Jap is a dead Jap. War is war; it ain’t a damn line dance.” He was on the first landing into Tokyo. The Japs bowed. Now here’s a headline for left-wing journalists everywhere—THE TALIBAN LOST! What did you expect? Did you expect Afghan families to vote for the return of the whip and rod? During their brief time in power, the Taliban denied the people all human rights, abolished music and song, televisions and pictures; even personal pictures. All males had to wear turbans and could not cut their beards—violations were met with beatings and executions. Females had no rights except the right to be stoned in public until dead for even a minor infraction. The Taliban closed all schools and medical centers, and established the Ministry of Good and Evil to enforce their belief system on the entire country; everyone had been whipped at least once. To possess any picture, even a gum wrapper with a cartoon on it, meant you violated Islam, and that required a beating. Fly a kite, go to jail. Trim your beard, go to jail. Let your wife go shopping alone, go to jail. Sports were outlawed so they used the Kabul Soccer Stadium to execute women-- hey, don't waste resources. Oh yeah, the Afghan people were going to vote for these psychos again. Journalists report that the other “silver lining of the poll is the emphatic victory of women, 63 of whom have been elected.” The western press loves this little tidbit, it seems to emphasize that Afghans have rejected the “gunmen warlords” for kind, gentle and soft women. The pundits have clearly overlooked one factor in the 63 elected women—the UN mandate required the election of a Parliament with 25% women. Simple math figures out that 63 women were going to be elected to parliament regardless of votes; meaning they could have gotten ten votes each from their families and still be “elected.” In Kabul, Najiba Sharif received a mere 1,547 votes, and was still “elected.” Interestingly enough, a front-runner in the female Parliamentary race was none other than Sabrina Saqaeb, a beautiful 26 year old woman from the north. Overlooked by the press is her lineage—she comes from the family of a Northern Alliance Warlord. There were no requirements by foreign powers that the First Congress of the United States contain women, and none ran, and therefore none were elected. I imagine there would have been some if George Washington and the UN had required it back then. But the idea of women in Afghan politics was not something the UN invented in their all seeing all knowing wisdom, nor was it the wish of Hamid Karzai. It was the very “warlords” that freed Afghanistan that followed this vision, a vision often articulated by Massoud. Massoud’s speech during his first occupation of Kabul included this statement, and it was one he would repeat regularly: “The future government should be formed through elections by the people. Men and women should take part. The only form of government, which can balance the different ethnicities, is democracy.” Imagine that, just another illiterate Afghan “warlord” strongman with a vision so clear and concise that it has been the very foundation of the world’s most powerful and free country—America. Even George Washington didn’t support the vote for women in America. Maybe Massoud was smarter than the average journalist. So the Warlords of today win the Afghan parliament, much as the Lords Of War of yesteryear won America’s Congress. While they certainly exercised control, American Lords Of War did not completely make up America’s first Congress. There were, of course, the diplomats like Harvard-educated lawyer John Adams, born in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1735. Identified early with the patriot cause; Adams was a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and led in the movement for independence. During the Revolutionary War he served in France and Holland in diplomatic roles, and helped negotiate the treaty of peace. His mirror image in Afghanistan is Massoud Khalili, Commander Massoud's first and foremost scholar of politics, confidante, and diplomat. Massoud Khalili remains the consummate diplomat, now Ambassador to India, he writes poetry and letters, and lectures at Harvard. He also performed diplomatic roles in France and Holland. On July 4, 1826, John Adams whispered his last words: "Thomas Jefferson survives." But Jefferson had died at Monticello a few hours earlier. Wounded in the fatal al-Qaida attack on Commander Massoud just two days before 9/11, Khalili had asked, on the way into surgery, "Massoud survives?" He was told yes, but Massoud had died just hours before on the way to the hospital in Tajikistan. America's Founding Fathers were warlords, slave owners, landholders, wealthy merchants, politicians, but most of all, Lords of War— military revolutionaries who drove their oppressors from the American Colonies in a violent bloody war and brought the ring of freedom to American life. What did the press expect would happen in Afghanistan? Am I the only one that had faith in Afghans to vote for those people that fought and bled for them? Is it really any wonder why Afghans chose the leaders that fought for their freedom to be the leaders that stood for the next years in defense of that freedom? No doubt that had Commander Massoud not been killed by al-Qaida he would have certainly been elected President by an overwhelming majority. Of no less doubt is that the press would be referring to Massoud as “a former warlord” turned president and elected by people in fear of their lives. Like George Washington, interred at his home on Mount Vernon, Massoud lies at peace on Martyrs Hill in the Panjshir. Like George Washington, Massoud was a Lord Of War and used his lordship, his intuitive strategic reasoning, and his ability to bring tribal enemies together for the common good of the country. For freedom, justice, and liberty— above all. In the summer of 2000, Massoud said, “Our policy was always to have good and friendly relations with everyone. But we never have accepted being oppressed and we will never accept it.” The international press keeps circling their wagons firing off shots to protect their past stories, and chastising the “warlords” for throwing their pakols into an election. The press seems awed by the idea of a former soldier, commander, “warlord” running for political office. After all, only journalists can make that leap—like Minister Ahmad Ali Jalali, the former Voice of America (VOA) journalist who mysteriously went from translating American radio broadcasts in Maryland to the most powerful minister in Afghanistan. No one raised an eyebrow or questioned his qualifications, after all, “Colonel” Jalali had written books about Mujahadeen tactics— or so the legend went. Upon closer inspection, the press would have learned that Jalali was never in the Army, or a “Colonel,” and was merely a translator for the American Army Colonel who really assembled a book from the stories of the real Mujahadeen. Like George Washington, Massoud traveled throughout his country uniting the resistance commanders with his charm, common sense, and a force of will. Like the commanders of the Continental Army, most of Massoud’s commanders were members of different parties, and born in different places. Massoud united them in a council called “Shoraaye- Nezaar” (the Controlling Council). The Northern Alliance, as I refer to here, is a myth. It is fantasy. It is a name invented by a journalist in the United States; a cute phrase used by the Pashtun Taliban to infer that Massoud’s resistance was of northern ethnic origins and therefore not a popular movement of the people. Nothing could be further from the truth. Massoud’s coalition was the United Front. It was comprised of all ethnic groups— Hazara, Uzbek, Tajik, and yes, even Pashtun—like Commanders Attiqullah Lodeen in Logar and Ghul Agha Sharzai in Kandahar, who fought side by side with American Special Forces long before saint and savior Hamid Karzai took his ten day war tour and was appointed President. Massoud’s goal was to build a united Afghan political strategy and united military forces that would not be guided by the ethnic political parties, many of which were actually created by Pakistan. The members of Massoud’s Shoraa-ye-Nezaar fought for the common goal of a free Afghanistan. Pakistan did everything to keep them divided. Pakistan’s goal was divide and conquer. It remains Pakistan’s goal even today. Like Massoud, George Washington told his military commanders to make one promise to him, that if they won their freedom they would lay down the arms, leave military life, and enter politics. I know that Washington did this from history books. I know that Massoud did this because I lived with the Mujahadeen longer than any other American, ever. Massoud made each of them promise this, and it is a promise they fulfilled brilliantly and courageously. Approximately 107 of General George Washington’s former military “warlords” left the Continental Army to pursue a life of politics and forge the future of the country. 29 were elected to the First Continental Congress. More than 100 of Massoud’s Warlords left the United Front Military Forces for political lives, just as Massoud had hoped for, and just as America’s Founding Fathers did over 200 years ago. Some of the most notable Massoud commanders who ran, and won, are General Hajji Almas, a corps commander from the Shomali Plains who stormed Bagram with American Special Forces, General Hajji Qarabiq, who fought with Special Forces in the north, and General Zabet Saleh who was Massoud’s chief military advisor. Other Northern Alliance leaders include Dr. Faizullah, the former governor of Logar. Even the brother of the bodyguard killed with Massoud won, Dr. Salim Ahmadi. But the main shock for the “experts,” was completely expected by the Northern Alliance. General Mohammed Daoud the general that liberated the Taliban stronghold of Kunduz with a Special Forces Team led by Captain Patrick O’Hara and Master Sergeant Frank Nash, codenamed TEXAS 11, not only won, but was elected in an overwhelming landslide. All of them had been fired by Karzai and sidelined by US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad. Now, virtually all of them have been voted back in by the people. Massoud's vision has been painted on the parliamentary canvas by the people his Warlords liberated. While the over-educated astute press of the world lambastes Afghanistan for all the turmoil and past political infighting between Northern Alliance commanders, they fail to see their solidarity now, and their alliance formed once again to stop foreigners from guiding their future and freedom. Today, faced with a common enemy again, they are truly a united front. As hard as the left wing liberal media and insular button-down collared bureaucrats at the US State Department tried, they could not stop the will of the Afghan people who returned their combat leaders to power—now its time for the press and State Department to accept defeat and let the Afghans control their own country and future. Finally, I believe the future will prove me right, and vindicate the Lords Of War. So, remember these facts as reported by Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban and Jihad and a correspondent for The Daily Telegraph on October 15, 2005: “The international donor community is faltering in its commitment to provide sufficient aid for reconstructing the country so that a self-sustaining economy can emerge. Western donors have committed on average about US$2.5 billion every year for the past four years for reconstruction, but less than half that money has actually been disbursed. Four years on, not a single new dam, power station, or major water system has been built. Afghanistan remains the third poorest country in the world.” Maybe it’s because the former journalists running the government have been stealing all the money. Well, Mr. Rashid, I remember you at a hotel in Tajikistan when I medivaced a journalist that had been wounded in Khal-e-Khatah. You were filing reports from the bar, saying you were under fire in a battle. You’re stories weren’t all that bad. But you are way off base. It isn’t the international donors that are screwing this up—it’s people like you, and Gall, Jalali, and Karzai. Mr. Rashid’s article fails to point out one relevant fact. Kabul fell on November 12, 2001, and three and a half years later, electricity was still pitifully intermittent at best. Most families relied on kerosene lanterns. NGOs, military, embassies, and those that could afford it, relied on generators. On a good day, a really good day, the population of Kabul could count on about ten hours—and that’s a generous estimate—of surging, spiking, or barely dribbling electrical current. Five months ago Herat Warlord Ismail Khan took over as Minister of Energy. Today, as I sit here and type I can only remember one time since this “infamous” Northern Alliance commander took charge that power went out for more than minutes. For the first time in Afghan history, before it did, my Warlord friend from the west went on television and announced that power would be off the next day from 4am to 6pm for repairs. At 7pm, with the power still off, I said to my guys, “I hope he hasn’t screwed this up.” Two minutes later our lights were on. I’ll make you a bet and here it is: The dockswashers, journalists, bloviators, and selfish cowards are no longer in control of the Afghan government. So watch what happens this next year with the Lords of War in control. You’re going to see damns, power stations, water, and freedom, built at light speed—at least by Afghan time standards. And it’s going to happen under the hands of the Lords Of War because NGO’s, local chieftains, construction companies, and bureaucrats don’t tell Massoud’s Generals “no” when they say “forget the paperwork, start building the road.” I can just see Commander Ismail Khan at that Dam last month, surrounded by armed Mujahadeen, staring down at the electricians, and turning red and saying “you can put the power on or I can put you in the jail.” Lights on, there you have it. Perhaps it is best to end this debate with a simple quote from a "learned and thoughtful" man, John Adams. More remarkable as a political philosopher than as a politician, he once said "people and nations are forged in the fires of adversity," no doubt thinking of his own as well as the American independence experience, and ultimately, the Afghan experience. This is not to say the Lords of War don't face a tough and determined enemy to liberty. With Armrullah Saleh wielding Karzai's ultimate threat, the NDS secret police, America's Northern Alliance allies are still at considerable risk. Karzai could, and very well might, use his presidential appointment powers to start removing people like General Mohammed Qassim Fahim from the Ministry of Defense, and bringing in more amateurs to fight the war that is certainly looming with the Taliban. As long as Karzai calls for more NATO troops wearing their crosses of Christ, the Taliban will have no problem recruiting foot soldiers willing to die for Mullah Omar to fight the European crusaders. However, if, and I repeat if, the new Parliament can effectively seize control and put the United Front back into the fight, then the Taliban will see another swift and deadly defeat. If American, NATO, and UN political pressure stops the United Front from rising (and recent arrests of UFMF leaders makes it clear that this is Karzai's retaliatory plan), then you will see a bloodbath in Afghanistan that will eclipse it's 5,000 year history. The Taliban are rising and Christian soldiers fighting them while Massoud's army is jobless, penniless, and homeless just isn't going to work. We will certainly lose Afghanistan to the fanatics if the new Parliament cannot change the course of Karzai's return to an Emirate state and force America to again embrace their former allies that bled and won by the side of US Special Forces in 2001 and 2002. Cheer’s to the American Lords Of War that brought British rule to its end. And, here’s to the Afghan Lords Of War—that can bring the terrorists to their end, if allowed. *“Zen da bot Gad Wa De!” (Dari for “Let the revolution begin”)* __________________________ *More Right then Wrong:* 10/20/2005 Kabul- Called "off base" by one news agency, only eight days after this article was written and submitted to major publications, the three opposition party leaders announced they were supporting Yunis Qanooni. He appeared on Afghan television the night after and announced that the people of Afghanistan were once again united in a common goal, a "new United Front that would return to ways of Massoud." The following day, he was unanimously supported for Chief of the Afghan Parliament, in essence, the new Prime Minister of Afghanistan. The other opposition leaders called for all "foreign ministers" (referring to Karzai appointees holding dual citizenship) to either resign or be prepared to stand before the new Parliament and defend their actions over the last two years. *History Confirms Veracity of Idema's LORDS OF WAR: 12/20/2005 Kabul-* In a move that shocked anyone that thought they knew anything about Afghan politics, former President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who western pundits thought would be the spoiler and take the necessary votes from Qanooni to win the race for the most powerful man in Afghanistan, called a press conference and withdrew at the very last moment, throwing his support to Yunis Qanooni and calling Qanooni his son, the nation's son, and the son of freedom. Karzai's plan to defeat Qanooni, supported by tens of millions in US taxpayer funds secretly passed from Karzai to Rabbani to insure the defeat of Qanooni, was flushed into the sewer in a devastating blow to Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad's plot to redirect the history of Afghanistan, and insure it's complete Pashtunization by former Taliban elements in an effort to "compromise in the interest of peace." Qanooni is being hailed as a "winner in a close race" by the western press. What they press is failing to grasp is that Qanooni was running against two other Northern Alliance leaders in the election for Chief (equivalent to Prime Minister). Now that the election is over and Qanooni officially in control, both of this opponents have joined him in a new "United Front" to follow Massoud's way and stand against the Karzai government through politics instead of war. After the election Former President Rabbani met privately with Hamid Karzai and told him, "you did this to yourself. I gave you the country to protect the people from crime and terrorists and protect freedom and you sold your heart and destroyed your people. I never would have given you the presidency had I ever known what you were going to do. Now your time is done, and now Yunis Qanooni will stop the terrorists and bring the real freedom that our people deserve after 25 years of war." Make no mistake about it, if the Lords of War can take back total control Afghans will sleep easier knowing that things are about to get much better for them. __________________________ *Comments on the Article:* "Brilliant." Ted Kavanau, former Vice President and co-founder of CNN "Stunning insight into a world even the 'experts' do not understand." John Tiffany, Attorney and former Journalist "Absolutely enlightening on today's politics below the surface of the war on terror and Afghanistan." Major James Morris, US Special Forces and author of the bestselling Vietnam book, WAR STORY. "We are proud of what we are, and proud of you for telling the world the real story." Abdullah; Ahmad Shah Massoud Hero Foundation. __________________________ *About the Article:* Jack Idema decided to write this editorial about Massoud's United Front after hearing his friends in the "Northern Alliance" disparaged time and again by journalists writing stories with hype and disingenuous unsupported statements to sell papers and grab headlines. After all, "Warlord" sells more papers than "General" or "Commander" or "Leader." After writing the article his American friends said it was a book not an article. Taking their advice, he now expects to finish his treatise about the real Northern Alliance heroes by Christmas 2008. It will focus on the true story of Afghan, CIA, Department of State, and PMC politics with comparisons to America's own Revolutionary war of liberation. It is tentatively titled: THE LORDS OF WAR- 250 years of American and Afghan Wars of Liberation __________________________ *About the Author:* Jack Idema is a former US Army Special Forces operator who was awarded the Green Beret in 1975. During his brief stint as a journalist he won a National Press Club Award for outstanding reporting in July 2001. The day after 9/11 packed his bags for Afghanistan- as a soldier, not a journalist. In 2001/2002 he fought with the Northern Alliance as a full Commander in the United Front Military Forces and was featured on the front cover of the NY Times bestselling book- The Hunt for Bin Laden. He is also the principle author of TASK FORCE DAGGER the story of US and British Special Forces in Afghanistan during the first months of the war of liberation. Excluding the terrorists and Taliban named, he knows every Afghan in this article personally, and has fought with, lived with, or shared rice with almost all of them. Although he was held as a prisoner of war by the Karzai administration at Pulacharke’s POW Compound, one of the worlds most infamous prisons, he lived in luxurious “Northern Alliance” General Officer’s quarters at the prison thanks to his “Warlord” friends. Some of which are pictured below with Jack.