Read Online Afghan Storm (Nick Woods Book 3) by Stan R. Mitchell - Free Book Online
Authors: Stan R. Mitchell
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units in Afghanistan, but the remnants were mostly
military contractors now. As far as Rasool could tell, these military
contractors were there to suck money that the U.S. government had transferred
to Afghanistan while merely performing low-level security at bridges and dams,
as well as training the Afghan army and police force. But both the military and
police forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan were heavily infiltrated by Taliban
members or sympathizers. Even the units that hadn’t been infiltrated were laden
with men who had little dedication to the fragile government of Afghanistan.
These men were in it for the paycheck, and that’s why the Taliban under Rasool
were within months of fully taking over the entire country.
Mushahid
constantly berated Rasool that if he didn’t become more cautious, then he
wouldn’t live to see what he had spent a decade trying to achieve: the complete
collapse of the Afghan government and the re-establishment of a Taliban
government. That was the first step in their grand plan, anyway.
“You risk
yourself too much,” Mushahid regularly harped at him.
Rasool
always reminded Mushahid that if Allah willed his death, there was nothing
Mushahid or any of his fighters could do to prevent it. But Mushahid would
always argue that Allah also gave Rasool the good sense to know better and to
realize how crucial he was to the movement.
“Your death,
if it must come, will only come by natural causes,” Mushahid had once said. “No
one, especially some American infidel, will ever cause your passing as long as
I’m alive.”
Rasool Deraz
had no doubt Mushahid and the others would willingly take a bullet for him.
This zeal for his protection -- for the cause, really -- was why Rasool tried
to stay away from direct fighting. When danger had lurked near in the past, his
personal force of two hundred men had charged into it like a colony of angry
fire ants.
Rasool knew
the feeling. He had been the same once, protecting older, venerable religious
leaders himself. He had first fought against the Soviets back in the ’80s when
the communist superpower had invaded his home country of Afghanistan. He had
then worked his way up the ranks in the civil war between Afghan warlords that
followed the power vacuum that ensued after the Soviets left.
Eventually,
the religious order known as the Taliban had practically won that civil war in
Afghanistan except for a few provinces in the north. In fact, the Taliban had
its mortal enemy -- the Northern Alliance -- on the ropes when al-Qaeda hit the
Twin Towers in New York on September 11.
Then the
Americans arrived decisively. Initially, the superpower relied mostly on their
planes and some advisors. The bulk of the fighting had been done by local
Afghans in the Northern Alliance. Had the Americans stayed with this strategy,
they may have won. But eventually, they made the major mistake of trying to
rebuild the country and turn it into a democracy, sending in thousands of U.S.
troops to help facilitate this. None of these American troops understood the
culture, of course.
Barely
twenty-one-year-old lieutenants would demean and yell at sixty-year-old tribal
elders. Soldiers would enter private homes and have women searched. They’d even
go so far as to enter mosques without removing their boots.
And with
every cultural mistake against the populace, the Taliban gained support and new
fighters. Loads of propaganda helped feed this.
Now, victory
in Afghanistan was within sight for the Taliban again. Just as the Soviets had been
beaten down over a ten-year period, the Americans had become weary nearly
fifteen years after invading the country. Only now the Taliban were led by
Rasool Deraz, a humble man who somehow found himself at the top of the
organization. He had never sought the spot, but the Americans had killed or
captured the Taliban’s leaders through the years. And with each loss, Rasool
was promoted and held in higher regard.
Now,
sixty-three years
military contractors now. As far as Rasool could tell, these military
contractors were there to suck money that the U.S. government had transferred
to Afghanistan while merely performing low-level security at bridges and dams,
as well as training the Afghan army and police force. But both the military and
police forces of Afghanistan and Pakistan were heavily infiltrated by Taliban
members or sympathizers. Even the units that hadn’t been infiltrated were laden
with men who had little dedication to the fragile government of Afghanistan.
These men were in it for the paycheck, and that’s why the Taliban under Rasool
were within months of fully taking over the entire country.
Mushahid
constantly berated Rasool that if he didn’t become more cautious, then he
wouldn’t live to see what he had spent a decade trying to achieve: the complete
collapse of the Afghan government and the re-establishment of a Taliban
government. That was the first step in their grand plan, anyway.
“You risk
yourself too much,” Mushahid regularly harped at him.
Rasool
always reminded Mushahid that if Allah willed his death, there was nothing
Mushahid or any of his fighters could do to prevent it. But Mushahid would
always argue that Allah also gave Rasool the good sense to know better and to
realize how crucial he was to the movement.
“Your death,
if it must come, will only come by natural causes,” Mushahid had once said. “No
one, especially some American infidel, will ever cause your passing as long as
I’m alive.”
Rasool Deraz
had no doubt Mushahid and the others would willingly take a bullet for him.
This zeal for his protection -- for the cause, really -- was why Rasool tried
to stay away from direct fighting. When danger had lurked near in the past, his
personal force of two hundred men had charged into it like a colony of angry
fire ants.
Rasool knew
the feeling. He had been the same once, protecting older, venerable religious
leaders himself. He had first fought against the Soviets back in the ’80s when
the communist superpower had invaded his home country of Afghanistan. He had
then worked his way up the ranks in the civil war between Afghan warlords that
followed the power vacuum that ensued after the Soviets left.
Eventually,
the religious order known as the Taliban had practically won that civil war in
Afghanistan except for a few provinces in the north. In fact, the Taliban had
its mortal enemy -- the Northern Alliance -- on the ropes when al-Qaeda hit the
Twin Towers in New York on September 11.
Then the
Americans arrived decisively. Initially, the superpower relied mostly on their
planes and some advisors. The bulk of the fighting had been done by local
Afghans in the Northern Alliance. Had the Americans stayed with this strategy,
they may have won. But eventually, they made the major mistake of trying to
rebuild the country and turn it into a democracy, sending in thousands of U.S.
troops to help facilitate this. None of these American troops understood the
culture, of course.
Barely
twenty-one-year-old lieutenants would demean and yell at sixty-year-old tribal
elders. Soldiers would enter private homes and have women searched. They’d even
go so far as to enter mosques without removing their boots.
And with
every cultural mistake against the populace, the Taliban gained support and new
fighters. Loads of propaganda helped feed this.
Now, victory
in Afghanistan was within sight for the Taliban again. Just as the Soviets had been
beaten down over a ten-year period, the Americans had become weary nearly
fifteen years after invading the country. Only now the Taliban were led by
Rasool Deraz, a humble man who somehow found himself at the top of the
organization. He had never sought the spot, but the Americans had killed or
captured the Taliban’s leaders through the years. And with each loss, Rasool
was promoted and held in higher regard.
Now,
sixty-three years
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