A Battlefield Tourist

The End of a Warlord – Afghanistan 2004

Feb 21 at 11:11am by David Tate

In August 2004, I participated in the first independent embedment with the fledgling Afghan National Army.  The adventure began in Kabul and ended in Herat when forces aligned with warlord, Ammanulah Khan, attacked the famous mujahadeen leader, Ismail Khan, from three directions.  I just happened to be there the day it happened. 

This story also covers the Afghan Government’s reaction to the attack, which saw more than 1,500 Afghan soldiers and police respond to the crisis, the largest such endeavor ever taken on by the Afghan government.  The move solidified the government’s hold on the country’s third most populous province and showed the world that the Afghan government did, in fact, have a stick big enough to wield outside the relative security of the capital.

Attack on Herat

Units covered:  76th Indiana Infantry Regiment (ETTs), Afghan National Army/Police, Afghan Militia Forces.