SAN DIEGO. October 7, Israel’s 9/11, is a major wake-up call in a shocking ramp up of terror, not unfamiliar to those who have fought it in Afghanistan. For the warfighters – the “flame of resilience burned bright,” as depicted in Ahmad Nazir’s “Gulf News” depiction of 3rd Marine Aircraft Marines in “Triumph Over the Talban: The Untold Story of US Marines’ Courageous Fight to Save Camp Bastion,” my new book, now selling on Amazon.
“From the heart-stopping moments of combat to the gut-wrenching decisions made amidst the crucible of war, McKinney’s prose resonates with raw emotion and unyielding resolve. It is a gripping odyssey into the heart of one of the most pivotal battles of the Afghan War—a testament to the triumph of courage over fear, and hope over despair,” writes Nazir, adding,
“In the end, “Triumph Over the Taliban” stands as a testament to the enduring power of the human spirit—a potent reminder that even in the darkest of times, the flame of resilience burns bright.” (Gulf News)
An astute journalist coined important takeaways from “Triumph Over the Taliban.”
“. . .one of the most pivotal battles of the Afghan War.” “. . .the flame of resilience burns bright.”
“Pivotal” equates to the untold, unveiled last major battle against Taliban attackers when U.S. Marines found invading, murderous insurgents on their home turf and rained hellfire upon them. This combination of explosive U.S. air and ground response to Taliban threats was dissipating rapidly due to the presidential ordered drawdown of forces.
A vacuum of power was in the making, when to defeat insurgent terror operations in Helmand Province, it demanded a force to fear in their way. Who could outlast who was on the line – the resilience factor at a breaking point. Politicians couldn’t handle the public pressure with an election on the horizon – even though our forces could. Even though Obama promised to beat the Taliban,
“Obama did not enter office bent on getting out of Afghanistan. He entered office bent on winning in Afghanistan. Those are different things. You can get out of a war anytime you like, so
long as you don’t care what happens afterwards and are not fighting for anything terribly important. But Obama clearly and repeatedly said he cared, and said he believed that war was
vitally important, which is why he wanted to win it, not end it.” (Foreign Policy)
When will those in high office learn that terror is here to stay?
We cannot let our deterrence to terror wither away. The only thing terrorists respect is power (according to Marines who knew them well) and over the years they successfully stopped the Taliban in their tracks and crippled their abilities to recruit talent, plan, and move weapons and fighters. In essence, our brave forces denied the terrorists and friends safe haven in Afghanistan to construct another 9/11 against America.
On the moonless night of September 14, 2012, the Taliban moves were unusual, figuring quite possibly, one last hurrah of murder and mayhem on the enemy they hated and kept them down. It was a bold one-on-one terror incursion against a wall of determinedly lethal Marines.
Although it was common for insurgents to lob mortars and rockets on bases throughout Afghanistan from outside the wire. Some even attempted suicide vehicle incursions and were successful at killing some NATO forces, CIA, and civilian contractors.
“On December 30, 2009, Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al Balawi conducted a suicide attack inside the CIA facility inside Camp Chapman, southeast of Khost, Afghanistan. Seven American CIA officers and contractors were killed, along with a Jordanian intelligence officer and an Afghan ally, when al-Balawi detonated a bomb in his suicide vest. The attack was a major setback to the agency’s operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the second-largest single-day loss for the CIA.” (“Triumph Over the Taliban” )
“Camp Chapman Attack,” (Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation)
Terrorists of all kinds prey on the unsuspecting. That’s their signature.
Shortly after the Taliban assault that killed Marines LtCol Christopher Raible and Sgt Bradley Atwell at Camp Bastion, ISAF coalition forces began to leave in droves with only a small number relegated to a support role for Afghan forces. That opened up gaps. The Taliban and al Qaeda allies could now regenerate, recruit, and rebuild what they had lost. They could re-invent the business of terror without direct American interference.
Obama sent 100,000 forces to Afghanistan by 2010, which provided a formidable crush to terrorism plaguing the region. When he announced the July 2011 drawdown, the U.S. counterterrorism strategy began to weaken. It took manpower to restore government services, bolster police forces and protect civilians from Taliban violence. Afghan forces were not ready and never became fully ready.
In 2021 all U.S. forces were recklessly and shamefully withdrawn, allies abandoned, and millions in weaponry left behind. Those White House and military leaders involved sent a signal to the terrorist world that now they can ramp up their game. It was a bad optic. After 20 years the bad guys’ will to control ultimately outlasted the good guys’ resolve to stop them. Political realms ‘doused the resilience flame’, not the warfighters themselves, whose endurance and skill created battle legacies.
The New York Sun reported in January 2024, “The abrupt withdrawal of NATO forces from Afghanistan … has markedly fueled radical jihadist movements, igniting a renewed era of terrorism both regionally and globally,” the head of foreign relations for the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, Ali Maisam Nazary, warned in an interview late last week. . .His remarks come as the conflict between Western states and Iran’s proxies in the Middle East reaches levels not seen in years.”
Insurgents did not cease or quit after the U.S. left Afghanistan.
Trained jihadists in all places were emboldened to up their game leveraging a vacuum of power. Their short and long games were set in motion and broke into a hideous reality.
“The brutal Hamas-led October 7 attack on Israeli communities near Gaza represented a tactical paradigm shift for the group [Hamas], which was previously known for firing rockets at Israel, carrying out suicide bombings targeting city buses or cafes, and conducting roadside attacks and shootings on restaurants and bars. October 7 was something different.”
“The group’s explicit targeted killing and kidnapping of civilians baldly contradicts Hamas’ articulated revised political strategy since it took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007.” It is clear Hamas “takeover of the Gaza Strip by force of arms aimed at fellow Palestinians,” did not lead to a moderate governance, or providing public services to its citizens, but clearly “it prioritized building and maintaining its militant and terrorist capabilities. The October 7 attack obliterates all Hamas claims to legitimacy as a political actor.” (Combating Terrorism Center at West Point)
Oct 7 was unprecedented even for Hamas who conducted a heinous massacre of over 1200 Israelis and brutal kidnapping of hostages – in the name of freeing Palestine. Exactly how free is Palestine living under a terrorist government like Hamas? About as free as Afghanistan living under the Taliban. As of 2022, no one recognizes them a legitimate government, including the son of slain Afghan commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. End of December 2023, son Massoud, Head of Afghanistan’s National Resistance Front, was forced to flee Kabul when the Taliban took control.
“Massoud claimed that his group was fighting the Taliban in 12 of the country’s 34 provinces, using guerrilla tactics since it lacks the resources to regain control of territories. . .Anyone who says the Taliban have changed “should be ashamed of themselves, because the Taliban proved they have not changed at all,” he told FRANCE 24‘s Marc Perelman.
The causes of terrorists rely on opposed occupation of territory.
In Afghanistan it was NATO forces hunting down bin Laden and then holding back the tide of terror within Taliban armed groups and their allies. For Israel, their destruction has been a call for decades.
In “Letters of Al-Qa’ida Members”:
“The document includes two Arabic language wills that were written by `Abdullah Muhammad (Fazul Harun/Harun Fazul) – one that is addressed to Usama bin Laden, Saif Al-`Adl and Abu Hafs al-Commandant (Abu Hafs al-Misri) and another for his wife. Also included in this batch of documents is a letter written in Swahili that is branded by the Global Islamic Front to Expel Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and that mentions Usama bin Laden and Yosef al-Tanzani. . .”
In Letter 3 it states:
“The Jihad continues to the day of resurrection.” Coupled with an image of an automatic rifle.
The U.S. withdrawal and the fall of the Afghan government took away an enemy to fight.
“Hence, it [al Qaeda] can no longer capitalize on the anti-occupation narrative it utilized during the two decades of war in Afghanistan to appeal to new recruits looking for armed jihad. This might prove problematic for the group’s recruitment prospects, especially with the younger constituencies primarily interested in fighting opportunities.” (Combating Terrorism Center at West Point)
Does this leave a bunch of trained jihadists needing an enemy to fight? It’s important to note that beyond Afghanistan Iran is also another al Qaeda command center. “. . .several historical figures returned to the fold after years of detention in the country. These included Abu Muhammad al-Masri and Saif al-`Adl who, after their release in 2015, took a leading role in managing al-Qa`ida’s affairs in the region and beyond. Abu Muhammad was reportedly killed in Tehran in 2020. Al-`Adl, for his part, is believed to be still in Iran and to have assumed command since al-Zawahiri’s death.”
Ramped up terror is outrageously dangerous for the entire world. Targets of terror attacks have the right to fight back with all power and might to save future lives. These lawless groups will resurge and remain operational in order to further their global agenda. They leave death and destruction at one’s doorstep – at a home, business, school, hospital. . .or a U.S. operational airfield with hellfire means that once stopped them.
