Generic silhouette image of a Taliban fighter in Afghanistan. Image: Agencies
Asia Times: The man who drove the US out of Afghanistan
Mullah Ibrahim Sadar is the hidden hand behind the Taliban's successful military campaign against the US
KABUL – The first time Mullah Ibrahim Sadar confronted US forces in Afghanistan he was given a lesson in the brutal reality of war that he would never forget. To those who later watched him rise through the Taliban’s ranks and win the respect of al-Qaeda’s inner circle, his sense of purpose was evident even then.
It was the autumn of 2001 and Sadar was a mid-level Taliban field commander tasked with organizing the defense of Kabul. As US airstrikes pounded the city, he put his fighters through training drills designed to repel a ground offensive and handed out gas masks in the mistaken belief that they were about to be targeted with chemical weapons. His tactics and outdated equipment were useless in the face of the American onslaught from above.
“With one bomb, all the mountains in Kabul were shaking,” recalled one of his men, Haji Sayed.
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WNU Editor: He is one of many Taliban commanders .... A divided Taliban could unleash a new proxy war in Afghanistan (Atlantic Council).
