Hamid Karzai is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014,including as the first elected president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from December 2004 to September 2014. He previously served as Chairman of the Afghan Interim Administration from December 2001 to July 2002. He is the chief (khān) of the Popalzai Durrani tribe of Pashtuns in Kandahar Province.
Ahmed Wali Karzai was a politician in Afghanistan who served as Chairman of the Kandahar Provincial Council from 2005 until his death. He was the younger paternal half-brother of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and an elder of the Popalzai tribe. Wali Karzai formerly lived in the United States,where he managed a restaurant owned by his family. He returned to Afghanistan following the removal of the Taliban government in late 2001. He has been accused of political corruption and was allegedly on the CIA payroll. He was assassinated by one of his close bodyguards,Sardar Mohammad,on 12 July 2011.
The Special Activities Center (SAC) is a division of the United States Central Intelligence Agency responsible for covert and paramilitary operations. The unit was named Special Activities Division (SAD) prior to 2015. Within SAC there are two separate groups:SAC/SOG for tactical paramilitary operations and SAC/PAG for covert political action.
Shkin Naryab is a town that is the capital of Gomal District,Paktika Province,Afghanistan,located about a kilometer west of the newer town and bazaar of Angur Ada in the Barmal District of Paktika. As with the area immediately to the north,the Barmal Valley,the Gomal region is primarily populated by ethnic Pashtuns,which neighbours South Waziristan in Pakistan.
The Directorate of Operations (DO),less formally called the Clandestine Service,is a component of the US Central Intelligence Agency. It was known as the Directorate of Plans from 1951 to 1973;as the Directorate of Operations from 1973 to 2005;and as the National Clandestine Service (NCS) from 2005 to 2015.
In late 2001,the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda,which had executed the September 11 attacks,and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban government from power. The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States,offering support for military action from the start of invasion preparations. The invasion came after the Afghan Civil War's 1996–2001 phase between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance groups,resulting in the Taliban controlling 80% of the country by 2001. The invasion became the first phase of the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan and marked the beginning of the American-led War on Terror.
The Intelligence Star is an award given by the Central Intelligence Agency to its officers for "voluntary acts of courage performed under hazardous conditions or for outstanding achievements or services rendered with distinction under conditions of grave risk". The award citation is from the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and specifically cites actions of "extraordinary heroism". It is the third-highest award given by the Central Intelligence Agency,behind the Distinguished Intelligence Cross and Distinguished Intelligence Medal,and is analogous to the Silver Star,the US military award for extraordinary heroism in combat. Only a few dozen people have received this award,making it one of the rarest valor awards awarded by the US government.
Abdul Haq was an Afghan mujahideen commander who fought against the Soviet-backed People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan,the de facto Afghan government in the 1980s. He was killed by the Taliban in October 2001 while trying to create a popular uprising against the Taliban in Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
The Central Intelligence Agency,known informally as theAgency and historically as thecompany,is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States,officially tasked with gathering,processing,and analyzing national security information from around the world,primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT) and conducting covert action. As a principal member of the United States Intelligence Community (IC),the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is primarily focused on providing intelligence for the President and Cabinet of the United States. Following the dissolution of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) at the end of World War II,President Harry S. Truman created the Central Intelligence Group under the direction of a Director of Central Intelligence by presidential directive on January 22,1946,and this group was transformed into the Central Intelligence Agency by implementation of the National Security Act of 1947.
Tarīnkōṭ,also spelled as Tarin Kowt,is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015),with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar.
The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in the cave complex of Tora Bora,eastern Afghanistan,from December 6–17,2001,during the opening stages of the United States invasion of Afghanistan. It was launched by the United States and its allies with the objective to capture or kill Osama bin Laden,the founder and leader of the militant organization al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda and bin Laden were suspected of being responsible for the September 11 attacks three months prior. Tora Bora is located in the Spīn Ghar mountain range near the Khyber Pass. The U.S. stated that al-Qaeda had its headquarters there and that it was bin Laden's location at the time.
The Distinguished Intelligence Cross is the highest decoration awarded by the United States Central Intelligence Agency. It is given for "a voluntary act or acts of extraordinary heroism involving the acceptance of existing dangers with conspicuous fortitude and exemplary courage". Only a handful of people have been awarded this medal in the history of the agency,most posthumously. As a consequence,it is one of the rarest awards for valor in the United States.
The National Directorate of Security was the national intelligence and security service of Afghanistan. The headquarters of the NDS was in Kabul,and it had field offices and training facilities in all 34 provinces of Afghanistan. The NDS was part of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).
The Battle of Tarinkot took place in 2001 during the War in Afghanistan. On November 14,2001,ODA 574 and Hamid Karzai inserted into Uruzgan Province via 4 MH-60K helicopters with a small force of guerrillas. In response to the approach of Karzai's force,the inhabitants of the town of Tarinkot revolted and expelled their Taliban administrators. Karzai traveled to Tarinkot to meet with the town elders. While he was there,the Taliban marshaled a force of 500 men to retake Tarinkot. Karzai's small force plus the American contingent,which consisted of US Army Special Forces from ODA 574 and their US Air Force Combat Controller,Tech Sergeant Alex Yoshimoto,were deployed in front of the town to block their advance. Relying heavily on close air support directed by Yoshimoto,the American/Afghan force managed to halt the Taliban advance and drive them away from the town.
Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.
The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) intelligence agency of Pakistan has been accused of being heavily involved in covertly running military intelligence programs in Afghanistan since before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The first ISI operation in Afghanistan took place in 1975. It was in "retaliation to Republic of Afghanistan's proxy war and support to the militants against Pakistan". Before 1975,ISI did not conduct any operation in Afghanistan and it was only after decade of Republic of Afghanistan's proxy war against Pakistan,support to militants and armed incursion in 1960 and 1961 in Bajaur that Pakistan was forced to retaliate. Later on,in the 1980s,the ISI in Operation Cyclone systematically coordinated the distribution of arms and financial means provided by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to factions of the Afghan mujahideen such as the Hezb-e Islami (HeI) of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and the forces of Ahmad Shah Massoud whose forces would later be known as the Northern Alliance. After the Soviet retreat,the different Mujahideen factions turned on each other and were unable to come to a power sharing deal which resulted in a civil war. The United States,along with the ISI and the Pakistani government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto became the primary source of support for Hekmatyar in his 1992–1994 bombardment campaign against the Islamic State of Afghanistan and the capital Kabul.
The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.
Back Blast is the fifth novel by Mark Greaney,published on February 16,2016,by Berkley Books. It is also the fifth book in the Gray Man series. In this novel,Court Gentry's search for the reasons behind the shoot-on-sight sanction imposed on him by the Central Intelligence Agency continues as he investigates his last CIA mission,Operation Back Blast.
Henry "Hank" A. Crumpton is a retired Central Intelligence Agency operations officer,in his 24 year career he was appointed deputy director of the Counterterrorism Center and head the CIA's National Resources Division,which focuses on operations in the United States. He played an instrumental role in the early days of the invasion of Afghanistan,leading CTC Special Operations paramilitary forces as some of the first people with boots on the ground in pursuit of the Taliban and al-Qaeda just weeks after 9/11. Gary Schroen's seven man Northern Alliance Liaison Team (NALT) forged alliances and established camp in the mountains,while Crumpton crafted a plan for a larger incursion alongside others like Greg Vogle and Chris Wood. He went on to be appointed by President George W. Bush as Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State with the rank of Ambassador-at-large on August 2,2005. He is an author and co-founder,co-Chairman,and co-CEO of the business intelligence firm Martin+Crumpton Group LLC.
John Christopher Wood is a retired operations officer of the Central Intelligence Agency. After the terrorist attacks of September 11,2001,he was part of the initial team of seven CIA officers that entered Afghanistan in pursuit of al-Qa'ida and the Taliban just 15 days after the attacks. Later he held prominent positions,including Kabul station chief and director of the Counterterrorism Mission Center (CTMC).
United States Marine Corps