Hamid Karzai is an Afghan politician 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 an Afghan politician 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.
Joseph Cofer Black is an American former CIA officer who served as director of the Counterterrorism Center in the years surrounding the September 11th attacks,and was later appointed Ambassador-at-Large and Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department by President George W. Bush,serving until his resignation in 2004. Prior to his roles combatting terrorism,Black served across the globe in a variety of roles with the Directorate of Operations at the CIA.
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.
Shortly after the September 11 attacks,the United States declared the war on terror and subsequently led a multinational military operation against Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The stated goal was to dismantle al-Qaeda,which had executed the attacks under the leadership of Osama bin Laden,and to deny Islamist militants a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by toppling the Taliban government. The United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States,offering support for military action from the start of the invasion preparations. The American military presence in Afghanistan greatly bolstered the Northern Alliance,which had been locked in a losing fight with the Taliban during the Afghan Civil War. Prior to the beginning of the United States' war effort,the Taliban had seized around 85% of Afghanistan's territory as well as the capital city of Kabul,effectively confining the Northern Alliance to Badakhshan Province and smaller surrounding areas. The American-led invasion on 7 October 2001,marked the first phase of what would become the 20-year-long War in Afghanistan.
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 the Agency,metonymously as Langley and historically as the Company,is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States 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 through its Directorate of Operations. The agency is headquartered in the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley,Virginia.
Tarinkot,also spelled as Tarin Kowt,is a city in south-central Afghanistan,serving as the capital of Uruzgan Province. It sits at 1,317 m (4,321 ft) above sea level,and is connected by a road network with Kandahar to the south,Nili in Daykundi Province to the north,and Malistan in Ghazni Province to the northeast.
The deputy director of the CIA for operations is a senior United States government official in the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency who serves as head of the Directorate of Operations. The position was established December 1,1950 and from January 4,1951,until March 1,1973,it was known as Deputy Director of Plans (DDP). When this unit was known as the Directorate of Plans,it at first accounted for about 75% of the CIA budget and about 60% of the personnel within the CIA.
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 the Islamic Republic 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 U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's Mission Center forCounterterrorism is a division of the CIA's Directorate of Operations,established in 1986. It was renamed during an agency restructuring in 2015 and is distinct from the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC),which is a separate entity. The most recent publicly known Assistant Director for Counterterrorism Mission Center was Chris Wood who led the organization from 2015 to 2017.
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.
Pakistan's principal intelligence and covert action agency,Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI),has historically conducted a number of clandestine operations in its western neighbor,Afghanistan. ISI's covert support to militant jihadist insurgent groups in Afghanistan,the Pashtun-dominated former Federally Administered Tribal Areas,and Kashmir has earned it a wide reputation as the primary progenitor of many active South Asian jihadist groups.
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,who served as deputy director of the Counterterrorism Center and as head of the CIA's National Resources Division,which focuses on operations in the United States. In the early days of the invasion of Afghanistan,Crumpton led CTC Special Operations paramilitary forces in pursuit of the Taliban and al-Qaeda following the September 11 attacks. Crumpton also planned a larger incursion alongside others like Greg Vogle and Chris Wood. He was later 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,chairman,and CEO of the business intelligence and political risk firm Crumpton Global 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