Immediately following 9/11, the United States needed to strike back . . . but against whom? In the eyes of the intelligence community, the aerial attack on the World Trade Center and Washington, D.C., bore all the signs of an al-Qaeda operation. This was soon verified by al-Qaeda itself, as Osama bin Laden claimed credit. America quickly targeted al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan that was providing them sanctuary. Central Command, responsible for the Middle East, including Afghanistan, outlined three options: strike back with cruise missiles, strike back with cruise missiles and manned bombers, or complement aerial attacks with American ground forces: boots on the ground. President George W. Bush wanted direct action, so American ground forces, supported by American airpower and cruise missiles, became the order of the day. Initially, the boots were worn by CIA covert operatives and U.S. Army Special Forces teams, the famed Green Berets. Bush authorized the CIA an additional $1 billion to drive al-Qaeda and the Taliban from power. On 17 September 2001, Bush authorized the CIA to engage al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations anywhere in the world and assassinate individuals designated as terrorists. It was the broadest and most lethal authority in the agencys history. The CIA deployed teams across Afghanistan to work with the Northern Alliance and U.S. Army Special Forces. The results were immediate and positive. The Northern Alliance had the Taliban and al-Qaeda on the run with a remarkable combination of horse soldiers and high-tech U.S. airpower called in by American special operations forces. Late in November, U.S. Marine Corps Task Force 58 seized an airstrip southwest of the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar in the longest amphibious raid in history, 450 miles from the sea. In early December, Kandahar fell to forces loyal to Hamid Karzai, who would later become president of Afghanistan. It was the last remaining Taliban stronghold in the country. Al-Qaeda and Taliban leadership fled. Acclaimed military historian Dick Camp details this remarkable campaign for Afghanistan. He also provides a comprehensive history of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Red Armys unsuccessful occupation of the country, which led to the rise of the Afghani mujahideen and anti-Soviet foreign fighters under al-Qaeda, as well as the subsequent rise of the Taliban.
