General Rashida Dostum Warns the Taliban

Dostum was without a doubt the most important Northern Alliance (anti-taliban) fighter allied with the USA during the Afghanistan War. He was the commander who got the ball rolling and started taking Taliban cities back. Crazy thing is he did it with 1,000 cavalys and 24 american Special Forces. His capture of Mazar-i-Sharif is one of the most impressive feats of military campaign in the 21st century. He effectually captured a town that many might thought would taie a year, he did it within a month.

THe problem is he is a Uzbek while Karzai and even the Taliban are Pushtuns. After the end of major fighting in 2001, DOstums large Uzbek force was disarmed, however Dostum was made Chief of Staff of the military. He has always been tied to northern afghanistan, in 2003, he warned that the americans were becoming to obsessed with Iraq he claimed, "in america, this is the forgotten war, but the Taliban haven't forgotten." In 2008 Dostum was sent into exile only to be allowed to return if he could guarantee Karzai the Uzbek vote in the elections (Dostum did).

However, Dostum has repeatedly warned that the Taliban are reinfiltrating and acquiring land in the north (they have remained a presence in the south and east for nearly a decade). He has stated that we should never negotiate with Mullah Omar and that if Karzai is incapable of protecting the north then he and 20,000 fighters will attempt to do so. Dostum has claimed , ‘History has come full circle and the Taliban are now back where they were in 1995. When the time comes me and my men will be ready to fight them again.’

currently he is facing charges of Oil extortion, so who knows, but he is definitely a man to keep your eye on. He recently warned the Taliban that he will deal with them soon. In my opinion he is the most capable anti taliban fighter left.

If you have never read about his cavalry charges coordinating with our GPS guided bombs, its truly amazing, the first major cavalry share of the 21st century.
Here are excerpts from a July interview

What does the General think of the timing? “Most Afghans believe it is too soon,” he says fearing the country might disintegrate into chaos. I put it to him the comments I have heard from his own soldiers making up part of the Afghan army who complain that their equipment is inadequate. A common complaint is that the foreign armies are kitted out well (although some back home may beg to differ) whereas the Afghan army has their cast-offs. Their boots are falling apart, their helmets have holes.
Dostum is nodding gravely. “We are not ungrateful,” he insists, “but if you commit to any form of assistance, you must do it properly. You have a duty to do a good job.”
It is not just the poor equipment that leaves the Afghan army feeling despondent for the future security of their country. Many talk of a general lack of respect fuelled by events, however accidental or isolated, such as the Qur’an burnings this February – when US soldiers set alight religious texts – or tales of soldiers urinating on dead bodies. Such occurrences have turned many Afghans against those same foreign forces trying to help them.
“Why come here and insult our culture?” says Dostum. “Such events have only served to create an atmosphere of mistrust and anger. New recruits to the Afghan army have to be watched closely in case they are Taliban spies. Acts of disrespect from US troops only serve to strengthen the position of the Taliban and will have made it harder to work out a peaceful solution.”


So does the General believe the Taliban can ever be defeated? “Tell your government,” he roars, letting out a great belly laugh, moustache bristling, “that the Taliban amount to no more than around 9,000 individuals. We know who they are and where to find them. Given the order, I estimate it would take less than a year to destroy their ringleaders. I have said this on many occasions.”
Dostum’s despondency at the current leadership is surprising given that he helped bring President Karzai to power in the first place, backing him in the last elections. “After the troops withdraw, his days will be numbered,” he shrugs. “In Afghanistan we say he is half-Afghan, half-American because he spends so much time in that country and even owns businesses there.”
I hesitate to ask the General his view of what he thinks will happen to the rights of Afghan women in the future, especially given his own alleged track record.
Many women have told me how scared they are of the return to a Taliban-styled government, I say. Women are concerned Karzai will seek peace at any price, and if that means kowtowing to the Taliban on women’s rights, they will do so. “To ensure progress is made on all fronts, Afghan and US leaders must ensure women are actively involved in a settlement that protects the rights accorded to them in recent years.”
His reassurances offer some comfort, but the fact is that Afghanistan remains a very hard place to live as a woman. Despite incremental improvements following the US invasion that brought in new laws protecting women’s rights, oppression is still rife, particularly in the south. It is estimated that 87% of women suffer violence at home, and medical care is so poor that one woman dies every half hour in childbirth.
On the way down in the lift, the sense of apprehension I might previously have felt has all but evaporated as I realise I have survived the meeting unscathed. I ask the General if he has any ideas for a future leader, a Jeffersonian figure who could build the brave new Afghanistan so many of us have been praying for. Is there such a person? Maybe he even plans to stand for office himself, I suggest almost playfully.
He shakes his head firmly. He does not want the job, but it comes as no surprise that he has someone else in mind.
It is no less than I would expect from Afghanistan’s greatest deal-maker. Let’s hope it will be his best deal yet.

still think one of the coolest things Dostum did, was after being taunted by the Taliban and Al Qaeda since 1994, over radio, they would make fun of him for having no MIG's, no Tanks. When Dostum linked up with the american special forces who would paint targets for the GPS guided bombs, Dostum would radio the taliban and say "I'm with the americans, we have the death laser"
The Taliban would even say things like "send out the americans we only want to fight them", Dostum basically told them to fuck off and enjoy the death laser, within minutes of talking to them, the taliban/AQ lines would be bombed.

gotta love a guy that talks shit before blowing up our enemies, he would have made Rambo and Ahnold proud.

Will (Sgt.):

I think something that's key in all this is that both Northern Alliance and enemy communications were, for the most part, CB radios. They would be arguing with each other in the heat of battle. The Taliban would be saying, "nanny, nanny, boo, boo" and the Northern Alliance would be saying, "hey, we're coming to get you." They would also tell the Taliban about this death ray. At Kunduz, we were negotiating back and forth to try to get these guys to surrender. They were saying, "We'll surrender, we'll march into your camp, but we want to keep our guns." Dostum finally said, "Put your guns down, take your jackets off, march in here or we're turning the Americans onto you with the death ray." Instantly you could see the guys bend over. They put their guns down, they took their cloaks off and they started marching in, in single file right up into the middle of our perimeter, because they knew that it was over if that death ray was coming out.

Mark Capt.:

This was also perpetuated by the presence of the AC 130 Spectra gunship. They had a female fire support officer that was on the radio. Dostum heard her voice and he brought Mohammed Fazal, who's the former Taliban chief of staff. He's trying to delay this surrender in Kunduz while his forces are attempting to recapture Mazar-e-Sharif. Dostum brings Fazal near the radio so that he can hear this female voice. Fazal hears her voice as it's being explained to him, through the translators, that we have the angel of death overhead, from the AC 130 gunship. Dostum explains to him that we have the angel of death overhead and that we possess the death ray. If they don't surrender now all of their troops will burn in hell. Fazal jumped on the radio and his men were surrendering within minutes. ..