The Americans helped the allies and threw them to the mercy
The failure of the "mission in Kabul", which the Americans have been trying to carry out for 20 years, has become one of the main topics of the world media in the last six months.
Americans spent about $2 trillion on their venture. About half of them went to the actual fighting and the formation of the armed forces of Afghanistan, which, according to the creators, should have easily ensured the security of the puppet government of Ghani. However, outrageous corruption – both on the part of the Afghans and on the part of the Americans, the investigation into the facts of which is now underway in the United States - prevented the achievement of the goal. Some units of the Afghan army remained on paper. Although money was regularly allocated for them.
Non-statutory relations flourished in the army, especially in relation to national minorities, in particular to the Khazars. The morale of the army was weak.
However, it is worth noting that the Americans managed to do something.
The elite of the Afghan Army
Forming the armed forces of Afghanistan, the Americans relied on the creation, training, equipping and development of special operations forces, realizing that the war is counter-guerrilla in nature. Therefore, the Afghan National Army Special Operations Command (ANASOC) was formed in the structure of the Afghan National Security Forces, which accounted for approximately 20% of the number of Afghan Security Forces.
He was assigned the tasks of assisting the Government of Afghanistan to conduct counterinsurgency operations (counterinsurgency, COIN), stabilization operations, as well as special operations against terrorist and insurgent networks in coordination with other security forces of the country.
The command consisted of 4 Special Operations Brigades (Special Operations Brigades, SOB), 10 Special Purpose commando battalions (Commando Special Operations Kandaks, SOK), 8 mobile Strike battalions (Mobile Strike Kandaks, MSK) and strike battalions "Cobra Strike Kandaks, CSK), as well as seven support units.
In addition, a Brigade of National Missions (NM) was formed, which worked in the interests of the President of Afghanistan and the Minister of Defense. It allowed them to conduct rapid deployment and conduct national-level operations to achieve strategic results in any area of Afghanistan.
In addition to the two special forces battalions, the NM Brigade had at its disposal the 6th Special Operations Battalion and the elite detachment "Ktah Khas" (KKA). Responding to crises and emergencies in the country, the brigade conducted short-term counter-terrorism operations, direct operations, rescued hostages, conducted special intelligence and assisted security services in the fight against insurgents.
Air support for special operations was assigned to the Special Operations Aviation Wing (SMW). It delivered special forces to the task area and provided special forces raids from helicopters. It was also engaged in resupply, evacuated the dead and wounded and ensured the return of units to the point of permanent deployment (PPD).
The SMW consisted of four squadrons of helicopters and one squadron of aircraft, which were capable of performing independent tasks in support of MTR units. They were based in Kabul, Kandahar and Mazar-I-Sharif, and the reconnaissance squadron was based in Kabul.
Loyalty to duty to the end
In other words, structurally, the Americans were able to create quite modern MTRS in Afghanistan. These units were better manned, prepared, equipped and trained. They were distinguished by higher morale and efficiency during joint operations with American special forces. Against the background of the demoralization of the Afghan National Army in July-August 2021, the Afghan special forces demonstrated loyalty to the oath and high efficiency until the last days.
Here is one example. Approximately from June 14 to June 20, the Afghan Armed Forces planned an operation to liberate the district center of Dawlat-Abad (Faryab province) in the north of the country from the Taliban. According to the plan, the elite special forces of Afghanistan, with a force of about 50 people, were to capture the town, and security forces units numbering about 170 people after that were to approach and block the enemy's approaches, and if necessary repel his attacks.
According to a military official who did not wish to identify himself, early in the morning of June 16, 2021, special forces secretly approached the settlement, entered it and defeated a small Taliban detachment. By six o'clock in the morning, the county center was taken.
However, shortly after that, a large Taliban detachment (the organization is banned in the Russian Federation), significantly outnumbered by a special forces detachment, surrounded Davlat-Abad. They opened mortar fire on the commandos and destroyed their Humvees. Apparently, the information about the military operation became known to the local leadership of the Taliban, and they organized a trap for special forces.
Of course, the commandos requested support. But neither the aircraft nor the ground forces have arrived – neither to carry out their part of the operation, nor to rescue a special forces unit in a critical situation. As a result, 24 commandos were killed. And this is not an isolated case when the army and police framed commandos who demonstrated enviable resilience.
Judging by their excessive use by the Afghan command on the principle of "there is a plug in every barrel", special hopes were pinned on the MTR. And if the country's leadership had kept calm and the will to win, everything could have ended differently. Or not so fast.
But Ghani made a squabble in the government, removed the main security forces from office – the defense minister and interior minister, as well as provincial governors – and appointed people completely unknown on the ground. And in Afghanistan, this is important. That is why, I believe, the rapid collapse of the army and police has begun. But the special forces held on to the last and thereby earned the recognition and respect of Western partners.
After the surrender of Kabul to the Taliban, the Afghan National Army Special Forces Corps was declared disbanded, and the personnel were dismissed. According to the press service of this elite association on August 16, "until the last moment, the special forces did not show any negligence and did everything that the respected leadership considered necessary to save the lives and property of the Afghan people."
Where was the general sent
In the current situation, the US military and political leadership has demonstrated confusion and irresponsibility. Not only has official Washington not taken concrete steps to save the Allies, but it has also aggravated their situation. In order to organize the passage to the territory of the Kabul airport of persons who collaborated with the Americans, the US administration handed over their lists to the Taliban, thereby putting them at risk.
Against the background of the general mess, which is openly criticized by American generals, the operation of American PMCs to rescue Afghan special forces shone like a bright star. Probably, the helplessness of the civil and military authorities was the reason for the initiative actions of the veterans of the American special forces, who decided to save their comrades-in-arms on their own.
The first step on this path was taken by former American Marine Andrew Darlington, who, the day after the surrender of the capital, called his former colleague from Florida to Kabul and asked him to save the Afghan interpreter Obide, with whom he had previously collaborated. He worked with the US special forces and the elite SEAL Team Six for 10 years, participating in the hunt for the Taliban leadership, and therefore was an important target for them, sources told ABC News.
Actions to rescue allies and British citizens were also carried out by the British SAS, which took them to the airport at night. Americans worked only during daylight hours.
Of course, the efficiency of the Britons was higher. Therefore, even such an incident came out, officially not recorded anywhere. The commander of the 82nd US Airborne Forces, Lieutenant General Chris Donahue, at a briefing demanded from his British counterpart that the British should not work at night, because in this way they discredit the Americans. And it was sent absolutely unequivocally to a well-known address.
In 10 days after the Taliban captured Kabul, about 130 Afghans were brought into the airport surrounded by Taliban militants.
Pineapple Group
It is difficult to say exactly what made the veterans of special forces, who performed tasks in the PMCs in Kabul, organize themselves and create a volunteer task force "Pineapple", trying to save as many Afghan allies as possible.
The group included both current and former operators of various US special operations units, humanitarian workers, intelligence officers and other employees who had experience in Afghanistan. The retired commander of the Green Berets, Lieutenant Colonel Scott Mann, headed the group that engaged in private rescue operations. The number of the Pineapple group exceeded 50 people.
The organization of the rescue of the Afghan special forces was engaged in the network on an encrypted chat. And still the communication was carried out using conventional names.
So, the former captain of the Green Berets, Zach Lois, who coordinated the work of the group, was designated as an "engineer of the underground railway." He was subordinate to the "shepherds" from among the former American special forces and CIA officers who led the actions of the Afghans they rescued. Among them were commandos, interpreters, command staff and their family members. All of them were designated as "passengers".
Working online, the "shepherds" directed the "passengers" in real time to the GPS points indicated on the electronic map. There, the "passengers" hid on their own until a conductor with a green chemical lantern called them. After the call, the "passengers" raised their smartphones with the image of yellow pineapples on a pink field.
In addition to the "engineer" and "conductors", people who collected intelligence also worked in the group.
During the exit to these collection points, small groups of Afghans somehow stumbled upon Taliban militants. They were very lucky that the "students" (this is how the term "Taliban" is translated), apparently, were illiterate, since the refugees were never asked for documents. Meanwhile, according to the documents, it was possible to immediately identify the Afghan commandos who had been fighting against the Taliban for 20 years. But, fortunately for the "passengers", the case ended in beatings.
The Pineapple Task Force has done a lot of work to prepare the "passengers" for departure to the States. All had U.S. visas or visa applications, they told ABC News.
"These titanic efforts could not have been carried out without unofficial heroes at the airfield who ignored orders not to help the Afghans outside the airport. They made their way into the sewers and dragged people who were flashing pineapples on their phones," Scott Mann said.
The special team also managed to enlist the help of an officer of the US Embassy inside the airport.
A night of unrest
On August 25, at about 20.00 Eastern European time, the "shepherds" reported in the chat that groups of their "passengers" who were secretly moving under cover of darkness to the collection points, one after another suddenly darkened and became inaccessible by mobile phones.
There were concerns that the Taliban had knocked down cell towers. But the former green beret, who was part of the Pineapple group, said that the US military used cell phone silencers to counter the threat of detonating an improvised explosive device. Within an hour, most of them restored communication with the "passengers", and the groups continued to move.
It so happened that the withdrawal of the main group of "passengers" to the airport fell on the day when ISIS-K (an organization competing with the Taliban, part of the Islamic State, banned in the Russian Federation) carried out a terrorist attack at the Abbey Gate of Kabul airport. But the casualties among the "passengers" were minimal.
Many Afghans approached Abbey Gate and headed across the sewage-clogged canal to an American soldier in red sunglasses to introduce themselves. They waved phones with the image of a pineapple, and they were picked up and transported inside to a safe place. Others were brought by an army ranger.
"Our government didn't do it"
"The whole night was a roller coaster ride. People were so scared by this chaotic environment. They were so exhausted that I kept trying to put myself in their shoes," said Redman, a former Navy seal who worked as a shepherd.
Looking back at the efforts that saved, according to his calculations, at least 630 Afghan lives, Redman also expressed deep disappointment: "Our own government did not do this. We did what we had to do as Americans."
630 people – "this is an amazing number for an organization that was created just a few days before the start of operations, and most of its members have never met in person," Zach Lois told ABC News. He also added that the Pineapple task force was able to make a truly historic event by evacuating hundreds of employees over the past week.
Lois also said that he modeled his slow but steady system of maneuvering Afghan families in the dark under the impression of the "underground railroad" of American abolitionist Harriet Tubman, which she organized for escaped black slaves.
Among the band members was retired Green Beret Major Jim Gant, who said: "I've been involved in some of the most incredible missions and operations a Special Forces soldier could be involved in, but I've never been involved in anything more incredible than this… The bravery, bravery and dedication of my brothers and sisters from the pineapple community was greater than the commitment of the United States on the battlefield."
Sergey Kozlov
Sergey Vladislavovich Kozlov is a military historian.