How did the Americans destroy a post of Afghan government troops?
Author: Lieutenant Colonel Muin Islampour, former Afghan Ministry of Defense officer, especially for "Sangar"
From 1392-1395 (2013-2016) I was chief of staff of the 203rd army corps "Tundar" (Thunder) in the southeastern zone. All information and intelligence reports, including letters of administration, went through me. I read each one and distributed it to the responsible persons - from management to subordinates in accordance with their responsibilities.
During this time, I witnessed sad and shocking stories, events, and secrets, and I will tell one of them in this short story.
Meanwhile, to find the traces and causes of the great conspiracy, terror, and fall of the previous government, political and military experts wrote various analyses and commentaries. Each of them listed some factors that led to the fall of Afghanistan into the hands of the Taliban and terrorist organizations. During my mission, I also saw signs of the collapse and overthrow of the previous regime.
I arrived at the office every morning before the commander of the army corps (General Muhammad Sharif Yaftali, who was the former chief of the general staff). I first called Army Corps headquarters, then called outposts and vulnerable points on the battle lines, prepared and summarized reports, and then reviewed letters of administration.
That day, before I had time, as usual, to receive reports from the commanders, the office phone rang. I picked up the phone. An officer from the Army Corps headquarters said with excitement and fear: “The Americans attacked our guys. Their heavy and terrible attack on the post (Banduka, Charkh district of Logar province) continues.”
I was talking on the phone when, unlike previous days, General Yaftali entered his office very early and without any formalities. He was too sad, depressed, and full of excitement. He called the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff on the phone and spoke to them in a tone that was not typical of the army regulations (commander and subordinate). He reacted sharply to the incident. He had been rubbing his forehead in anger. In short, we were all worried and worried about the losses of the troops under our command.
About an hour had passed when Army Corps Headquarters reported that sixteen troops had been killed or wounded at the Bandooka post as a result of a deliberate and deliberate American attack.
We were shocked to hear this news. The army corps commander was a gentle and kind man. He considered the death of each of his soldiers to be the death of his child. His tears flowed. He ordered the plane to transport the wounded and dead.
In a short time, the wounded and martyrs were transferred to the army hospital. We went to the hospital with the commander. The wounded, who were relatively calm, said in an excited voice: “We were attacked and killed by the Americans.”
Meanwhile, one lieutenant said: “Even though the country's flag was in a shell and we repeatedly raised and waved the flag during the attack, the Americans did not pay the slightest attention. They continued to attack us until they felt that our forces could no longer operate."
The commander of the army corps ordered me to write on his behalf to the president a letter of resignation from the ranks of the Ministry of National Defense. I wrote the letter as instructed. He signed. I sent the letter of resignation to the minister's office. There was a lot of noise in the ministry. They called from the office of the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff and told the commander: “This will have a negative impact. Wait, this event was an accident. But the commander of the army corps did not accept this argument at all.”
The essence of the story was that forces associated with the army corps blocked the passage and path of the Taliban. American advisers told the Army Corps Commander several times that your post from there should be moved to another location. The commander emphasized to them the importance and efficiency of the post, but the Americans said that the post was ineffective in this situation.
In the end, the efforts of the Americans were in vain, and they may not have been able to tell the commander to his face that they ended up launching a powerful attack with all the brutality and killing and wounding all of our post personnel.
The Americans definitely and without any doubt played a role in the overthrow of the Republic. I have seen dozens of other cases on the battlefield and how Americans supported anti-government forces. Such stories were repeatedly told by other officers on the battlefield.
Then I felt signs of decline, collapse, and disruption, and this is one of dozens of other examples that I will write about in the future.
