ODA 595 Task Force Dagger
Danger Close Operative : Operation Jaw Breaker Intel Monitoring & Gathering.
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Jawbreaker - CIA Special Activities Division
Jawbreaker was the code name given to first CIA team to enter Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. The team was also known as Northern Afghanistan Liaison Team (NALT).
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The CIA had been in contact with the Northern Alliance for several years, during their campaign against the Taliban. It was clear to CIA planners that they key to success in Afghanistan would be to use the indigenous anti-Taliban forces, namely the Northern Alliance in the North, and the Pushtan tribes in the South, in combination with US air power and SOF on the ground.
The CIA saw the Northern Alliance as the priority - if the Taliban could be defeated in the North, the South would soon follow. Before any US military action could effectively take place, the CIA would have to go in and link up with the Northern Alliance.
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In late September, 2001, the seven man Jawbreaker team flew into Uzbekistan on a CIA L100 cargo plane. Once there they they prepared for the insertion into Afghanistan. On the 26th of September, Jawbreaker flew in a CIA-owned MI-17 helicopter, operated by Air Branch pilots, over the Hindu Kush mountains, into the Panjshir Valley, north of Kabul, where they were met by representatives from the Northern Alliance. The team quickly established a base of operations close to Barak, with secure comms back to CIA Counterterrorist Center (CTC).
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using GPS devices, Jawbreaker mapped the frontline positions of both the Northern Alliance and Taliban positions. These maps were vital in ensuring that the right targets were struck when US air power was eventually brought to bear.
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One of the Task Force Dagger's primary strategic objectives was to capture Mazar-e-Sharif and an airfield so the U.S. could use it to bring in supplies and more troops. On about 6 November, the Northern Alliance broke through the Taliban defense in the valley of Darah Sof District, 200 kilometres (120 mi) from Mazar-e-Sharif. The three teams reunited near Mazar-e-Sharif and participated in its capture. They guided hundreds of GPS-guided 2,000-pound JDAM precision-guided munitions dropped by USAF B-1B Lancer and B-52 Stratofortress heavy bombers onto Taliban and Al-Qaeda positions near Mazar-e Sharif.
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​On 24 November 2001, 15,000 Taliban soldiers surrendered after the Siege of Kunduz to American and Northern Alliance forces. The Taliban laid down their weapons a few miles from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, and eventually surrendered to Dostum. A small group of armed foreign fighters were transferred to the 19th century garrison fortress, Qala-i-Jangi. The Taliban used concealed weapons to start the Battle of Qala-i-Jangi against the guards. The uprising was eventually brought under control.
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