Oriental Rugs the O'Connell Notes

Notes on Ismail Khan

A translator points the way as Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld (second from left), Herat Governor Ismail Khan and security officials arrive at an airstrip in Herat, Afghanistan, April 27, 2002. Photo by Linda D. Kozaryn.

In 1978 captain Ismail Khan Afghan army stationed in his home of Herat got angry. When most people get angry they vent or rage or sometimes even fight. When Ismail Khan got angry he changed the world. He started a riot that started a revolt that eventually toppled the Soviet Union. He led the Afghan garrison who with the mob killed every Russian in Herat. Twenty Russian advisors plus hundreds of Afghan troops died in Ismail Khan's rage. This combined with the taking of an Afghan Armory in the Kunar valley and the squabbling of rival communist parties brought on the Soviet Invasion in 1979.

The Soviets massed their troops at the Merv oasis and then came south on the highways they had given to Afghanistan to prepare for the invasion years before. When the Soviets invaded they crossed the Afghan border at Serkhe-tabat and rolled into Herat on route AH77. Ismail Khan then led his insurgent forces east and northeast of Herat holding the area near the Afghan/Iranian border through the war years. This is not to say that the Russians controlled Herat. For most of the war they controlled a small circle around the Governors Palace while Ismail Khan controlled the city.

Based on my own research it appears that the Islamic republic of Iran aided Ismail Khan extensively. After the fall of the Shah the Revolutionary Guard adopted the AK-47 assault rifle over the Iranian made G-3 copy. Many of those G-3 copies ended up in the hands of Ismail Khan's men. In US Government circles there is a constant worry that Ismail Khan is too close to Iran. Ethno-linguisticly Ismail Khan is a Farsi speaker so you might count him as Persian. Khan is also Sunni so there is a natural line of division that keeps him out of the Iranian sphere. Still he is a good friend as befits a good neighbor to Iran.

Paul Rumsfeld, "Khan's an appealing person," the secretary added. "He's thoughtful, measured and self-confident." The Afghan leader only spoke one word of English during the meeting, he said. When Khan began speaking before the secretary was finished speaking, the Afghan leader cordially said, "Sorry."" DefenseLINK News: 'On the Edge' with Rumsfeld in Afghanistan

Governor Ismail Khan (center) welcomed U.S. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to Herat, Afghanistan, April 27, 2002. During their hour-long talk, Khan agreed to support the Afghan national army and said he thought it would work. Photo by Linda D. Kozaryn.

N.B. I spotted a typo so I opened this page to edit. It is less than three weeks to the US Presidential race and it is very apparent that Rumsfeld will soon be out of power. Rumsfeld went to Herat to ease Ismail Khan out of power. Not long afterwards a series of attacks were launched against Ismail Khan's men. It was very brutal. I do not believe that US troops actually skinned any of Khan's men but someone did and I believe that it was with the knowledge, prompting, and logistical support of US Combat forces. Could have been one of those CIA contractor death squads. So now Ismail Khan is out of office but he is not dead. I expect to see him back in power in the not to distant future. One thing Rumsfeld did was to force Khan closer to his friends to the east. Rumsfeld is a very bad man. The seeds of destruction he has sown will haunt America for the next 50 years.