Hospital Corpsmen in Afghanistan 9/11: The Hunt for Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan

Key points

  • The 9/11 attacks were traced to Al Qaeda, a Sunni Islamist terrorist group led by Osama bin Laden.
  • Al Qaeda was closely linked to the Taliban, a religious and political group that resided in the mountains of Afghanistan.
  • The US demanded that the Taliban surrender Osama bin Laden but the Taliban refused and began to protect the terrorists.
  • The US joined forces with Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance and local Afghan resistance to hunt down the Taliban.
  • Operations in Afghanistan were hindered by difficult terrain and harsh landscapes.
  • American forces deployed air bombardments and later ground forces to hunt down the Taliban.
  • The environment gave the Taliban an advantage, as there were many hiding places and the lack of proper terrain made it difficult to appoint a safe evacuation center.
  • American soldiers, including Hospital Corpsmen, were responsible for each other and maintained injured personnel until help arrived.

Introduction

The US had traced the 9/11 attack to Al Qaeda, a group of Sunni Islamist terrorist groups. Their leader was Osama bin Laden.

The Al Quida was closely associated with another organization known as the Taliban. The Taliban was a religious and political group.

Where did the Al Quida reside?

This group resided in the mountains of Afghanistan after seizing it from the Soviets in 1989.

The US demands for Osama bin Laden’s surrender were met with failure. In fact, the Taliban began to harbor and protect the terrorists.

The US joined forces with Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance and the local Afghan resistance several weeks after.

Operations deployed in Afghanistan were rather difficult. The terrain and the harsh landscape hindered a few campaigns. Attacks were decidedly from air bombardments of the areas.

The hunt for the Taliban on the ground

On November 22, a team of Marines and Hospital Corpsmen landed in Afghanistan with a mission set to hunt down the Taliban directly.

The enemy had the advantage. The environment was theirs. There were so many hiding places. Every cave and every grove were potential places to hide and attack.

The lack of proper terrain made it difficult to appoint a safe evacuation center.

American soldiers including Hospital Corpsmen were responsible for each other. Anyone injured was maintained by Corpsmen for possibly days until help arrived.

Author: John

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