Everything about Abdul Rashid Dostum totally explained
Abdul Rashid Dostum was a former Pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet Invasion and the current leader of Uzbek-Afghan northern provinces.He joined the Afghan military in 1978, fighting with the Soviets and against the
mujahideen throughout the 1980s before switching sides and joining the mujahideen. Dostum would again switch sides and has become infamous for his switching of allegiances. Most recently he was a general and Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief of the
Afghan National Army a role often viewed as ceremonial. He is the principal leader of
Afghanistan's
Uzbek community. In early 2008 he was removed from his army role because the
Akbar Bai kidnapping
Bio
Early life
Dostum was born in Khvajeh Do Kuh, Afghanistan. In 1970 he began to work in a state-owned gas refinery in
Sheberghan,
Jowzjan Province, participating in
union politics.
The Saur Revolution
On July 17, 1973 former
Prime Minister Daoud seized power in an almost bloodless military coup through charges of corruption and poor economic conditions against Afghan king
Mohammad Zahir Shah's government. Daoud put an end to the monarchy but his attempts at economic and social reforms were unsuccessful. Intense opposition from the factions of the
People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) was sparked by the repression imposed on them by Daoud's regime and the death of a leading PDPA member Mir Akbar Khyber.
As the government started to arm the staff of the
oil and
gas refineries (creating “groups for the defense of the revolution”) Dostum was, on the basis of his military training, encouraged to enlist. His group, in response to increasing conflict, was deployed in the rural areas around
Sheberghan, under the auspices of the Ministry of National Security.
By the mid 1980s his platoon had grown in stature, reaching a company level by at least 1987 and a regimental level, Regiment 734, by 1988. While the unit recruited throughout Jowzjan and had a relatively broad base, many of its early troops and commanders came from Dostum's home village,
Khoja Dukoh, and these represented the core of the unit at that juncture and again when it was reconstituted after 2001. He left the army after the purge of
Parchamis, but returned after the
Soviet occupation began.
Soviet Invasion
As the situation in Afghanistan deteriorated with massive uprising occurring all over the country then Prime Minister,
Hafizullah Amin, seized control when he overthrew President
Nur Mohammad Taraki (Taraki had himself seized power from Daoud). A few days later, Amin's government announced that Taraki died of an "undisclosed illness".
With Amin in power the Soviet Union became alarmed when KGB reports of Amin seeking to cut ties to the Soviet Union and ally with Communist China and Pakistan surfaced. On
December 27th
1979, the Soviet Union decided to invade and seize control of the country. As planned, president Hafizullah Amin was killed in the fighting and the Soviet military command at
Termez,
Uzbek SSR, announced on
Radio Kabul that Afghanistan had been "liberated" from Amin's rule.
Mujahideen attacks were still a problem and by this time Dostum was commanding a militia battalion to fight them. This became a regiment and ultimately was incorporated into the defense forces as the 53rd Infantry Division, but reporting directly to then-President
Mohammad Najibullah. He then joined the Ministry of State Security and became commander of unit 374 in Jowzjan. He defended the communist
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the
United States-backed mujahideen in the 1980s. Although he was only a regional commander, he'd largely raised the militia he fought with on his own.
The Jowzjani militia, as it became known, was one of the few militia forces to be used outside of its region. They were deployed in
Qandahar in 1988 when Soviet forces withdrew. He also supported the
Gorbachev-era Communist reforms in
Afghanistan.
Joins the Mujahideen
On
April 18,
1992, he revolted against the government of President Najibullah, allying with
Ahmad Shah Massoud. Together, they captured
Kabul, the Afghan
capital. He commanded the principal militia force in
Kabul that ousted Najibullah, creating episodes of
kidnapping,
looting and
fighting. He fought in coalition with
Ahmad Shah Masoud of the
Northern Alliance against
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in 1992.
Civil War
In 1994, Dostum again switched sides, allying with forces of
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, in once more laying
siege on Kabul, this time against the government of
Burhanuddin Rabbani and Massoud.
In 1996, following the rise of the
Taliban and their capture of
Herat and
Kabul, Dostum realigned himself with Rabbani against the Taliban. The
Taliban captured
Kabul in 1996, forcing Dostum to retreat to
Mazar-i-Sharif.
Malik's Betrayal
Much like other northern alliance leaders, Dostum also faced infighting within his group. Power struggles between Dostum and Malik came to a head when Malik decided to assist the Taliban in Mazari-Sharif to topple Dostum. General
Abdul Malik revolted against him in May 1997 and joined hands with the Taliban. Dostum fled the country and escaped to Turkey, thus leaving the power in Malik’s hands. By this time, the Taliban had gathered thousands of troops in Mazar, at Malik's insistence for help. However, now that Dostum had left, Malik switched sides again and obtained the assistance of the
Hezbe Wahdat. Thus Malik handed over thousands of Taliban to the Hezbe Wahdat. Over six to eight thousand Talibs lost their lives due to Malik’s betrayal.
A few years later, the Taliban finally managed to overrun Malik’s group. Malik first escaped to Iran for sanctuary and later chose to make Washington DC his permanent residence. Later Malik once again left Washington and is currently believed to be living in Iran. Abdul Rashid Dostum returned from his exile in Turkey in April of 2001. Massoud had funded Dostum to come and open a Western front in a campaign against the Taliban. Along with General
Mohammed Fahim and
Ismail Khan, Dostum was one of three factional leaders that comprised the
Northern Alliance.
911 and the end of the Taliban
In November of 2001, with the beginning of the
U.S. intervention in Afghanistan, and against the wishes of the
CIA who distrusted Dostum, a team including
Johnny Micheal Spann landed to set up communications in the Dariya Suf. A few hours later 23 men of
Operational Detatchment Alpha (ODA 595) landed to begin the war. In this attack, which occurred at Bai's home, Bai, his son, and a bodyguard were said to have been beaten, and another bodyguard was said to have been shot. Early on
February 3, Dostum's house was surrounded by police. Bai and the three others were freed and hospitalized.
Radio Free Europe reported on
February 6 2008 that
Afghan Attorney-General Abdul Jabar Sabit said charges against Dostum were pending.
[ Sabit said that the political and security situation would make it difficult to prosecute Dostum. The charges, according to Sabit, included kidnapping, breaking and entering, and assault.
]
According to a spokesman for the United National Front of Afghanistan, Sayed Hussain Sancharaki claims that General Dostum has a high profile among his people and is one of the famous political and military figures of Afghanistan. He is Karzai's chief of staff for the armed forces and he's a senior member of the United Front of Afghanistan. It is natural that any kind of action against him will have repercussions. The consequences will be very dangerous -- catastrophic -- for the stability of Afghanistan."[
Human Rights Watch spokesmen Sam Zia-Zarifi, called the charges a sign of Afghanistan's "growing balkanization".][ He asserted that the size of warlords private armies was increasing, fueled by illicit profits from Afghanistan's Opium trade.]
On February 19, it was announced that Sabit had suspended Dostum from his position as Chief of Staff to the Commander in Chief after he failed to appear when summoned for the investigation. According to Dostum, this was "not in line with the law", and he said that he'd request Karzai's intervention. Three allies of Dostum—Latif Pedram and two members of parliament—were also summoned for the investigation.[
]Political Views
In most ethnic-Uzbek dominated areas in which Dostum has control or influence, he encourages women to live and work freely, as well as encouraging music, sports and allowing for freedom of religion.
He views the NATO attempt to crush the Taliban as ineffective and has gone on record saying that he could mop up the Taliban, "in six months." Dostum in popular media
- Dostum worked closely with the special forces ODA (documented by Robert Young Pelton in National Geographic Adventure article "The Legend of Heavy D and the Boys").
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