The American Terrorist

by Ron L. Carter

Afghanistan is a landlocked country in South West Asia. It is bound by Pakistan to the east and south, Iran to the west, Turkmenistan to the northwest, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to the north and China to the northeast. The country is divided from southeast to northwest by the Hindu Kush Mountain, and Ramir Mountain Ranges. (1)

  Michael had no idea where he was going in Afghanistan until he arrived because all activities of the Special Forces Soldiers are classified and top secret. All he knew was that he was going to be flying into the Kandahar International Airport in Afghanistan. He had met up with the rest of his team before they left the States and they were all together on the flight to Afghanistan. The Kandahar Airport is the major airport used by the United States Special Forces in Afghanistan. This airport is also used by NATO armies for shipping and receiving of supplies. The other major airport is in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. Sometimes there are sandstorms that can affect the air travel in Afghanistan and not allow flights in or out. (1)

  The weather can be extreme at times with summer starting in May and lasting until late September. Temperatures peak in July when it gets up to 105 degrees. Winter begins in December when they receive a lot of rain. During January the temperature can drop well below freezing. Kabul and elsewhere sometime experiences heavy snow. At the end of winter and on March 21st of each year everyone looks forward to Nauroz, the Afghan New Year celebration. (1)

  When Michael and his team arrived it was February and the temperature was about thirty two degrees. It had just snowed a few days earlier and the snow was still on the ground. He didn’t think the temperature would be a problem for him because it was similar to his home town, except for the snow. One thing he knew for sure that when he stepped off the plane in Kandahar, it was cold.

  Michael received his orders that he was heading to Kunduz, which is near the Hindu Kush Mountains in the northeastern part of Afghanistan. He was put on a Chinook helicopter along with the rest of his “A” team to their new home. Now that he was with his team he no longer focused on just himself. He was concerned about the rest of his team members and what they could do to survive this tour of duty.

  Over the past two years before Michael arrived, the security in Northern provinces of Kunduz and Baghlan had deteriorated. The Taliban and allied terror groups also maintain safe havens in Baghlan and Kunduz and they control large portions of the provinces of the seven districts in the Kunduz province. The Taliban was beginning to step up their attacks in the area. This was one of the main reasons Michael had been deployed to this area with his Special Forces Team. According to reports, the Taliban commander for Kunduz province, vowed in 2008 to increase his men’s efforts against the United States and the Allied forces. The Taliban mainly relied upon suicide bombings and I.E.D.s (improvised explosive devices). According to several reports, in Afghanistan alone, they find over fifteen thousand new I.E.D.’s each year that are placed in the roads by the Terrorist insurgents to kill American soldiers. They are the number one killer of the American soldiers in Afghanistan, and Michael would be soon fighting there. (9)

  While on his flight to his next duty station Michael found out they were heading for what the Special Forces called a “safe house” in Kunduz. The Special Forces units occupy “safe houses” as unfortified bases throughout Afghanistan. The safe house in Kunduz was in a residential neighborhood and a box-like, two-story building on a dusty side street. The gravel lot in front of the house was crowded with all-terrain vehicles and pickup trucks that had been converted into “gunships.” Indoors, the walls were stacked to the ceiling with cases of cereal, MREs, (made ready to eat meals) and water. The living room is carpeted with Afghan rugs and lined with pillows. Following local customs, combat boots, sandals, and running shoes are left in a pile by the front door.

  When Michael arrived at the “safe house” he soon began a daily routine. Occasionally a neighborhood kid would get hurt or an adult would need care. He was always willing to help patch them up no matter if it was day or night. Soon some of the town people knew they could count on him for some of their care. Everyone began calling him Doc Hunter. He found himself doing what he was trained to do and that was instill an attitude with the locals that he was there to help them and not hurt them. Michael was always willing to go into the nearby towns and villages and help out whenever they needed him.

  Over the months Michael’s team were sent out to several suspected Taliban strongholds to try and negotiate with the head village chiefs. In some of the trips they were able to actually recruit people from the villages they thought they could trust and rely on for information about the Taliban. Much to their disappointment Michael’s team found out that a militia-man loyal to an Afghan commander that was normally allied with the U.S. military was betraying their American intentions. He was actually foiling operations to capture Taliban and al-Qaeda remnants in Kunduz. He admitted that he had been harboring the same Islamic militants the Americans were actively pursuing. Michael’s team, along with the rest of the military, was developing the attitude that, “You don’t know who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy anymore. It is hard to know who you can trust.”

  During Michael’s time at Kunduz he kept in touch with Doug and let him know how he was doing. That gave Doug some sense of security regarding his safety since he didn’t always know what Michael’s daily activities involved. He was always relieved to hear from Michael and told him he loved him. Michael would always say, “I love you too Grandpa,” each time before he hung up the phone.

  In May 2009, Michael’s team was deployed by helicopters into a Taliban hideout in Ghor Tapa, about seven miles northwest of Kunduz. Upon landing, fierce fighting broke out and one of Michael’s close team members was hit in the shoulder from enemy small arms fire. Michael quickly pulled him aside and started to administer medical aid. He gave him some morphine to ease the pain until they could get him medevac’d. After attending to him Michael grabbed his rifle and joined in the assault. During the ensuing battle there were several militants and three Taliban commanders that were killed. Several insurgents were captured. The entire firefight lasted only a few minutes and then it was over. Michael attended to his teammate while he was medevac’d back to the military base hospital.

  Michael’s life went back to being routine until a few months later in November 2009; his team was deployed to Ghor Tapa once again. An offensive was launched by Afghan, German, and United States ground troops. After several days of fighting there were over one hundred Taliban fighters and one U.S. soldier killed. One of the major Taliban leaders was also reported killed during the fighting. Several insurgents were wounded and over twenty were taken prisoner. During and after the fighting Michael was called to help out fallen comrades until they could be medevac’d to the military base hospital. This was the second major firefight he had been involved in. Over the months he also attended to other ground soldiers that had been hit by the I.E.D.’s planted in the roads by the insurgents and he was getting used to seeing guys with severe leg injuries. (18)

  Once the mission was over and Michael was back at the safe house he called Doug and told him about the five day mission and how the Allied forces had killed a number of the Taliban and captured others. Doug asked him if he was in the firefight. Michael knew how he felt about him being in the middle of the fighting so he reluctantly said, “At times I was firing my weapon, but I spent most of my time taking care of wounded soldiers.” Doug could feel the fear of losing Michael creep up from the pit of his stomach all the way to his throat as he told him. “Don’t try to be a hero. You’re all I’ve got left and I don’t want to lose you.” Michael tried his best to assure him he would be okay, “Don’t worry Grandpa, I promise I won’t. I’m not doing anything stupid and most of the time I try to stay out of the fighting. I love you and I will talk to again soon.” Little did they know that would be the last conversation they would ever have with each other?

  The Army officials rep
orted that Michael was killed on December 2, 2009, along with two other Special Forces soldiers from his Team. They were killed by a terrorist I.E.D. while in route to see a village chief to persuade him to help them find the Taliban fighters. Doug was told that there must have been two I.E.D.s planted in the same spot because of the size of the blast.

  When the Army soldiers arrived at Doug’s door he was in shock as they gave him the news of Michael’s death. At first he didn’t believe them. He told them they must have made a mistake because Michael was a medical sergeant and didn’t really see that much combat. They told him that he was killed by an I.E.D. while on a convoy. He was having a hard time believing that it had really happened. He thought that maybe this had been a case of mistaken identity or maybe Michael was just wounded and lying in a military hospital somewhere. He asked them if they were positive it was Michael and they said there was no question that it was him. They pulled out his dog tags and gave them to him. Trying to control himself he asked them when they would be sending his body home.

  After the soldiers left, Doug shut the door and dropped to his knees and started weeping. The cries of his pain were coming from deep down in his soul as he yelled out “you terrorist will pay for Michael’s death. I promise you I will hunt you down and destroy you.” Now, for the first time in his life, he knew what true hatred was because that is what he was feeling for the terrorists. There was nothing he could do to control his anger and pain. At that moment it felt as though someone had sucker punched him in the chest and ripped out his heart while it was still beating. He hit the door to the bathroom with his fist as he went in to get napkins to wipe away the tears. Over the next few hours he kicked furniture, hit walls and slammed the refrigerator with his open palms. At one point, he gripped the kitchen table with all his strength and tried to squeeze away the pain. Nothing seemed to help because the finality of Michael’s death was almost more than he could bear. The one thing he feared the most for Michael had come true. Now that Michael had died at the hands of these radical Muslim terrorists Doug would not let his death go unpunished. He told himself that he was going to inflict the deepest pain on them and their organizations as possible. More than anything in the world he wanted them to feel the pain he was feeling at that moment in his life.

  It was several hours before Doug called his brother and told him the news. He was awake all night as thoughts of Michael were running through his mind. He kept wondering if there was something more he could have done to persuade Michael to stay out of the military. He tossed and turned as he beat himself up all night feeling like there was something more he could have done.

  The next day all of Michael’s friends had found out about his death and were calling to give their condolences. Doug didn’t remember much about who called, for the most part the days leading up to and after Michael’s funeral were nothing but a blur. He went through all the motions but just felt numb inside. He felt like he was in some bad dream and would wake up and find out Michael was still alive. Regardless of how hard he tried he couldn’t wake up from the bad dream.

  It was during the funeral that the reality of Michael’s death hit him the hardest. That’s when he finally came to grips with the fact that Michael had been killed by radical Muslim terrorists. He received the full military funeral and they gave Doug the customary folded up American Flag. When the military officials handed it to him all he could think of at the time was, after everything we have been through together in our lives and this is all I have left of him except the memories. At that moment the hatred and his need for revenge toward the terrorists was the things that were keeping him held together.

  For several days after Michael’s funeral Doug was in a daze as he walked around the house and in and out of Michael’s room. Even though he was sad, angry, and empty inside, the entire time he was planning his next move against the cowardly terrorist organizations.

  * * *

  Chapter 8 - Doug Plots His Revenge