07 Oct The Significance of October 7
October 7th is a significant date for our United States Special Operations Forces. On this day in 2001, the U.S.-led coalition began attacks on Taliban-controlled Afghanistan in response to the events that unfolded on September 11th.
With help from other nations including England, France, Germany, Australia and Canada, the United States successfully opened a war on terrorism.
Referred to amongst the U.S. military as “Operation Enduring Freedom,” the invasion of Afghanistan was intended to take down Osama bin Laden’s Al-Qaeda organization and the Taliban government. The Taliban wreaked havoc on the Afghan people. They imposed extremist Islamic ideals, allowed millions to live in poverty and starvation, and denied people–especially women–basic human rights.
The U.S. aerial bombardment began shortly after the Taliban government refused to hand over bin Laden to the United States and U.N. Security Council for prosecution. The Taliban deemed this invasion “an attack on Islam” and bin Laden called for a war against the entire non-Muslim world.
The U.S. and allies from the other nations went on to bring in air and ground military troops, forcing the Taliban to slowly retreat. By early December, the last Taliban stronghold had collapsed and Taliban leaders and Al-Qaeda fighters went into hiding in the mountains. They were quickly discovered in the Tora Bora mountains by anti-Taliban Afghan forces, backed by U.S. Special Forces. A truce was initiated by Al-Qaeda, which is now believed to have been a ploy to give bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda members time to escape and go into hiding.
After the Tora Bora raid and capture of Al-Qaeda members, bin Laden was still nowhere to be found. It would take almost 10 more years until he would be discovered in Pakistan and killed by American Special Operators.
In celebration of the bravery that our SOF champions displayed during these events, SOF Support Foundation is hosting a virtual silent auction starting Oct. 7 and running through Oct. 14. You can register at https://sofsupport.org/silent-auction/.