Horse Soldiers, by Doug Stanton

Review by W. J. Rayment / ConservativeBookstore - In Horse Soldiers, by Doug Stanton, we have the amazing story of how a few American special forces troops helped the Afghan people drive the domineering Taliban from their country. This turned out to be a swift operation, but it was not an easy one. The term "Horse Soldier" comes from the fact that the American's main form of transport over the rough terrain upon which the war was fought was horsepower and this proved a challenge for troops trained for 21st century warfare.

Doug Stanton does a great job following the adventures of the front-line soldiers directly involved in the struggle. Because "Horse Soldiers" is based directly on primary sources, diaries, interviews, emails, and letters, we find out what was going on in the heads of soldiers and politicians when they had to make snap judgments in time of war. We even get a clear picture of the home front revealing the actions of the wives and families of the soldiers.

After 9/11/2001 the first U.S. effort to destroy Al-Qaeda bases of operation was in Afghanistan. The Taliban was an extreme fanatical Muslim force which had taken over the country through military force. Most of the dedicated Taliban forces were from outside the country from places like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. This dictatorship was oppressive, imposing basic Muslim beliefs on the populace, including denial of education for women, tormenting and even killing people who did not conform with their belief system. The Taliban also allowed Al-Qaeda training facilities to be built within Afghanistan.

To oppose the Taliban the Northern Alliance was formed. This was a group of warlords with regional seats of power who were bent on liberating Afghanistan. It was the job of U.S. special forces to get these warlords to work together and to assist them with the application of U.S. air power in pinpoint strikes that would destroy Taliban military targets with minimal damage to civilian population and infrastructure. It sounds scientific when put in those terms, but as Doug Stanton ably illustrates in "Horse Soldiers" this proved to be a very human operation where 15th century horsemanship proved as vital in the long run as American smart bombs.

Stanton does a great job describing the vital details, the helicopter ride of the initial team of twelve men into Afghanistan to their first meeting with the warlord leaders is highly dramatic. The description of the Americans' first encounter with mounted transport is both poignant and humorous. One of the most amazing scenes I have read in military literature is of a cavalry charge by the Afghans on entrenched Taliban positions. The Americans provided air support to neutralize some of the Taliban's tanks and other powerful mobile weapons. The sheer bravery of a couple hundred men on horseback, riding hard over rugged terrain in two waves is awe inspiring. A bare hundred and fifty yards from the trenches the first wave stopped, jumped from their horses, put one foot on the horse reins to keep the animals from bolting, then poured a volley of fire into the trenches. The second wave came up and passed through the first. The first remounted and followed the second, routing the whole Taliban force. In the face of automatic weapons and rocket propelled grenades...amazing!

Following the first hand experiences of the soldiers as they pushed on to victory gives a gripping immediacy to the story. The taking of Mazar-i-Sharif was a pivotal point in the war. From this city in Northern Afghanistan the capture of Konduz and Kabul would soon follow. However, the Taliban still had one trick up its sleeve. Six hundred surrendered and were taken to a fortress, Qala-i-Janghi, near Mazar. They rebelled and took over a weapons cache with which they created havoc behind Afghan lines. The suppression of this force was another victory for Afghan and U.S. arms.

In the midst of this story runs John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban". Doug Stanton treats him somewhat sympathetically. I think the author was somewhat conflicted about him. He paints him as a young man seeking structure and order in Islam where his parents had not provided it in their hip cultural malaise. Lindh ended up in Afghanistan because of his quest for purity and got caught in a whirlwind of events that were clearly beyond his ability to control. Yet he had made choices that were certain to bring him into conflict with his own country. (I find it revealing that the Taliban did not understand what kind of a public relations tool they had in Lindh. He was a common soldier at the base of the Taliban command structure.)

In all, this is an exciting book, and an enjoyable read, full of the stories of men who fully deserve to be lauded as heroes. At the same time it is a good reminder of why we involved ourselves in Afghanistan. It is a very positive portrayal of American arms and motives. Highly recommended.

Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary story of a Band of U.S. Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan is available at Amazon. (Also on Audio CD)