Dostum File

: After the Taliban took Kabul in 1996, he joined the Northern Alliance to resist their rule. Role in Operation Enduring Freedom

: During the 1990s, he effectively ruled a "state-within-a-state" in northern Afghanistan from his stronghold in Mazar-e-Sharif. Dostum

: Rose to prominence during the Soviet-Afghan War, commanding a powerful 20,000-strong militia that patrolled northern Afghanistan for the communist government. : After the Taliban took Kabul in 1996,

: He famously partnered with CIA and U.S. Special Forces (ODA 595), conducting cavalry charges against Taliban tanks while receiving U.S. air support. commanding a powerful 20

Dostum was a critical U.S. ally during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan:

Dostum’s career is defined by shifting alliances and military survival over four decades of conflict: