OPERATION JAWBREAKER: The CIA’s Bold First Strike Against the Taliban

On September 11, 2001, the world watched in horror as al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania, killing 2,977 people.

The attacks, orchestrated by Osama bin Laden from his safe haven in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, demanded an immediate and decisive response from the United States.

Just fifteen days later, on September 26, 2001, a small team of CIA operatives touched down in the rugged mountains of northern Afghanistan, armed not only with weapons but also with suitcases stuffed with millions of dollars in cash.

This mission, codenamed Operation Jawbreaker, marked the opening salvo in America’s war on terror—a daring, covert operation aimed at dismantling the Taliban regime and crippling al-Qaeda’s operational base.

The Genesis of Jawbreaker

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, President George W. Bush tasked the Central Intelligence Agency with launching operations against al-Qaeda and its Taliban protectors.

CIA Director George Tenet briefed the president on September 12, outlining a plan that leveraged the agency’s pre-existing relationships with the Afghan Northern Alliance—a coalition of anti-Taliban warlords and militias.

Unlike the Department of Defense, which lacked a ready-made invasion strategy, the CIA had spent years cultivating ties with these local fighters, giving it a unique advantage in the region.

On September 17, Bush formally authorized the CIA to proceed, granting it broad authority to collect intelligence, coordinate with Afghan allies, and target al-Qaeda by any means necessary—including lethal force against bin Laden.

The result was Operation Jawbreaker, officially designated the Northern Afghanistan Liaison Team (NALT). Led by seasoned CIA officer Gary Schroen, the seven-man team—comprising paramilitary operatives, intelligence experts, and a communications officer—was augmented by a three-man flight crew.

Their mission was threefold: renew alliances with Northern Alliance commanders, gather real-time intelligence to shape the battlefield, and pave the way for U.S. military forces.

With no backup and minimal extraction options, the stakes were extraordinarily high.

The Team and Their Tools

Schroen, a 59-year-old veteran with decades of experience in the Middle East and South Asia, was no stranger to Afghanistan.

As the former Islamabad station chief, he had made covert trips into the country, delivering cash to Northern Alliance leaders to bolster their resistance against the Taliban.

His deputy, a senior operations officer, joined a mix of specialists: a young case officer fluent in Farsi and Dari, a former Navy SEAL, a paramilitary operative, a field communications expert, and a medic.

The flight crew included two pilots and a mechanic, tasked with operating a Russian-made Mi-17 helicopter leased by the CIA.

The team’s gear reflected the mission’s dual nature—combat and coercion.

They carried AK-47s with folding stocks, Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistols, and advanced communications equipment for secure links to CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia.

But their most potent weapon was cash: $3 million in non-sequential $100 bills, packed into a strapped metal suitcase and cardboard boxes.

In a country where loyalty often hinged on financial incentives, this money was intended to buy cooperation, supplies, and fighters from Northern Alliance warlords.

Into the Lion’s Den

On September 19, 2001, just eight days after the attacks, the Jawbreaker team departed from the United States, staging through Europe and Uzbekistan before their final infiltration.

On September 26, after a harrowing 2.5-hour flight over the Hindu Kush mountains, the Mi-17—callsign “91101”—landed in the Panjshir Valley, a Northern Alliance stronghold 70 miles north of Kabul.

The helicopter strained to clear the 15,000-foot Anjoman Pass, its crew and passengers tethered by ropes to prevent falls from the open rear door.

The territory below was ostensibly friendly, but the risk of Taliban or al-Qaeda fighters armed with Stinger missiles or anti-aircraft guns loomed large.

Upon landing at 3:00 p.m. local time, the team was greeted by Northern Alliance representatives, who had been alerted via radio from Tashkent.

Schroen’s first meeting was with General Mohammed Fahim, the alliance’s military commander following the assassination of Ahmad Shah Massoud by al-Qaeda operatives two days before 9/11.

Fahim, a stocky figure with a reputation for toughness, outlined his needs: heavy bombing to break Taliban lines and cash to sustain his forces.

Schroen handed over millions, promising U.S. air support in exchange for cooperation—a deal sealed with a handshake and a suitcase.

Cash as a Weapon

In Afghanistan, money was as critical as munitions. The Jawbreaker team distributed funds strategically, buying loyalty from warlords and sub-commanders who controlled dozens or hundreds of fighters.

A modest $50,000 could flip a Taliban-aligned militia, while larger sums—eventually totaling $70 million by December 2001—secured the allegiance of key Northern Alliance figures like Fahim, Abdul Rashid Dostum, and Atta Muhammad Nur.

The cash also funded food, blankets, weapons, and cold-weather gear, often delivered via CIA airdrops, ensuring the alliance could sustain its campaign.

This financial warfare paid dividends. On October 1, Schroen cabled Langley with a bold prediction: heavy bombing could trigger a rapid Taliban collapse, reducing their forces to a hardcore remnant loyal to leader Mullah Omar.

Though met with skepticism from CIA analysts, his assessment proved prescient.

When U.S. airstrikes began on October 7, guided by Jawbreaker’s GPS-mapped coordinates of Taliban positions, the Northern Alliance capitalized on the chaos.

By mid-October, the team had established a joint intelligence cell with the alliance, sharing data on al-Qaeda camps and leadership targets, including bin Laden.

Breaking the Taliban’s Grip

Jawbreaker’s groundwork enabled a swift escalation. On October 19, an Army Special Forces team (ODA 555) arrived in the Panjshir Valley, linking up with the CIA operatives.

Equipped with laser target designators, they called in precision strikes on Taliban and al-Qaeda positions along the Shomali Plains, softening defenses for Northern Alliance advances.

The fall of Mazar-e-Sharif in early November—secured after the CIA bribed rival commanders into cooperation—triggered a domino effect.

By December 7, less than three months after 9/11, the Taliban regime had been toppled, its leaders fleeing to Pakistan or the Tora Bora mountains, where bin Laden narrowly escaped capture.

The operation’s success was staggering: a core group of roughly 100 CIA officers, 300 U.S. Special Forces, and thousands of Afghan allies, backed by overwhelming airpower, dismantled a regime that had sheltered al-Qaeda.

President Bush later called it “a bargain,” noting the relatively low cost and minimal U.S. casualties in those early months.

Legacy and Lessons

Operation Jawbreaker exemplified the CIA’s ability to act swiftly and decisively, leveraging human intelligence and local partnerships to achieve strategic goals.

The suitcases of cash, while unconventional, underscored Afghanistan’s mercenary culture, where allegiance could be bought as readily as fought for.

Yet the mission’s triumphs were tempered by challenges: the failure to capture bin Laden at Tora Bora, due in part to insufficient ground forces, prolonged the war on terror, destabilizing the region for decades.

Today, the Mi-17 helicopter that carried the Jawbreaker team resides in the CIA Museum,

its cockpit clock frozen at the moment of their historic landing. The operation remains a testament to ingenuity and risk-taking—a small band of operatives, armed with cash and courage, who struck the first blow in a conflict that reshaped the world. https://x.com/GetTheDailyDirt/status/1900014072915243457