Former CIA Director George Tenet wrote: “Tribal leaders [in Afghanistan] were asked, ‘Can we count on you to help drive al-Qa’ida and their Taliban protectors out of Afghanistan?’ If the answer was yes, food, medical supplies, military equipment and weapons would soon be air-dropped to them. Between mid-October and mid-December 2001, U.S. aircraft delivered 1.69 million pounds of goods in 108 airdrops to 41 locations throughout Afghanistan. Each drop [of goods] was tailored to the specific requests and needs of the teams on the ground. One ethnic Uzbek leader told us that his most critical need was horse feed. Others needed saddles. These were shipped along with arms, portable hospitals, and food. Some of our officers slept on millions of dollars in cash, which was used to capitalize on the Afghan tradition of switching sides. A tribal leader who sided with the United States, would within hours, see the answer to his clan’s prayers drop from the sky. It gave those warlords tremendous clout within their organizations. But if a tribal leader refused to work with us, essentially declaring himself and his clan enemies, his clan might find themselves on the receiving end of a…two-thousand-pound bomb courtesy of the U.S. military. In addition to working with various warlords, Agency officers in Afghanistan also secretly contacted Taliban officials to try to get them to turn over Bin Ladin.” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]
– George Tenet with Bill Harlow, At the Center of the Storm, Page 210