Twenty-five years ago, a Soviet-designed helicopter crossed the mountains of Afghanistan carrying the first CIA officers sent into the country after
on Sept. 11, 2001, marking the opening move in the U.S. response that would soon become .The seven-man CIA team, code-named JAWBREAKER, landed in the Panjshir Valley on Sept. 26, 2001, just 15 days after the attacks, carrying millions of dollars in cash intended to help enlist and equip Afghan allies.
asserted
that → design → allies
Their mission was to gather intelligence and prepare the ground for the looming U.S. campaign against al-Qaeda and the Taliban — including by shoring up ties with the Northern Alliance, whose military leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, had been assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives just two days before 9/11.
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leader → gather → 9/11
The Mi-17 that carried them there is now on display at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, where it has undergone an extensive restoration ahead of the anniversary.
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it → carry → anniversary
Former CIA officer David Tyson followed JAWBREAKER into Afghanistan weeks later as a member of Team Alpha, and remembers flying aboard the same aircraft before the war.
"
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Tyson → follow → war
It was shaking a lot, fuel was leaking, very noisy, and I didn't know if it was airworthy," Tyson told CBS News in an interview, "but I was assured by the pilots it was a good bird."
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it → shake → pilots
A helicopter built to blend in
The CIA acquired the Mi-17 in the 1990s, calculating that its Soviet origins would be an advantage in the region.
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origins → build → region
"The Northern Alliance and the Taliban both used Mi-17s," CIA historian Rob Byer told CBS News.
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Byer → use → News
"The big reason we got an Mi-17 rather than flying in a Blackhawk is because it blends in," Byer said.
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Byer → get → Blackhawk
"And when you're going behind enemy lines, you'd like to blend in as much as you can."
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you → go → lines
It could also handle the punishing altitude.
uncertain
It → handle → altitude
To reach the Panjshir Valley, JAWBREAKER had to cross the Anjuman Pass, which rises roughly 14,500 feet above sea level.
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which → reach → level
"The Mi-17 is one of the few helicopters that can actually make it over that pass," Byer said.
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Byer → make → pass
The aircraft had no transponder to identify it to American warplanes, leaving its crew to improvise.
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aircraft → have → crew
They painted "USA" and an American flag across the tops of its stabilizers, visible to friendly pilots overhead but concealed from enemy eyes on the ground.
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They → paint → ground
With no blue paint available, the crew left the flag unfinished.
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crew → leave → flag
And in a reminder of the attacks that had brought them there, they gave the helicopter the call sign "9-11-01."
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they → bring → sign
The Mi-17 would go on to fly more than 300 missions in Afghanistan, remaining in service until 2012.
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Mi-17 → go → 2012
Team Alpha goes to war
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Alpha → go → war
Tyson was a CIA case officer based in Central Asia who was steeped in local languages, including Uzbek, Turkmen and Russian.
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who → base → Uzbek
On Sept. 11, 2001, he was on a flight to the United Kingdom for a meeting related to the CIA's efforts to recover Stinger missiles that had remained in Afghanistan, many of which were sent there in a U.S.-backed initiative during the Soviet war.
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many → relate → war
Soon after he landed, he began planning his return, realizing his expertise would likely take him to Afghanistan.
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expertise → land → Afghanistan
"I knew that I would be involved given my languages and experience and so forth and where I was based in Central Asia," Tyson recalled.
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Tyson → know → Asia
On Oct. 17, less than three weeks after JAWBREAKER arrived in the Panjshir Valley, Tyson and the rest of Team Alpha were inserted into a different part of northern Afghanistan, becoming the first Americans sent behind Taliban lines.
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Tyson → arrive → lines
Their mission was to work with forces commanded by Uzbek leader Abdul Rashid Dostum as part of the campaign against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
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mission → work → Taliban
"This was something we hadn't done before," Tyson said, describing a mission that involved working with local forces to "basically prosecute a war."
His principal role was intelligence and liaison work.
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role → do → war
He worked closely with Dostum's Uzbek-speaking forces, helping his team understand the people and environment around them.
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team → work → them
The Americans traveled with Afghan fighters on horseback through the mountains, sometimes riding as long as 14 hours a day.
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Americans → travel → hours
"The horses were not friendly," Tyson recalled.
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Tyson → recall → ?
"They were stallions, they fought between each other, they bit us, they kicked us, they tried to knock us off.
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they → fight → us
And the gear, the kit, the saddles were basically wooden frames with carpets thrown on them."
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carpets → throw → them
By late November, Taliban forces had collapsed across much of northern Afghanistan.
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forces → collapse → Afghanistan
Hundreds of foreign fighters had surrendered and were taken to Qala-i-Jangi, a sprawling 19th-century fortress near Mazar-e-Sharif.
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Hundreds → surrender → Sharif
On Nov. 25, Tyson and fellow CIA officer Johnny Micheal "Mike" Spann entered Qala-i-Jangi, where their initial task was to determine who the prisoners were and where they came from.
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they → enter → where
"For the most part, they were responding and identifying themselves as al-Qaeda members, people who had given oath of allegiance to bin Laden," Tyson said.
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Tyson → respond → Laden
Among the prisoners was John Walker Lindh, a California native who moved to the region in 2000 and joined the Taliban.
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who → move → Taliban
Hours into their mission, the prisoners rose up.
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prisoners → rise → mission
"There were explosions, gunfire, and a lot of yelling," Tyson recalled.
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Tyson → be → yelling
"I started seeing things in what I would call slow motion," he said.
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he → start → what
"Things were moving slowly, but almost automatically."
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Things → move → ?
At a certain point he heard Spann call his name, and began moving toward his partner through the fighting.
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Spann → hear → fighting
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
