It's May 21, 2024, 07:16:16 AM
We can all agree that it's.... PRUNING TIME
Massoud, at his peak, had 25,000...He was making advances before 9/11 (albeit small ones). Oh, and that number includes the Uzbeks, who pretty much refused to take orders from him. It doesn't include the Hazaras (5,000 of them fought the Taliban, calling themselves the "Eastern Alliance"). Nor does it include the 1000 men or so that were in Pakistan, under the auspices of the Royal Guard.The Taliban, before 9/11, had over 60,000 regular troops facing him, along with a similar number of militia.
The Hazaras did not consititute the "Eastern Alliance". Hazaras are located in central Afghanistan, and belong predominately to Hezb I Wahdat. The Eastern Alliance consisted of Pashtun tribes in the East and South East that were either pro- King Zahir Shah, or anti Talib Pushtuns.