Gary Schroen, officer who led CIA's first incursion into Afghanistan after 9/11, dies

Gary Schroen, the person who led the CIA's first incursion into Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist assault, has died, the CIA introduced on Monday.

The CIA commemorated Schroen, well-known for the mission that laid the groundwork for a full-fledged invasion greater than twenty years in the past, and argued that his work will function an inspiration for its officers for years to return.

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"Right now, CIA mourns the passing of Gary Schroen, a legend and inspiration to each Company officer. In Afghanistan greater than twenty years in the past and in each different function he served at CIA, Gary embodied the easiest of our group. We'll always remember his unwavering dedication, loyalty, and perseverance to guard and defend our nation," CIA Director William Burns mentioned in an announcement.

The assertion didn't say when or the place Schroen died, nor did it point out a explanation for dying.

The information got here shortly after President Joe Biden delivered an handle to the nation, asserting that a drone strike killed al Qaeda chief Ayman al Zawahiri, one of many 9/11 masterminds.

Schroen had labored because the chief of station in Islamabad, Pakistan, between 1996 and 1999, and he oversaw CIA initiatives aimed toward capturing Osama bin Laden. He had been poised to retire when the planes crashed into the World Commerce Middle and elsewhere on Sept. 11, 2001, in a collection of assaults that killed almost 3,000. Outraged by the assault, he opted to desk his retirement plans and provided to spearhead the primary CIA incursion into the war-torn nation after the assaults, in accordance with the company.

His workforce of roughly seven members flew to Afghanistan about 15 days after 9/11, he informed PBS. Schroen was given direct orders "to seize Bin Laden, kill him & carry his head again in a field on dry ice," he recalled to NPR. His mission was code-named Operation JAWBREAKER.

"Gary delayed his retirement to steer an distinctive workforce of CIA officers — the primary People into Afghanistan — on a mission in opposition to al-Qa’ida and its Taliban supporters. That mission, Operation JAWBREAKER, will perpetually stand as a tribute to Gary’s braveness and management. We're lucky to have the Mi-17 helicopter that Gary and his workforce used to hold out this daring mission devoted on CIA’s grounds, the place it's going to serve for generations to return as a reminder of Gary’s extraordinary place in CIA historical past," Burns mentioned in his assertion.

Operation JAWBREAKER was one in all a number of early missions performed by the USA within the area to undermine al Qaeda and sympathetic Taliban fighters. A core part of the mission entailed reaching out to the Northern Alliance, a gaggle in Afghanistan that resisted Taliban rule, to coordinate navy motion in opposition to the Taliban and al Qaeda.

Schroen managed to befriend Northern Alliance commander Gen. Ahmad Shah Massoud throughout his mission and helped win over their assist within the conflict effort, in accordance with his ebook in regards to the mission. The invasion formally commenced in October 2001.

"Gary can be vastly missed, however by no means forgotten," Burns mentioned.