Qualla: Bombing of Kandahar (2001)

Bombing of Kandahar (2001): Introduction

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

At 6:30 in the evening on October 7, 2001, less than a month after the September 11 attacks, the first bombs fell. Five B-1 Lancers and ten B-52 Stratofortresses had launched from Diego Garcia, a coral atoll in the Indian Ocean over 4,000 kilometers from their targets. Twenty-five F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets flew from aircraft carriers in the North Arabian Sea. Two B-2 Spirits -- the most expensive aircraft ever built -- arrived from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, halfway around the world. Kandahar, the Taliban's spiritual capital and the city where Mullah Omar had consolidated his power, was among the first targets of what would become America's longest war.

Bombing of Kandahar (2001): The Arsenal Unleashed

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The scale of the opening assault reflected both the military's capabilities and the political pressure to respond decisively to September 11. By 9:00 PM, U.S. Navy, Air Force, and Royal Navy forces had launched fifty Tomahawk cruise missiles against Taliban military installations...

Bombing of Kandahar (2001): Bombs and Bread

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Even as the explosions shook Kandahar, a parallel operation was underway. Two C-17 Globemaster transports dropped 37,500 daily food rations to Afghan refugees on the first day of the bombing campaign -- an attempt to demonstrate that America's war was with the Taliban, not the Af...

Bombing of Kandahar (2001): The Noose Tightens

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

As the air campaign continued through October and November, Taliban forces suffered rapid setbacks across Afghanistan. Mullah Omar consolidated his remaining military strength in Kandahar, the movement's birthplace and ideological center. The United States moved to encircle the c...

Bombing of Kandahar (2001): December 7

Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The Taliban surrendered Kandahar on December 7, 2001 -- exactly sixty years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, a coincidence no one in the American military establishment failed to notice. The two-month campaign that began with cruise missiles and strategic bombers ended with a ne...