Mohammed Atta (Afghan warlord)
Encyclopedia
Ustad
Atta Mohammed Noor is a politician
in Afghanistan
, serving as the Governor of Balkh Province in the north of country. He was appointed in 2004 by President
Hamid Karzai
. An ethnic Tajik, he was a high school teacher before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
. A former anti-Soviet mujahideen
leader in northern Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, he later became a commander in the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance
in the Balkh area.
Born in Balkh province, Atta Mohammed joined the mujahideen fighting the Soviet presence in Afghanistan
in the 1980s and became affiliated with the Jamiat-e Islami
party. By 1992, he had become one the most powerful mujahideen commander in Northern Afghanistan.
Following the collapse the fall of Mohammed Najibullah's Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
, he joined Abdul Rashid Dostum
's National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, becoming a deputy leader of that movement during its first congress on June 1, 1992. However, ideological differences with Dostum soon re-emerged, and in 1993, encouraged by then defense minister Ahmed Shah Massoud
, he formed a new military unit, independent from Dostums movement, and began to recruit former mujahideen commanders. In January 1994, he was preparing an offensive to capture Mazar-i-Sharif, but Dostum struck first, and mobilised 10,000 men to defeat Atta's forces. The setback was such that Atta was unable to play a significant role in the region until 2001.
In late 2001, he was able to rebuild his forces, and with the help of US supplies and funds, his militia rose in two months from several hundred to several thousand men. On November 9, 2001 his forces and those of Dostum drove the Taliban from Mazar-i-Sharif.
In the following years Ustad Atta's forces clashed regularly with those of Dostum. In 2002, with the support of other jamiatis occupying key positions in the Afghan Transitional Administration
, he expanded his influence in Northern Afghanistan. While he managed to seize Mazar-i-Sharif with little violence, Khulmi District was taken by force. At the same time, Atta attempted to buy the loyalty of local military commanders in Faryab, Jowzjan and Balkh provinces. In October 2003 Dostum launched a counteroffensive, and managed to retake most of the positions he had lost to Jamiat since 2002. Near Mazar, Dostum outmaneuvred Atta's armoured forces, and captured all the key positions around the city. Fighting around Mazar involved tanks and artillery, and resulted in the death of approximately 60 people. In the summer both Dostum and Atta were coming under increasing pressure from the central government in Kabul, and they worked out a power-sharing agreement: Dostum conceded Mazar and most of Balkh province to Atta, who in turn renounced his intention of contesting Dostum's influence elsewhere in Northern Afghanistan.
In late 2004, Atta was appointed governor of Balkh Province by Hamid Karzai
. By installing commanders with whom he had fought in the 1980s and 1990s in local government positions, thus turning them away from destabilizing activities, he created a loyal and disciplined local administration. As a result, he acquired a monopoly on violence
, and achieved relative security and stability even in the most remote districts, at the cost of authoritarian methods. The security in Balkh Province permitted significant reconstruction and the development of considerable economic activity.
In 2006 Atta was investigated for corruption by the new Attorney General, Abdul Jabbar Sabit. Atta denied the charges and "accused Sabit of waging a political and personal vendetta". The ethnic Tajik Atta was known for his rivalry with Uzbek
general Abdul Rashid Dostum
. At the time, Balkh and Mazar were important source areas for Afghanistan's poppies, and commentators have remarked that a major motivation for this infighting may have been Dostum's involvement in the poppy trade. Governor Atta's opium poppy
eradication program between 2005 and 2007, advised by consultants from Adam Smith International
, successfully reduced poppy cultivation in Balkh Province from 7,200 hectares in 2005 to zero by 2007.
During the 2009 presidential election
, he supported Abdullah Abdullah
.
Ustad
Ustad is an Arabized Persian word is a honorific title for a Muslim man in South Asia. The title precedes the name and is usually used for well regarded teachers and artists, most often musicians. It is applied and used via informal social agreement. It is abbreviated as ut. or ud.-References:*...
Atta Mohammed Noor is a politician
Politics of Afghanistan
The politics of Afghanistan consists of the Council of Ministers and the National Assembly, with a president serving as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the military. The nation is currently led by the Karzai administration under President Hamid Karzai who is backed by two vice...
in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, serving as the Governor of Balkh Province in the north of country. He was appointed in 2004 by President
President of Afghanistan
Afghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. An ethnic Tajik, he was a high school teacher before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
. A former anti-Soviet mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
leader in northern Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion, he later became a commander in the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance
United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan
The United Islamic Front , known in the West and Pakistan as the Northern Alliance, was a military-political umbrella organization created by the Islamic State of Afghanistan in 1996 under the leadership of Defense Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud...
in the Balkh area.
Born in Balkh province, Atta Mohammed joined the mujahideen fighting the Soviet presence in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
in the 1980s and became affiliated with the Jamiat-e Islami
Jamiat-e Islami
Jamiat-e Islami , is an Islamic political party in Afghanistan along the line of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt. Jamiat-e Islami means "Islamic society" in the Persian language and is also known as just Jamiat for short. Jamiat is the oldest Islamic political party in Afghanistan...
party. By 1992, he had become one the most powerful mujahideen commander in Northern Afghanistan.
Following the collapse the fall of Mohammed Najibullah's Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War.- Saur Revolution :...
, he joined Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
's National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan, becoming a deputy leader of that movement during its first congress on June 1, 1992. However, ideological differences with Dostum soon re-emerged, and in 1993, encouraged by then defense minister Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmed Shah Massoud
Ahmad Shah Massoud was a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the name Lion of Panjshir. His followers call him Āmir Sāhib-e Shahīd...
, he formed a new military unit, independent from Dostums movement, and began to recruit former mujahideen commanders. In January 1994, he was preparing an offensive to capture Mazar-i-Sharif, but Dostum struck first, and mobilised 10,000 men to defeat Atta's forces. The setback was such that Atta was unable to play a significant role in the region until 2001.
In late 2001, he was able to rebuild his forces, and with the help of US supplies and funds, his militia rose in two months from several hundred to several thousand men. On November 9, 2001 his forces and those of Dostum drove the Taliban from Mazar-i-Sharif.
In the following years Ustad Atta's forces clashed regularly with those of Dostum. In 2002, with the support of other jamiatis occupying key positions in the Afghan Transitional Administration
Afghan Transitional Administration
The Afghan Transitional Administration was the name of a temporary administration of Afghanistan put in place by the 2002 Loya Jirga and followed the Afghan Interim Administration which was installed after the Bonn Conference.-Background:Following the US Invasion in Afghanistan, a UN sponsored...
, he expanded his influence in Northern Afghanistan. While he managed to seize Mazar-i-Sharif with little violence, Khulmi District was taken by force. At the same time, Atta attempted to buy the loyalty of local military commanders in Faryab, Jowzjan and Balkh provinces. In October 2003 Dostum launched a counteroffensive, and managed to retake most of the positions he had lost to Jamiat since 2002. Near Mazar, Dostum outmaneuvred Atta's armoured forces, and captured all the key positions around the city. Fighting around Mazar involved tanks and artillery, and resulted in the death of approximately 60 people. In the summer both Dostum and Atta were coming under increasing pressure from the central government in Kabul, and they worked out a power-sharing agreement: Dostum conceded Mazar and most of Balkh province to Atta, who in turn renounced his intention of contesting Dostum's influence elsewhere in Northern Afghanistan.
In late 2004, Atta was appointed governor of Balkh Province by Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. By installing commanders with whom he had fought in the 1980s and 1990s in local government positions, thus turning them away from destabilizing activities, he created a loyal and disciplined local administration. As a result, he acquired a monopoly on violence
Monopoly on violence
The monopoly on violence is the conception of the state expounded by Max Weber in Politics as a Vocation. According to Weber, the state is that entity which claims a monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, which it may therefore elect to delegate as it sees fit...
, and achieved relative security and stability even in the most remote districts, at the cost of authoritarian methods. The security in Balkh Province permitted significant reconstruction and the development of considerable economic activity.
In 2006 Atta was investigated for corruption by the new Attorney General, Abdul Jabbar Sabit. Atta denied the charges and "accused Sabit of waging a political and personal vendetta". The ethnic Tajik Atta was known for his rivalry with Uzbek
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks are a Turkic ethnic group in Central Asia. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, and large populations can also be found in Afghanistan, Tajikstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Pakistan, Mongolia and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China...
general Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum
Abdul Rashid Dostum is a former pro-Soviet fighter during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and is considered by many to be the leader of Afghanistan's Uzbek community and the party Junbish-e Milli-yi Islami-yi Afghanistan...
. At the time, Balkh and Mazar were important source areas for Afghanistan's poppies, and commentators have remarked that a major motivation for this infighting may have been Dostum's involvement in the poppy trade. Governor Atta's opium poppy
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
eradication program between 2005 and 2007, advised by consultants from Adam Smith International
Adam Smith Institute
The Adam Smith Institute, abbreviated to ASI, is a think tank based in the United Kingdom, named after one of the founders of modern economics, Adam Smith. It espouses free market and classical liberal views, in particular by creating radical policy options in the light of public choice theory,...
, successfully reduced poppy cultivation in Balkh Province from 7,200 hectares in 2005 to zero by 2007.
During the 2009 presidential election
Afghan presidential election, 2009
The 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout and widespread ballot stuffing, intimidation, and other electoral fraud....
, he supported Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah is an Afghan politician and a doctor of medicine. He was an adviser and friend to Ahmad Shah Massoud, legendary anti-Taliban leader and commander known as the "Lion of Panjshir". After the fall of the Taliban regime, Dr. Abdullah served as Afghanistan's Foreign Minister from 2001...
.