Reddit reviews First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan

Billy's Afghan adventures are chronicled in First In by Gary Schroen. First person account of the first team into Afghanistan after 9/11 (CIA prep for SF).

Also read Jawbreaker by Gary Berntsen which picks up where First In leaves off, including the taking of Kabul. Also a first person account.

Then read the prequel that ends on Sep 10: Ghost Wars. 2005 Pulitzer Prize.

These three books are truly a trilogy in every sense.

Supposedly Bin Laden was providing arms and training to a lot of the warlords at the time, Aidid included. I have a vague recollection of reading about it in "Jawbreaker" by Gary Berntsen. He was lead on the first CIA team in Afghanistan following 9/11. I think he worked in Africa during his career as well. I may have read it from a different source, this is all just snatches of memory.

Edit: the book I'm thinking of was "First In: An Insiders Account of How The CIA Spearheaded the War On Terror in Afghanistan" by Gary Schroen. Schroen was the leader on the ground. Also he worked in Pakistan, not Africa. It's been a few years and a lot of books since this one. My bad. Good book, recommend it for a read on a flight or train ride or such.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/First-In-Insiders-Spearheaded-Afghanistan/dp/0345496612/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=058X5E7FYGJHGVYGW6BY