Editing Mohammad Qasim Fahim (section)

===As Defense Minister===
On 9 September 2001, Ahmad Shah Massoud, Afghanistan's most important resistance leader and Defense Minister of the ousted but international recognized government, was assassinated by [[al-Qaeda]] operatives posing as journalists. Two days later, Fahim was confirmed as the new defence minister of the United Islamic Front (Northern Alliance), succeeding Massoud. Fahim was a close ally and protégé of Massoud.<ref name=telegraph061201>{{cite news|last=Warren|first=Marcus|title=New faces take over from the old guard|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1364535/New-faces-take-over-from-the-old-guard.html|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=6 December 2001}}</ref>

In the wake of building pressure of the US against the Taliban regime after [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001]], as general commander of the mujahideen resistance forces, Fahim became America's main proxy in the fight against the Taliban.<ref name=Telegraph100314 /> He was anxious to start a military offensive and even pledged to launch an attack against the Taliban, without waiting for US military action, saying: "Today we have a chance to defeat the Taliban and the terrorists, and we will use it whatever the cost."<ref name=breakingnewsie>{{cite news|title=Afghan opposition threaten attack before US|url=http://www.breakingnews.ie/world/afghan-opposition-threaten-attack-before-us-25715.html|access-date=7 March 2012|newspaper=Breaking News.ie|date=5 October 2001}}</ref> On 7 October, the day the US started bombing Taliban targets, he proclaimed an offensive on the northern and western fronts.<ref name=ITAR>{{cite news|title=Afghan Northern Alliance commander calls for uprising against "split" Taleban|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97A55A292073D5&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|access-date=7 March 2012|newspaper=ITAR-TASS news agency|date=7 October 2001}}</ref>

On October, 20, a US team of [[Special Forces (United States Army)|Green Beret]]s landed in Afghanistan and teamed up with Fahim. On 30 October, Fahim met with American General [[Tommy Franks]] where they discussed the idea to launch the first major strike of the war against Mazar-e-Sharif, a city that Fahim a month earlier named as the first city that he would conquer.<ref>Chipman, Don. "Air power and the Battle for Mazar e Sharif", Spring 2003</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=A Nation Challenged: The Alliance; Afghan Rebels Seem a Reluctant Force So Far|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/04/world/a-nation-challenged-the-alliance-afghan-rebels-seem-a-reluctant-force-so-far.html|access-date=7 March 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=4 November 2001|author=[[Dexter Filkins]]|author2=[[David S. Rohde|David Rohde]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Hatoum|first=Bassam|title=Taliban claim US Bombing damages hospital|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=liovAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oNwFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1290,54479&dq=mohammad+fahim&hl=en|access-date=7 March 2012|agency=Associated Press|date=1 November 2001}}</ref>

Mazar-e Sharif [[Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif|was captured]] by opposition forces on 9 and 10 November and only a few days later, the Taliban evacuated Kabul. US President [[George W. Bush]] had requested that opposition forces would not enter the city before a new, broad-based, multi-ethnic government was formed. But Fahim went into the city with a group of specially trained security personnel, although he made sure to leave the main body of his troops outside the city.<ref name=Times-Union1311>{{cite news|title=Kabul|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=O7c_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=AlcMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6141,2389660&dq=mohammed+fahim&hl=en|access-date=10 March 2012|newspaper=Times-Union|date=13 November 2001}}</ref>

At the end of November, forces loyal to Fahim captured the city of [[Kunduz]]. That brought Fahim in charge of two of the five biggest cities, since other main cities were captured by militias of [[Gul Agha Sherzai]] and [[Hamid Karzai]] (Kandahar), [[Ismail Khan]] (Herat) en [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]] (Mazar-e-Sharif).

In the first days after the fall of Kabul, a supreme military council, headed by Fahim, was set up to administer the captured parts of the country.<ref name=KOMOnews>{{cite news|title=Factions Asked To Join Together in Post-Taliban Afghanistan|url=http://komonews.com/archive/factions-asked-to-join-together-in-post-taliban-afghanistan|access-date=22 July 2016|newspaper=KOMO News|date=13 November 2001}}</ref> The military council gave itself a three-month mandate in which they proclaimed not to hand over the power to United Islamic Front president [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]].<ref name=Manillanews>{{cite news|title=Ousted Afghan President won't go back yet|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=95kVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=mAsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2366,1691316&dq=mohammad+fahim&hl=en|access-date=17 March 2012|newspaper=Manila Standard|date=16 November 2001}}</ref>