Editing Mohammad Qasim Fahim (section)

===Vice-Chairman of the Interim Administration===
In the interim administration, Karzai much needed the support of Fahim. Karzai was the official chairman of the executive committee of the government, but as commander of the most effective military force commanding the capital, Fahim had the real power.

Since Fahim was afraid a large international peace keeping force would take away his power base, he argued for a limited number of foreign troops in Afghanistan. Karzai, however, was less afraid of international involvement, and might even fear a [[Tajik people|Tajik]] hegemony of Afghanistan without them.<ref name="dec1501">{{Cite news |last=Rupert |first=James |date=2001-12-15 |title=How Large A Force To Keep The Peace? |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-how-large-a-force-to-keep-the-pe/168403945/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=Newsday |page=A18 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name=Bangordailey2112>{{cite news|last=Azoy|first=Whitney|title=December of '41|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=p6RJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ew0NAAAAIBAJ&pg=1423,1337727&dq=mohammad+fahim&hl=en|access-date=31 March 2012|newspaper=Bangor Dailey|date=21 December 2001}}</ref>

After the inauguration ceremony on 22 December 2001, where Fahim was installed as minister of Defence and vice-chair of the interim government, he requested that international forces leave the capital.<ref name=telegraph2412c>{{cite news|title=Commandos forced to leave as cabinet meets|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1366183/Commandos-forced-to-leave-as-cabinet-meets.html|access-date=31 March 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=24 December 2001|first=Michael|last=Smith}}</ref> He "would no longer accept foreign troops in Afghanistan operating without a UN mandate," Fahim said.<ref name=guardian061201>{{cite news|title=Alliance happiest as deal is sealed|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/dec/06/afghanistan.ianblack|access-date=18 March 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|date=6 December 2001|author=Nicholas Watt|author2=Luke Harding|author3=Ian Black}}</ref> Later he demanded that 100 British servicemen who just had entered the country leave [[Bagram Air Base]].<ref name="ITAR-TASS news agencynov2001">{{cite news|title=Northern Alliance reportedly against foreign military presence in Afghanistan|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=0F97A68402BF396D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|access-date=17 March 2012|newspaper=ITAR-TASS news agency|date=17 November 2001}}</ref> "The British forces perhaps have an agreement with the UN but not with us," said Fahim.<ref name=albawabanov01>{{cite news|title=Northern Alliance: British Forces in Afghanistan without Approval|url=http://www.albawaba.com/news/northern-alliance-british-forces-afghanistan-without-approval|access-date=17 March 2012|newspaper=Al Bawaba|date=17 November 2001}}</ref> He also stated that a UN force should not exceed 1,000 men and should play a very limited role in Afghan politics and that his own forces could eradicate sources of instability.<ref name=beavercounty01>{{cite news|title=Afghans call for limited UN force|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1exVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5kANAAAAIBAJ&pg=1560,3206411&dq=mohammad+fahim&hl=en|access-date=20 March 2012|newspaper=Beaver County Times|date=11 December 2001}}</ref><ref name=iolsa01>{{cite news|title=Bin Laden men pushed to final stronghold|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/bin-laden-men-pushed-to-final-stronghold-1.78326|access-date=20 March 2012|newspaper=SA Times|date=11 December 2001}}</ref> His own Northern Alliance forces should police Kabul, said Fahim, because he said that his troops in Kabul were security troops, not military.<ref name="torontostar1201">{{Cite news |last=Kenna |first=Kathleen |date=2001-12-12 |title=Northern Alliance vows to stay put |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-northern-alliance-vows/168403995/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=The Toronto Star |page=A18 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref><ref name="newsday1201">{{Cite news |last=Rupert |first=James |date=2001-12-12 |title=Jockeying Persists Among Rivals |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-jockeying-persists-among-rivals/168404057/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=Newsday |page=A36 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

Fahim discussed the deployment of foreign troops with US Generals and Defense Secretary [[Donald Rumsfeld]] who demanded the presence of a large international force.<ref>{{cite news|title=Suspect chemical war camp found|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/12/16/ret.rumsfeld.afghan/index.html|access-date=24 March 2012|publisher=CNN|date=16 December 2001}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Pleven |first=Liam |date=2001-12-18 |title=Uneasy Bond For 2 Armies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-uneasy-bond-for-2-armies/168404091/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=Newsday |page=A48 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> Fahim was in charge of the meetings with the British General [[John McColl (British Army officer)|John McColl]] to establish the exact task, length of stay and size of international forces.<ref name=Telegraph161201>{{cite news|last=Rayment|first=Sean|title=1,000 British troops to spearhead security role|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1365472/1000-British-troops-to-spearhead-security-role.html|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=16 December 2001}}</ref> Reportedly, Fahim refused to meet McColl until Rumsfeld pressured him and told him to meet the British general.<ref>{{cite news|title=Alliance snub British general|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1365666/Alliance-snub-British-general.html|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|author=Peter Foster|author2=Michael Smith|date=18 December 2001}}</ref>

In the end, it was decided that an international security force of a few thousand troops would be deployed,<ref>{{cite news|title=Kabul accepts 5 000-strong outside force|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/kabul-accepts-5-000-strong-outside-force-1.78790|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=IOL News|date=18 December 2001}}</ref> but that they would agree to Fahim's demands to not take control of Kabul and not start immediately disarming Afghan militias.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rohde|first=David|author-link=David S. Rohde|title=A Nation Challenged: Kabul; British in Accord With Afghans On Force to Keep Order in Kabul|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/19/world/nation-challenged-kabul-british-accord-with-afghans-force-keep-order-kabul.html|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 December 2001}}</ref> Of the approximately 3,000 men that would be deployed, 2,000–3,000 men would be deployed in a garrison in the center of Kabul. Of the 30,000 men, only a third would be deployed for security reasons, the others would receive logistical and humanitarian tasks.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Nation Challenged: Hunting Fugitives; Afghans and Pakistanis at Odds on Whereabouts of bin Laden; Bombing Is Waning|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/29/world/nation-challenged-hunting-fugitives-afghans-pakistanis-odds-whereabouts-bin.html|access-date=3 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=29 December 2001|first=Amy|last=Waldman|author-link=Amy Waldman}}</ref> Another important task for the British and Americans would be the training of the Afghan troops. Fahim expressed the wish to build an Afghan army of around 250,000 men.<ref>{{cite news|last=Conachy|first=James|title=International aid pledges fall far short of Afghanistan's basic needs|url=http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/jan2002/afgh-j28.shtml|access-date=4 June 2012|newspaper=World Socialist Web Site|date=28 January 2002}}</ref> After the negotiations, The Telegraph described Fahim as someone who is popularly known as "the village and Pansher valley idiot," but who actually very shrewd.<ref name=telegraph070202>{{cite news|title=Britain's troops get cracking to rebuild war-weary nation|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/1380637/Britains-troops-get-cracking-to-rebuild-war-weary-nation.html|access-date=4 June 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=7 January 2002|first=Charles|last=Moore}}</ref>

When the first foreign troops of the peacekeeping mission arrived on 20 December 2001, Fahim said "They won't be needed for security."<ref name="Toronto Star201201">{{Cite news |last=Kenna |first=Kathleen |date=2001-12-20 |title=Afghanistan sees limited duties for peacekeepers |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-afghanistan-sees-limite/168404121/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |work=The Toronto Star |page=10 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> "They are here because they want to be," and because the United Nations Security Council sent them to Afghanistan to prevent another civil war, Fahim said,<ref name=usatoday201201>{{cite news|last=Spitzer|first=Kirk|title=U.K. peacekeepers arrive in Afghanistan|url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/attack/2001/12/20/peacekeepers-usat.htm|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=USA Today|date=20 December 2001}}</ref> but insisted that their presence was merely symbolic and that the foreign troops were not supposed to use force.<ref name=mosc201201>{{cite news|title=UN Approves Security Force for Afghanistan|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ONwjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SNEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3297,3689201&dq=mohammed+fahim&hl=en|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=Moscow-Pullman Daily News|date=20 December 2001}}</ref> "Some ministers in the new government who have always lived outside the country are worried about security and they feel they need the peacekeepers for protection, but when they arrive here they will see that the situation is OK and that it is not necessary" Fahim added, possibly hinting at Chairman Karzai who lived for years in Pakistan. The heavily armed units of northern alliance soldiers who swept into Kabul will be withdrawn from the streets, Fahim added, but they will not leave the capital.<ref name="Southeast Missourian1201">{{cite news|last=Gannon|first=Kathy|title=Afghan defense ministry sees U.N. peacekeepers as symbolic|url=http://www.semissourian.com/story/55552.html|access-date=24 March 2012|agency=Associated Press|date=20 December 2001}}</ref>

There was not only a disagreement between Fahim and Karzai about the size of the peacekeeping force, but also about the duration they were supposed to stay in Afghanistan. Fahim indicated that the international forces should leave after six years, but Karzai said that they would stay "as long as we need them, six years as a minimum".<ref name=telegraph2412b>{{cite news|title=Security forces to stay 'as long as necessary'|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1366217/Security-forces-to-stay-as-long-as-necessary.html|access-date=31 March 2012|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=24 December 2001}}</ref>

As Defense Minister, Fahim had the task to unite the country's disparate armed groups. A daunting task, since Fahim's own troops had so far shied away from vast stretches of southern and eastern lawless lands under the sway of armed former Taliban warriors, most of them members of the dominant Pashtun ethnic group. Still, although a sometimes bumbling and awkward figure in public, and especially unpopular with the Uzbek minority,<ref name=Time221001>{{cite news|last=Calabresi|first=Massimo|title=Who Will Rule?|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,179522,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101030141835/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,179522,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 October 2010|access-date=4 June 2012|newspaper=Time|date=22 October 2001}}</ref> Fahim quietly had gained control of the Northern Alliance's fractious military commanders.<ref name=NYT151201>{{cite news|last=Rohde|first=David|author-link=David S. Rohde|title=A Nation Challenged: The Politics; When the Combat Ends, Another Struggle Looms|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/16/world/a-nation-challenged-the-politics-when-the-combat-ends-another-struggle-looms.html|access-date=24 March 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=16 December 2001}}</ref> He continued to hold this control, even when [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]], the most powerful [[Uzbek people|Uzbek]] warlord who had taken control of the city of Mazar-e-Sharif and who was very critical of the Bonn Agreement, was appointed his deputy.<ref name=telegraph2412>{{cite news|title=Karzai appoints deputy defence minister|work=The Telegraph|access-date=31 March 2012|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1366205/Karzai-appoints-deputy-defence-minister.html|date=24 December 2001}}</ref> But the cooperation between the two strongmen didn't start easy, already after a month forces of Dostum were clashing with forces of Fahim over control of a district in [[Kunduz Province]].<ref name=iol240102>{{cite news|title=Bush to throw billions at war on terror|url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/bush-to-throw-billions-at-war-on-terror-1.81343#.T80N7VKNOSo|access-date=4 June 2012|newspaper=IOL|date=24 January 2002|author=Peter Millership|author2=Sayed Salahuddin}}</ref> The dispute erupted after his forces tried to disarm soldiers from a rival military unit. When those troops resisted, a firefight broke out, killing three soldiers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Landler|first=Mark|author-link=Mark Landler|title=A Nation Challenged: Politics in Kabul; Afghans Choose Panel for Organizing Crucial Grand Council|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/01/26/world/nation-challenged-politics-kabul-afghans-choose-panel-for-organizing-crucial.html|access-date=4 June 2012|newspaper=The New York Times|date=26 January 2002}}</ref>

On 29 December, Fahim urged the Americans to stop their bombing campaign on Afghanistan, because bin Laden had probably fled Afghanistan and moved to Peshawar in Pakistan. "Osama is out of our control," Fahim said.<ref name=sarsota2912>{{cite news|title=U.S. Steps up Interrogation of Prisoners|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ngAiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=vn8EAAAAIBAJ&pg=6934,4733258&dq=mohammad+fahim&hl=en|access-date=3 June 2012|newspaper=Sarasota Herald Tribune|date=29 December 2001}}</ref> A day later, however, foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah stated that they did not know where bin Laden was and that air raids will continue "for as long as it takes to finish off the terrorists."<ref name="NYdaileynews3112">{{cite news |last=Bazinet |first=Kenneth R. |date=31 December 2001 |title=Report: Osama's Left Afghanistan |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/2001/12/31/report-osamas-left-afghanistan/ |access-date=2025-03-20 |newspaper=New York Daily News}}</ref>