An Afghan girl dressed in a ceremonial costume was among a group of young girls performing for the crowd prior to former warlord Ismail Khan's return to Herat. Khan, who heads the Ministry of Water and Electricity, came to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid with his family, many of whom greeted him upon his plane landing at Herat Airport in western Afghanistan. (Kevin Dougherty / S&S)
An Afghan girl dressed in a ceremonial costume was among a group of young girls performing for the crowd prior to former warlord Ismail Khan's return to Herat. Khan, who heads the Ministry of Water and Electricity, came to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid with his family, many of whom greeted him upon his plane landing at Herat Airport in western Afghanistan. (Kevin Dougherty / S&S)
Former warlord Ismail Khan received a thunderous reception at Herat Airport in western Afghanistan. (Kevin Dougherty / S&S)
Afghan girls dressed in ceremonial costumes sing in support of local hero Ismail Khan at Herat Airport in western Afghanistan. (Kevin Dougherty / S&S)
HERAT, Afghanistan — The heart of Herat came home to a hero’s welcome Tuesday, with upward of 2,000 people and a small detachment of U.S. soldiers on hand to greet him.
“When he left for Kabul two months ago,” Col. Randy Smith said of the send-off for Ismail Khan, “the crowd treated him like he was a rock star.”
Smith, head of the Regional Command Area Group-West, had planned to drive south to Shindand with Maj. Gen. Abdul Wahahab Walizada, who commands the Afghan National Army’s 207th Corps. The two wanted to check the progress of some new Afghan recruits and their U.S. trainers.
But when word spread Monday night that Khan was returning to Herat to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid, Walizada had to back out. While Khan has some detractors in western Afghanistan, he remains the most popular figure on this side of the country.
“You can see the crowd outside the airport,” Afghan army Brig. Gen. Fazil Ahmad Sayar, the corps’ chief of staff said through an interpreter. “They are ready for I.K.”
That’s how people in the region refer to Khan, a former warlord who, after some reluctance, agreed to support the transitional government. Khan now runs the Ministry of Water and Electricity in Kabul.
Smith and his men didn’t come to provide security; the ANA was taking care of that. They came to support Walizada, and possibly meet Khan.
A company of 120 Afghan soldiers managed to keep well-wishers at bay, allowing them to crowd around the perimeter of the tarmac.
Several of them clutched portraits and bumper stickers of their magnetic leader, a man who helped to drive the former Soviet Union out of Afghanistan.
“Long life for I.K.,” one young follower repeatedly shouted as he led a group chant.
Off to the side stood a dozen young girls dressed in ceremonial outfits. They sang traditional Afghan songs, while elder women clad in burkas stood by like nervous stage mothers.
When Khan’s airplane landed and taxied up to the terminal, the men swarmed it. Confetti flew and the men jostled to get a better view. Before long, Khan was riding in a motorcade heading to his house for a weekend of celebration.
“I am hopeful for Afghanistan,” Sayar said. “We are looking for a new generation to take the lead.”
On this day, however, the youth were no match for a star named Khan.
