Last July I blogged with admiration about the exploits of Gulab the Shepherd. Gulab helped rescue a U.S. Navy SEAL from certain death. Then, his whole village stood up against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters because of a code of honor that could not allow them to let harm come to a guest. As we could have guessed at the time, no good deed goes unpunished. Newsweek updates us on the fate of the brave shepherd:
Even with all the troubles that followed, Mohammad Gulab says he’s still glad he saved the U.S. Navy SEAL. “I have no regrets for what I did,” the 32-year-old Afghan told NEWSWEEK recently. “I’m proud of my action.” Nevertheless, he says, “I never imagined I would pay such a price…”Gulab has been paying for his kindness ever since. Al Qaeda and the Taliban dominate much of Kunar’s mountainous backcountry. Death threats soon forced Gulab to abandon his home, his possessions and even his pickup truck. Insurgents burned down his little lumber business in Sabray. He and his wife and their six children moved in with his brother-in-law near the U.S. base at Asadabad, the provincial capital. Three months ago Gulab and his brother-in-law tried going back to Sabray. Insurgents ambushed them. Gulab was unhurt, but his brother-in-law was shot in the chest and nearly died. The threats persist. “You are close to death,” a letter warned recently. “You are counting your last days and nights…” [Link]
It is fairly common knowledge that guerrilla wars such as those in Afghanistan and Iraq cannot be won unless the hearts and minds of the people are won first. A substantial reward or even an offer of asylum to Gulab would be a small price to pay for the hearts and minds of the 300+ villagers that protected the SEAL. Al Qaeda certainly knows how to spread around a little money to win the hearts and minds that we let slip away:
Gulab’s story says a lot about how Al Qaeda and its allies have been able to defy four and a half years of U.S. efforts to clear them out of Afghanistan. The key is the power they wield over villagers in strongholds like Kunar, on the Pakistani frontier. For years the province has been high on the list of suspected Osama bin Laden hideouts. “If the enemy didn’t have local support, they couldn’t survive here,” says the deputy governor, Noor Mohammed. Since the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, jihadists have been amassing influence through scare tactics, tribal loyalties and cash. A little money can purchase big leverage in an area where entire villages sometimes subsist on a few thousand dollars a year, and many foreign jihadists have insinuated themselves into the Pashtun social fabric by marrying into local families.
The SEAL who Gulab saved hasn’t been able to break his silence (active SEALS don’t talk) but he seems upset that Gulab didn’t receive more of a reward from the U.S. government. Judging by the type of attorney he has I wouldn’t be surprised if both him and Gulab end up as characters in a Hollywood movie (like this one) soon:
The SEAL, who remains on active duty, declined to comment via his attorney, Alan Schwartz, an “entertainment lawyer” in Santa Monica, Calif. Gulab only shakes his head: “Why would anyone else want to cooperate with the U.S. now?“
Going from Gulab’s point of view, he is right. His kindness has landed him in more trouble than it’s worth. The same village that stood up against the atrocious Taleban is now probably cowering with fear. The government needs to re-think its schemes and add a little in the name of rewards. This would be money and time well spent if they can get the help of people like Gulab and their sh!t together in that area.
Is it just me or does Gulab pose an uncanny resemblance to Iranian Prez Ahmadenajad?
Because at first glace at the article, I thought Abhi had written about a Navy SEALs operation that failed to take out the Iranian president.
You are right…PP. The resemblance is uncanny.
It says something about the harsh lives these villagers lead when you think that a 32 year old resembles a 48 year old.
Ok, finally a role for my man Hrithik Roshan in a Hollywood movie 🙂
Jokes aside, I am a bit hopeful that since Newsweek picked up the story (or rather followed up on it) Gulab and his family may get an asylum. I have noticed media getting involved and keeping a human story in news for variety of reasons (such as that baby from Iraq, I cant remember her name).. and I can only hope that MSM see something worthwhile in this story to keep it in the news. Which will end up helping Mr. Gulab.
The Seal & The Shepherd starring Vin Diesel & Steve Buscemi.
I agree, the same things came to mind, he looks like amadinaJIHAD, and I counldn’t believe he was 32, but then i thought about how that just shows, you can’t judge a book by it’s cover. This is a good man, he helped one of us. I can’t stand the fact that all you guys are talking about is how old he looks and who he looks like. We should pull him out of there and bring him to the US, he deserves at least that. This guy put his life and the lives of his village on the line for a foreign soldier, he deserves our support.
Kind sir, I regret to inform you that your beliefs in this matter are wrong. What exactly makes Americans(and their/our values) so much more valuable than the rest of the world? The goodness of this man lies in the fact that he upheld his honor and stood up against impossible odds to protect a man he barely knew, regardless of either party’s nationality, race, religion or background. He will go down in history as one of many unsung heroes, the unknown soldiers, the unseen angels and good samiritans. The shephard that saved the soldier. Wonders never cease.
I can’t believe that the US Navy, and Seal command in particular does not insist that some good happen for this man. They need to get smart on this issue, or we really are not going to make any headway here. I would suspect that at the cost of training one SEAL member at over $1 million, you would think that saving this one should be worth something. I say, this guy is a hero.
This man is an absolute hero. Fellow Sikhs on SM will understand what I mean when I say that it reminds me a little of the story of Bhai Kanhaiya, at least with regards to the attitude and motivations of the individuals involved.
For God’s sake, if GWB can pilfer trillions of dollars from the American people for the wars he’s started, then certainly he can help this man and his family for helping him do it. It’ll be a drop in the bucket, and it’ll go a long way in the long run.
Oh, and there IS an eerie resemblance to Iran’s lunatic president, no offence Gulab.
I think a small token of appreciation would be in place here. But large sums of money or residence in America is obsurd. Gulab went out of his way too help a soldier, potentially risking life and the lives of others. 10,000 + Americans do the same over there every day in Afganistan. Gulab is brave and should be patted on the back for this endeavor, but from the fruits of this war will come his freedom. For the seal… Just a ticket home. Imagine someone robbing your home, me being a freindly neighbor confronts the robbers and it turns into a conflict, you come home and join the conflict and we run them off. Then you turn too me and expect some type of reward. My point is.. our freedom has been earned time and time again. No reward is necessary for Gulab assisting in a fight for his own home. It crazy how they just watch us fight for their freedom, one steps in and there is gratitude towards him. I believe the people of Afganistan have payed a very little price for the freedom most of them now bathe in everyday. The problem from day one was they dont stand up and fight for themselves. I believe we are just spoiling them even more by offering overwelming assistance. No one should fight more for a persons freedom than himself. Make no mistake, we are by no means whatsoever the indebted here.
Why? He can’t live in his own home any more, and his brother-in-law died. Either we successfully run off the robbers, in which case he’s safe, or we protect him, because his alliance with us has led to his lack of safety. Even if you don’t do this for moral reasons, there are good prudential reasons to do so. Think about it this way – how good does it look that we have a habit of leaving our allies hung out to dry?
You say the alliance with us had led too his lack of safety. Before we were there, before this ” alliance ” he was safer I assume in your eyes. So you are a firm believer that we are wasting our time over there. This is a war for the freedom for the Afgani people, not the U.S. One finally stands up and it blinds us. What has Gulab done until this point, over the last 4.5 years? Nothing. He has left his allies “hanging out too dry”. What are the other 99 percent doing as of this moment? Nothing. They continue too leave there allies “hanging out too dry”. What are all the american soldiers doing over there? Fighting everyday, there only motivation being going home, something they’ve already earned via the sacrafice of there ancestors and other fellow americans. Did France come over in the revolutionary war and fight the british for us? While we just sat around and occansionally took in a french soldier and fed him? Hell no, if we woulda done that they would have never came and we would still be under britains rule. We stood up for ourselves these people need too do the same.
Gulab is an example of an immigrant I’d be proud to call my fellow American.
Right. Because the Afghans haven’t been fighting for 20 years? They kicked the Soviets out for us, they’re hardly sit on their ass kind of people. He’s a civilian, not a soldier …
Been there, You aren’t making sense to me. Are you saying you disagree with the idea of political asylum period? If that is the case then you should know that our government would NEVER support as radical a stance as yours.
To the best of my knowledge (limited at best) we are there fighting to deliver retaliation on those who attacked us; freedom for the Afgan people is secondary. And, as has been mentioned before, we would not need to be there fighting people who have US weapons we paid for if we had not given them those weapons to begin with. We are barely teenagers in this world of older civilizations. As the largest, strongest child there, we resemble Baby Hughie and think everything can be resolved through muscle. Can someone please tell me when this approach has worked without a strong coalition behind it? Cuba? Vietnam? Somalia? Iran (remember “our” Shah)? Iran. Technology and bullets are no match against lowtech, angry people capable of holding a grudge (when did the crusades end? Most Arabs are still pissed over that.”) So when a local comes out to help us, it would behove us to leverage that into a success, and not make excuses that he is fighting for his freedom. Maybe Abromoff could help us raise funds to pay Gulab… if there is any left over after buying congress.
Ahh the true patriots, so our country is at war. What are you all doing? Paying taxes?
Pretty sad, considering the sacrifice this man went through in a part of the world where there are precious few American supporters. And considering that the Iraqi lawyer who helped provide information that was used to rescue Jessica Lynch was given asylum , I don’t know why Gulab was not given asylum too. More bureaucratic bungling ? Wouldn’t be surprised. He’s probably got a quicker chance of getting asylum here if he just climbed over the Mexico/US border wall…
There is NO resemble whatsoever between Gulab and the Iranian Pres; there is a much bigger resemblance between the guy in the picture when they took over the embassy in Tehran ‘79. Gulab, you are a hero; just as Scott, I would respect this man as a fellow American.
I just finished watching ‘Gunner Palace’ and it was amazing to see how many Iraqis were helping the soldiers there. A lot of success (whatever it is that can be deemed a success in a war such as this) is attributed to help from these people. The powers that be need to recognize that while american troops are out there following orders that they signed up for, people like Gulab are putting their own lives in danger by helping. Surely rewarding them or even giving them some sort of incentive will go a long way and won’t exactly create a crater in the HUGE defence budget?
To: “a more original name” (because you could pick one)
Kind sir, I regret to inform you that your belief’s in these matters are wrong (Correction). Americans(and their/”our” (Who’s? Muzzies’s?) values) are more valuable than the rest of the world because you a$$-clownz all look forward to appeasement or death, so put that in your pipe and smoke that, pu$$y. “The goodness of this man lies in the fact that he upheld his honor and stood up against impossible odds to protect a man he barely knew, regardless of either party’s nationality, race, religion or background. He will go down in history as one of many unsung heroes, the unknown soldiers, the unseen angels and good samiritans. The shephard that saved the soldier.”
I’m sorry, isn’t that what I just said?
P.S. Grow up! Stop hating me just because I’m American and can $hit $tomp you, or don’t, I couldn’t care less.
“A$$Bags never cease to amaze.”
Now how does that taste? Like a wet, smelly sock? Or like a brutal Israeli a$$-$lappin’? I love those Israelis, don’t you? Let me know from your little crater, if you make it.
Wow, I just finished reading Marcus Luttrells book The Lone Survivor, I would like to say the village people decided on their own to protect him for nothing in return because of their custom. That was very heartening to know of these people and their customs. It made me rexamine in my mind this whole Iraq war and the war on terrorism. Alls I can say is thank you to the village people and on the same hand thank you Marcus. Both of your good deeds were not in vain. War sucks for both sides.
Gulab is a real hero I just finished reading Lone survivor and it is amazing what he did to protect that navy seal.
Gulab is the son of the village elder. Gulab, his father, as well as the entire village deliberated and decided they would protect this man to the death. It is a Pashtu code of honor called ‘Lokhay Warkawal’ (giving of the pot). That means no money or death threat can sway their dedication to this man. Along with that, they do not seek reward for their actions. Their honor and service to man and God is reward enough. The SEAL tried several times to offer Gulab the only possession he had that hadn’t been blown or torn away from him: his watch. Besides his rifle, which Gulab and his men temporarily took away, the watch was the only thing he had. Every time, Gulab declined the gift.
Now that the SEAL is no longer active duty, he has publicly expressed extreme gratitude for the actions of Gulab and the people of Sabray.
In the cruel world we live in, good deeds often get punished. This is the price you pay when you stand up, when so many others kneel down. My thanks go to Luttrell, Gulab, the people of Sabray, Murphy, Axelson, Dietz, and the SEALs and Nightstalkers who gave thier lives to help thier brothers.
Dear Been There,
Your comments have me totally outraged. You have obviously not “been there” and sound very uneducated about the situation. A small token of appreciation? Are you serious? Consider this. What if it were your Brother, Son, Father, or loved one out there that day lying in what most likely would have been Mr. Luttrells grave had it not been for Gulab and the village that kept him safe, fed him, dressed his wounds, shuffled him from one location to the next carrying him in a stretcher long distances etc. What if those had been your children getting beaten up as they searched for the drop that was sent in from the parachute? Gulab took up weapons with Mr. Luttrell and personally stayed with him until he was back in the folds of the US Armed Forces. For all of this Gulab, his Father, the entire village placed themselves in great danger. It is almost certain that Mr. Luttrell would have died had it not been for the actions of these wonderful people that took him in (even going as far as to find insulin for him).
What they did so honorably and heroically for Mr. Luttrell and his American family, fellow soldiers can not be quantified. The bodies of the fallen men on the mountain may never have been located, the story would never have been told. This man gave whatever helpful knowledge he could to the U.S. about the Taliban and Al Qaida regimes in the area. He did not ask for rewards, relocation, gifts of cash. Gulab and his Father and fellow villagers are obviously men of deep honor. Their actions speak to this. Gulab did not ask for money, relocation or gifts in exchange for their assistance. He repeatedly refused Mr. Luttrell’s offer of his watch. It was not until he arrived at the base with Mr. Luttrell that he was told he would be rewarded with 200,000 and then told he would be relocated within 2 months. I believe 100% what Gulab says is true and that unlike the people who offered him gifts and rewards (it is plain that Gulab’s words are followed up with action. They dont make reckless promises. Their word is their honor and I would take this mans words to the bank any day) I can’t help but wonder, (and I highly suspect that sadly this is the way it was) if our military wanted to put him at ease by telling him they would relocate him and his family within 2 months so that he would feel more at ease and safe to reveal all the priceless information that he had, to give up all the intel he knew about the Taliban and Al Qaida. They didn’t want him to hold back. I have no doubt that what Gulab revealed at this juncture put himself, and his family at even greater risk. The thought never would have occured to him that the men making the promises of relocation in 2 months would never happen. They just used him up and then sent him away back into the Lions Den. He lost his business, his home, has seen his family and fellow villagers shot and injured because of his heroism. How dare you say that they deserve a small token of appreciation. How dare you claim to know what these good Afghani people have endured as they try to survive in one of the most hostile environments on the Planet- both topographically and otherwise. These courageous Afghani men are very obviously fighting the best way that they know how. They are doing their best to survive and resist evil in a lawless land that is very close to Pakistan in a location that is overrun with terrorist and fanaticism. The people in this village are angels and should be rewarded, at the very least there personal safety should be granted by the US. I have no doubt that if you were dropped off in the the middle of the Hindu Kush, suddenly transformed into an Afganhi living in such harsh conditions…it would take you about all of 5 minutes to join up with the Taliban in search of creature comforts and protection. It takes a true hero to do what the Village of Sabray did for the life of one unknown half dead American man. You sound utterly ignorant about what the Afghani Pashtun popuation endures that resist promises of food, better shelter, money, medecines etc. How dare you blame them. You just sit there on your couch under the protection of a government that has your back. These people dont have that. They dont have police, 911, TV, hospitals, plumbing, hell, they dont have electricity or water bottles for that matter. You have no idea of the suffering in this world.
Nope, you have obviously never “been there”, and it is plain to see you never will you. I suspect that Gulab, his Father, and the other Afghani’s that made that decision to protect him placing the lives of the entire village at risk, hold more courage and honor in one of their eyelashes than you hold in your entire body. I pray that whatever words were uttered to Gulab on that day in 2005 and then renigged upon will be made right. Or at least as right as is now possible. They deserve nothing less for all their sacrafice and courage. I am going to guess that you have posted your absurd comments here without ever having even read the book. Either that or you are even more dimwitted than I can imagine. The kind hearted, brave, selfless people of Sabray and Marcus Luttrell will remain in my prayers.
Gulab is going for his non immigrant visa interview on wednesday morning in Kabul. The goal is to have him in houston by saturday for the 5th anniversary of Operation Red Wing. I will accompany him all the way. If anyone has any say so with their congressman please have them apply pressure to get his visa granted immediately so we can make it. Thank you for your help.
I just finished reading Marcus Luttrell’s book, “Lone Survivor,” about a month ago and I must say that this has been perhaps one of the most riveting accounts of military action I have read. I read the book over several days, often up until 2 or 3 in the morning. It was captivating for many reasons, chiefly the tenacity of the human spirit demonstrated by Gulab, Marcus, and all those whom I feel did not have to but courageously lost their lives in the proverbial ‘clusterf-u-c-k.’
Why are our armed forces have pushed to take on certain missions is beyond me. While SEALs have extraordinary strength and an iron will, they are not expendible humans… it was reckless and irresponsible of the powers that be (senior commanders, et al) who couldn’t or wouldn’t grow the balls necessary to stand up to the crackheads responsible for ultimately pressuring Mr. Luttrell’s unit into a nightmare situation. As I recall from the book, Marcus recounts his ‘bad’ feeling prior to the mission and the far from ideal intelligence his team had to work with. Additionally, the team was sent in to go after a target in an impossible situation– no cover! While I hate to use the analogy, “lambs led (er, forced) to the slaughter,” I see nothing more appropriate that can be printed. How could we fail these brave men? Furthermore, how could the man, the people, that saved the one lone survivor of somebody’s bad judgement be betrayed this way? I agree that this is the most egregious example of a disincentive to cooperate with the US military if there ever is one!!!
I hope our government can at least begin to right this very big wrong. There is no other moral alternative than to protect Gulab and his family. Does anybody know what ultimately has come of his visa interview in Kabul?? Please let me know what has come of this man and his family… as an American, this infuriates me!
Joe, do you know if the visa was granted?
Gulab has his visa and we will be travelling to texas this month to reunite him with his good friend Marcus. Thanks to all of you who helped.