"The liberation of the city of Mazar-e Sharif in northern Afghanistan on Nov. 10, 2001, marked the first major military victory of Operation Enduring Freedom and boosted the confidence of the Northern Alliance. The liberation heralded the defeat and the collapse of the Taliban, not only in northern Afghanistan, but throughout Afghanistan." The success of the opposition forces, integrated with US Special Forces detachments, demonstrated the power, viability and full-spectrum utility of US Army Special Forces and the relevance of SF's role in unconventional warfare (UW) in the 21st century.