The Lion of Panjshir

Yesterday, I did a lot of reading about Ahmed Shah Massoud, the man known in Afghanistan as the Lion of Panjshir and amer sahib (great leader). Massoud was a man who hoped, dreamed and fought for a free Afghanistan as well as better rights for non-Muslims and women. He spent his entire adult life in service to his country and her people as the military commander of the Northern Alliance, a group of factions committed to toppling the Taliban, the regime controlled by al-Qaeda, and upholding human rights in Afghanistan.

Massoud was a brilliant military strategist—he is credited in large part for leading the rebellion against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. Nine times the Soviet Union tried to defeat Massoud in the Panjshir Valley, and nine times they were repelled.

“If I could say one thing to President Bush, it would be that if he doesn’t take care of what is happening in Afghanistan, the problem will not only hurt the Afghan people but the American people as well.

If President Bush doesn’t help us, these terrorists will damage the US and Europe very soon.” – Ahmed Shah Massoud

Although the United States assisted the Northern Alliance with weapons, the Northern Alliance were receiving increasing resistance from the Taliban. Unfortunately for the people of Afghanistan, the United States, and all countries that have been affected by al-Qaeda massacres, help came to Massoud too late. Taliban suicide bombers assassinated him on September 9, 2001—2 days before 9/11. I believe Osama bin Laden would not have dared provoke the United States if Massoud was still alive.

That is part of the fact that not many people know—9/11 and many later al-Qaeda attacks could have been prevented by better intelligence of the US government, and by better prioritising of foreign affairs on their part.

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