Lion
of Panjshir
How did Ahmed Shah Massoud
become the Lion of Panjshir? What events in his life caused this man
to become one of the greatest military strategists and most charismatic
leaders of the second half of the twentieth century? Why was he considered
so dangerous that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network felt the
need to assassinate Massoud two days before the attack on the World
Trade Center?
Ahmed Shah Massoud was
born in Jangalak in the Panjshir Valley in 1953. He attended the university
in Kabul where he studied engineering. The invasion of Afghanistan
by the Soviet Union in 1979 changed the course of that country's history
and the direction of Ahmed Shah Massoud's life. Gone were the days
of prayer, study and youthful hope. Arrived were the days of resistence,
war, and the mujahidin.
No one could have guessed in the early days that Massoud would become
one of the most brilliant military strategists of his era.
Massoud was a natural leader
of men. He was clear sighted yet visionary. While at war, he prayed
for peace. While in the midst of destruction, he dreamed of rebuilding.
While his hope for Afghanistan was one of liberation and democracy
for all people, he was realistic about politics, diplomacy, and cultural
and religious influences
The invasion of the Soviet
Union to support the collapsing Communist government in Afghanistan
gave birth to a loose collection of Afghan freedom fighters. They
became known around the world as the mujahadin. Ahmed Shah Massoud
soon established himself as one of the mujahadin's most prominent
commanders.
When he joined the mujahidin
around 1980, Ahmed Shah Massoud had no idea that the next twenty years
- the rest of his life - would be involved in one war campaign after
the other. When the Soviet Union finally left Afghanistan, factional
fighting within the country lead to a civil war. The Taliban, financed
and sponsored by Pakistan, went into Afghanistan with a promise of
law and order. At first the war-weary citizens welcomed the Taliban
and their promises of peace and control. It did not take long, however,
for the enormity of the mistake to become known.
The Taliban inflicted on the people of Afghanistan a repressive version
of extreme Islam. They denied the people all human rights, abolished
music and song, closed schools and medical centers, and established
the Ministry of Good and Evil to enforce their belief system on the
entire country. Ahmed Shah Massoud and other mujahadin found this
radical form of Islam impossible to accept. They formed an alliance
and swore to free their land from this latest invading force.
"We consider
this our duty -- to defend humanity against the scourge of intolerance,
violence, and fanaticism." -- Ahmed Shah Massoud
As time passed the Taliban,
first supported by the Pakastani ISI, developed a close association
with Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Well
funded and with military support from those organizations, the Taliban
took control of more and more areas of Afghanistan.
Commander Massoud suffered several setbacks. His appeals for help
from the West fell on deaf ears. Although Massoud represented the
UN recognized government of Afghanistan, few countries without a vested
interest in controlling Afghan soil did anything to help the mujahidin
in their struggle. They were finally forced into the northeast corner
of the country, the Panjshir Valley, and maintained control of between
five to ten percent of the country. The United States and other countries
who had armed and supplied their former allies in the war against
the Soviet Union began to consider whether or not they should recognize
the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
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