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| The Assassination of Masoud The facts about Afghanistan's political climate: Wazir Akbar Khan, an Afghanistan national hero of the nineteenth century, states that "the history of the country is full of political conflicts among different leaders and ethnic groups for capturing the central power in the country." This nation had been fighting a brutal civil war before the Taliban rose to power in 1996. Even now, warlords in the north continue to fight, causing disunity among the people of Afghanistan. On the international scene, the poor country is isolated. John Ward Anderson states that "negotiating-even reasoning-with the Taliban has vexed governments and international organizations ever since the group assumed power after a long civil war." The United States has not had success up to this point in convincing the Taliban government to relinquish Osama bin Laden for prosecution. The facts about Masoud and what he meant to the Taliban: Ahmad Shah Masoud was a "legendary anti-Taliban guerrilla leader", according to Jack Redden. He was the most successful commander against the Soviet forces in the late 1980's. He most recently fought with the northern alliance against the Taliban regime that exiled him from his homeland upon taking power in 1996. Masoud was the key obstacle that the Taliban needed to overcome to achieve their goal, as Redden states, of "rule over all of Afghanistan." On September 9, the opposition leader was the victim of a suicide bombing. A BBC news bulletin notes that "General Masoud's death might well have meant the end of the alliance." No other potential leader of the northern alliance possesses the influence of Masoud. Even though the Taliban is denying knowledge of the assassination, the group has "stepped up its attacks" and is making its "biggest gains against the opposition in years", according to the same BBC report. Interesting facts and conclusions: The Taliban has never been involved in suicide bombings; however, these potent attacks have become a trademark of the type of terrorism promoted by Osama bin Laden. Jack Redden reports that "the anti-Taliban alliance has blamed the suicide bomb attack on a 'terrorist triangle' of the 'Taliban, Pakistani intelligence, and Osama bin Laden." Bin Laden has been given refuge in Afghanistan while aiding the Taliban's cause of controlling their domestic interests. He knows that the main objective of the Taliban is not international or diplomatic but solely domestic in nature. The assassination of the dominant opposition leader is leverage on the part of bin Laden if he wished to remain in the care of the Afghani government. The convenience of the attack, coming only two days before the World Trade Center bombings, seems to point to a connection between the two events. This only makes the situation worse for the United States. Any ally in this militant country was lost with the death of Masoud, and the Afghani government must consider its debts to Osama bin Laden, making it nearly impossible to capture the most wanted man in the world. |
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| The assasination of Masoud was an event that was not common knowledge to the American people but upon investigation presented some interesting connections to Osama bin Laden. This is of course written while the U.S. is still searching for an enemy and before he was declared as the definite perpetrator. |