Rioting Afghanis revive anti-Taliban hero


Shouting “Death to America” and clutching Kalashnikovs, Afghan rioters brandished the poster of an unlikely hero: Ahmed Shah Massoud, the assassinated anti-Taliban commander who in death has been transformed into the symbol of resistance to the US-backed government.


YOUNG men with scarves wrapped tightly across their faces were rampaging through Kabul’s deserted streets last week, hunting down foreigners in hotels and aid offices in an explosion of hatred sparked by a traffic accident.

Shouting “Death to America” and clutching Kalashnikovs, they brandished the poster of an unlikely hero: Ahmed Shah Massoud, the assassinated anti-Taliban commander who in death has been transformed into the symbol of resistance to the US-backed government.

Massoud, scourge of the Soviet occupiers and spearhead of the war on the Taliban, was murdered on Osama Bin Laden’s orders by a bomb hidden in a television camera two days before the September 11 attacks on America in 2001.

With the help of Massoud’s forces, the Taliban were toppled, ushering in the democratic era. But now history has turned full circle. It is in Massoud’s name that today’s rioters are seeking to rid Afghanistan of “all foreign forces and non-Muslims”.

Military analysts describe last week’s unrest as the worst witnessed in the Afghan capital since the fall of the Taliban. Yesterday the government blamed police for the disorder and sacked Kabul’s police chief and 85 other commanders.

Paul Barker, country director of Care International, showed The Sunday Times around the ruins of his office. “We haven’t seen anything like this before,” he said.

“It’s hard to foresee what this could mean, but what’s for sure is that Afghans are frustrated. They have no money, no jobs and security is getting worse throughout the country. International aid isn’t getting through to them.”

Afghan and international leaders alike praise Massoud, dubbed the “Lion of Panjshir”, as a moderate Muslim leader whose vision combined military brilliance with pragmatic political compromise.

It looks like Rumsfeld and Bush are committed to repeating all the mistakes of the Soviet forces during their occupation of Afghanistan.

Posted: Sun - June 4, 2006 at 09:55 AM