Thread: Today is the anniversary of Ahmad Shah Massoud. He was killed by two AQ suicide bombers. In a famous obituary in the WSJ he was celebrated as the man who won the Cold War. He was a darling of the West and considered a national hero but his legacy is contested. 
2. He famously warned about the 9/11 attacks- here is Ahmad Wali talking about his brother's assassination and warnings:
3. Peter Bergen: "The struggles btween Bin Laden & Massoud are emblematic of the divisions in Muslim world btween militants who advocate violence against West & those who favor peaceful coexistence. Massoud's Islam was a moderate kind of fundamentalism leavened by tolerance.."
4. Massoud has been described as one of the greatest guerrilla leaders of the 20th century compared to Tito, Ho Chi Minh & Guevara. One of the reasons for this was due to successfully managing to defend Panjshir Valley from USSR & the Taliban- Robert D Kaplan, Soldiers of God
5. The famous Palestinian ideologue Abdullah Azzam certainly loved Massoud and wrote a book celebrating him: Titans of the North -tamhussein.co.uk/2018/08/when-a…
6. See also the late interview with Samira, Umm Mohammed- Abdullah Azzam's wife here: tamhussein.co.uk/2018/05/source…
7.Jamal Khasoggi recalled that he had met him for the first time when Kabul fell in 1992. “I fell in love with him like everyone else,” he said, “he was truly an astonishing guy. I wish that Osama met Massoud…it could have changed history.”
8. There are many men who owed their position to Ahmad Shah Massoud. Here is a young Amrullah Saleh who was trained by the CIA to become Chief of the Afghan NDS. But after his death many of these men became tarnished by corruption and abuses.
9. Massoud also had opponents like some Arabs. Sh. Musa al-Qarni a supporter of the Anti-Soviet war, currently imprisoned in KSA believes it was due to him being: “methodical, strategic thinker…The Arabs... were not fond of military discipline.” tamhussein.co.uk/2017/02/musa-a…
10. Some Arabs also thought he might be Shia and too close to the Iranians. In fact, he was a Sunni Hanafi with a mixture of modernist and mystical leanings. Here he is with the late Qasim Suleimani who was killed by the US in Iraq 2020. Cc @Emran_Feroz
https://twitter.com/Emran_Feroz/status/1213121072595382272?s=20
11.But he was also seen as a traitor by some partly because of his well established relationship with India.
Here is an Indian general's account of his meeting with Massoud:
Here is an Indian general's account of his meeting with Massoud:
12. Here is Indian Ministry of External Affairs interview with Massoud- "We thank India for the assistance which is extended from time to time in the fields of humanitarian assistance...We have good political relations & consider it to be a positive step" bit.ly/3BVDgrc
13. Moreover @ChrisSandsKabul & @FazelQazizai say that Hekmatyar and many of his members accused him of being an informant & close to the Afghan Communists in Kabul and the intransigence which was usually or conventionally attributed to Hekmatyar, should be applied to Massoud
14. Massoud’s closeness to the US, him siding against the Taliban and failing to curb the excesses of his men and later, when many of his followers used his memory to seize power tainted his legacy after his death. cc Night Letters @HurstPublishers tamhussein.co.uk/2020/01/night-…
15. Here is a referenced article critiquing Ahmad Shah Massoud- by @awsanzar afghaneye.org/2020/09/07/ahm…
16. The Assassins were Dahmane Abd al-Sattar, husband of Malika El Aroud, and Bouraoui el-Ouaer; or 34-year-old Karim Touzani and 26-year-old Kacem Bakkali. They passed security because London based Islamic Observation Centre led by Yasser Sirri gave a letter of recommendation
17. Yasser Sirri worked in a bookshop in Baker street during the day and was an opponent against the Egyptian government in evening. Here is Sirri recounting the incident- he inadvertently vouched for them because he saw a media opportunity- scoop. pbs.org/wgbh/pages/fro…
18. Here is a account of Dahmane and Malika Aroud by @CruickshankPaul - Malika Aroud, known as the godmother of jihad and also linked to other jihadist incl the Paris attackers through her associates. marieclaire.com/politics/news/…
19. Sanctioned by Bin Laden and the network going all the way to London and Brussels, Massoud was assassinated by the two men. They hid the bomb in the camera. The meeting lasted ten minutes Massoud was killed instantly. bit.ly/3yR5Yrj
20. Here is the late Fahim Dashty who was killed recently in Panjshir recounting the incident. Dashty was seriously injured in the blast. thenationalnews.com/world/asia/the…
21. Here is Massoud Khalili, poet and former ambassador, recalling the events in a wheelchair - he got treatment in Germany.
22. Now Massoud's image has become more politicised. Khalil Haqqani called him a hero & martyr others are ripping his posters down. His son Ahmad of course is trying to follow conscious of his historical legacy. (Massoud was compared to Napoleon- by Abdullah Azzam & Sandy Gall)
23. A young handsome Luke Skywalker figure facing an indomitable incomprehensible foe is an attractive narrative arc. Massoud is attempting to mobilise Western support playing on the fears of the West, real & imagined. He reminds the world that this is what his father did.
24. His father warned the West of 9/11 and no one listened, now young Massoud warns the world yet again holed up Panjshir like his father. Massoud Jr's story not only has historical precedence but it is immensely romantic. Messaging echoes the past:
25. Massoud is not just a politician, he does have support amongst young. Will be interesting to see how Massoud’s legacy plays out. We have to try & separate mythical Massoud and reality. Read: To The Mountains: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan @HurstPublishers
26. Previously - and thank you to @awsanzar for bringing to my attention - the reports that it has been desecrated has not been established but rather it was damaged in the fighting. It has purportedly been sent to Kabul for repairs.
17.(a) link Yasser Sirri- pbs.org/wgbh/pages/fro…
27. Here is archive of his funeral which has turned into a memorial-
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