Afghan’s death considered al-Qaida’s initial challenge

? America is preparing to commemorate the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks that launched the war against terrorism, but to many Afghans it is Sept. 9 that resonates as the date al-Qaida laid down its challenge to the world.

That was the day northern alliance resistance leader Ahmed Shah Massood was assassinated by two Arab suicide bombers posing as journalists, an event Afghan officials believe was closely tied to the attacks against the United States two days later.

Afghan soldiers look on as a giant poster of slain northern alliance Leader Ahmed Shah Massood is erected at a police station in Kabul, Afghanistan. Ceremonies honoring Massood will be today, the one year anniversary of his death.

Today, the first anniversary of the killing, has been declared an Afghan national holiday, and several events have taken place in recent days to commemorate the slain leader. Although his followers revere him as a national hero, many ordinary Afghans see Massood as yet another of the many warlords who helped perpetuate the nation’s long civil war.

President Hamid Karzai, who survived an assassination attempt Thursday, led a pilgrimage to Massood’s grave in the Panjshir Valley on Saturday and Afghan leaders have spent the past two days attending a seminar of speeches and poetry lauding Massood. There will be more speeches today during ceremonies at the national stadium in Kabul featuring an exhibition of clothes worn by Massood.

Taliban couldn’t conquer

Even without the events of Sept. 11, the assassination of Massood would have been dramatic. The charismatic and energetic commander, who had a fiercely loyal following dating to the days of the resistance against the Soviet Union, led the last significant pocket of resistance to the Taliban regime from his stronghold in the north.

Government officials believe al-Qaida and the Taliban set out to assassinate Massood ahead of the attacks in New York and the Pentagon in order to neutralize the Taliban’s most effective opposition in anticipation of a U.S. counterattack.

Without Massood’s unifying leadership, the northern alliance was expected to disintegrate into demoralized bickering, allowing the Taliban to sweep into the 10 percent of Afghan territory it did not control. By the time the Sept. 11 attacks took place, the Taliban would have secured control of all Afghanistan and America would have had no allies on the ground to turn to for support, according to Foreign Minister Abdullah.

“They knew there would be a reaction but they knew the reaction would be ineffective if they had total control all over Afghanistan,” he said.

Had Massood not kept the journalists waiting for nearly three weeks, the plan might have worked. The Taliban launched an offensive against northern alliance positions in mid-August, just as the two Arabs were making their way across the front line for their promised interview with Massood.

Instead, Massood’s battlefield preoccupations forced repeated delays of the planned interview, and it was only on Sept. 9 that the two Arabs, one pretending to be a reporter, the other a cameraman, sat down with Massood at his headquarters in the northern town of Khwaja Bahauddin.

“The plan was to kill Massood 20 days earlier, and then to occupy all of northern Afghanistan,” said Mohammed Arif, head of Afghanistan’s national intelligence department.

Strategic miscalculation

Before the camera was switched on, Massood asked the reporter to read him the list of prepared questions. Of 15, well over half concerned al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, recalled Massood Khalili, a friend of Massood and Afghanistan’s ambassador to India, who was acting as translator in the interview and lost an eye in the bombing.

Massood’s face darkened as he heard the questions; he had been under the impression the journalists had come to present a favorable report about him. But he waved the interview ahead, and as Khalili began translating the first question, one of the two Arabs detonated a bomb apparently attached to a battery pack around his waist. He died outright; his companion was captured and killed by northern alliance soldiers.

But if the theory of Afghan government officials is correct, it was now too late for the assassination to significantly impact the battle on the ground. Two days later, the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked, and the United States prepared to go to war in Afghanistan.

“What went wrong was the timing,” Khalili said. “Also, they miscalculated. They thought Massood was the only one who could lead the opposition, but he had a trained army on the ground, and the Americans reacted fast.”

Re-energized by promises of U.S. help in their battle against the Taliban, the northern alliance rallied behind one of Massood’s top generals, Mohammed Fahim, who is now defense minister. Two months later, aided by the U.S. bombing campaign, Massood’s forces swept into Kabul and seized control of the government.