The Man Who Wouldn't Be King

Remembering Ahmad Shah Massoud

Sep 08, 2021

∙ Paid

FILE - In this 1984 file photo, Afghan guerrilla leader, Ahmad Shah Massoud, center, is surrounded by Mujahideen commanders at a meeting of the rebels in the Panjshir Valley in northeast Afghanistan. In August 2021, the last remnants of Afghanistan’s shattered security forces have vowed to resist the Taliban in the remote Panjshir Valley north of Kabul, that has defied conquerors before. Under the leadership of Massoud, fighters in the Panjshir Valley held off the Soviets in the 1980s and the Taliban a decade later. Any attempt to re-enact his exploits appears likely to fail, posing little threat to the country's new Taliban rulers. (AP Photo/Jean-Luc Bremont, File) — Massoud during the Soviet-Afghan War, photo from AP

The New York Times reported yesterday that the Taliban took control of the Panjshir Valley, the last bastion of organized opposition against their rule. For their part, the armed resistance there claimed they’d fight on. During the Taliban’s previous regime—from 1996-2001—they were unable to conquer Pa…

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