<

Opinions: A More Dangerous Afghanistan
September 20, 2001 2:29 a.m. EDT
By Edward Girardet (former Christian Science Monitor correspondent) / Editor, The Essential Field Guide to Afghanistan

GENEVA
Afghan resistance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud had long been a critic of Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks.

Massoud had also long warned of the danger that Afghanistan, bin Laden's base, was increasingly ontrolled by Arab and Pakistani interests -- and that the Afghan civil war was serving as cover for a clandestine training ground for terrorists.

Now Massoud is dead, killed Sept. 9 by two Arab infiltrators posing as journalists -- and with possible links to bin Laden and the Afghan Taliban government.

Massoud's demise is likely to make the United States' task all the more difficult in the region, where Washington has failed to form a coherent policy since the Soviet pullout in 1989.

The assassination of Massoud closely resembles the suicide approach of suspected terrorist operatives in the United States. The fact that the murder was well planned and that the Arab perpetrators were clearly educated and sophisticated -- but also fanatical enough to die for their cause -- suggests a similar profile to the hijackers of the American planes.

The Taliban and their Pakistani and Arab backers -- bin Laden in particular -- have much to gain from Massoud's death. While neither side in the Afghan war appears capable of winning, Massoud's Northern Alliance will be hard put to fight back in a concerted manner. The alliance was the only credible resistance to the outside interests operating in Afghanistan.

Massoud cared deeply about ordinary Afghans, while the Taliban and its backers have shown little interest -- even in the face of what could be the world's worst humanitarian crisis this winter. These outside backers have made it increasingly difficult for international aid agencies to operate in Afghanistan. Almost all aid agencies have pulled out their foreign staff, leaving only Afghan nationals to provide relief.
(More: The Christian Science Monitor News Source)

Dan