Ahmad Massoud, a prominent figure in the anti-Taliban resistance movement, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, and son of the revered Afghan leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, delivered a stark message to the United States: Terrorism is on the rise, and America could experience a series of attacks at any moment as it’s a prime target of radical extremists.
Massoud delivered the dire warning, which has been echoed by others who are familiar with the Middle East for several years, in an exclusive interview with the U.K.’s Daily Mail.
“An attack on U.S. or European soil is very much possible now. It is not about a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” Massoud told the Daily Mail.
His late father, heralded as the “Lion of Panjshir,” was assassinated by Al Qaeda just two days before 9/11.
Taking up the mantle of his late father, Massoud has become well known for his relentless efforts to combat radical Islam and Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan.
In his memoir “In the Name of My Father,” which was released Tuesday, Massoud reportedly emphasized that the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August 2021 created a dangerous vacuum.
This vacuum, he warned, is now being exploited by extremist elements, increasing the likelihood of terrorist attacks not only in America, but also in Europe.
In fact, Massoud suggested Biden’s withdrawal was the final nail in the coffin.
The United States Armed Forces concluded their departure from Afghanistan on August 30, 2021, ending a two-decade-long conflict that cost American taxpayers over $2 trillion.
This withdrawal followed the February 2020 agreement between the Trump administration and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar, which imposed combat restrictions on both the U.S. and the Taliban and secured the withdrawal of all NATO forces from Afghanistan in exchange for the Taliban’s pledges to counter terrorism.
Significantly, the deal set the stage for the collapse of the Afghan National Security Forces.
This was precipitated further by the Biden administration’s decision in April 2021 to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 2021 without maintaining any residual force, thereby weakening the ANSF’s capabilities against the ongoing Taliban insurgency.
This series of events culminated in the Taliban’s swift capture of Kabul on August 15, 2021.
In his memoir, Massoud chronicled his lifelong struggle for freedom in Afghanistan and issued a solemn warning to world leaders: Ignore the plight of Afghanistan at your own peril.
Massoud is not the only one to sound the alarm about America’s national security pitfalls.
Recent pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests on college campuses across the United States have resurfaced a prophetic warning from United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan from 2017.
“There will come a day that we will see far more radical extremists and terrorists coming out of Europe because of lack of decision making, trying to be politically correct, or assuming that they know the Middle East, and they know Islam, and they know the others,” bin Zayed said. “And I’m sorry, but that’s pure ignorance.”
I told you so https://t.co/Vqg3B8WOdO
— عبدالله بن زايد (@ABZayed) April 28, 2024
Meanwhile, Massoud called on President Biden to reassess U.S. policy towards Afghanistan and cautioned him that the failure to do so could have dire consequences for the United States’ regional and global security.
“The political situation is helping the Taliban massively,” Massoud told the Daily Mail, “from Ukraine to the war on Gaza and, and many other things happening around the globe.”
He added, “It helps the fatigue (from the West) when they are busy elsewhere. There is a numbness in the West. They are forgetting about what’s happening in Afghanistan.”
Yet, despite facing formidable odds, Massoud remains undeterred in his quest to resist the Taliban’s rule and restore peace to his nation.
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