I was looking for some video of Ahmad Shah Massood. The Lion of Panshjir. When I came across this one, I thought it was pretty funny. I took it to work with me to show the guys. My Afghani crew. They freaked out. At first a couple of them were pretty offended. Their Afghan Pride pricked. The namoos [honor] of the Great Lion of Panshjir stained by such a video. But they loosened up a bit and started to laugh.
After the shock wore off, they told me that it was ok but, “DO NOT SHOW THIS TO YOUR STUDENTS!” They would probably try to strangle me on the spot. Somehow, I don’t doubt it. Massood is the National Hero. Death afforded him that. Had he lived. Politics probably would have destroyed the man. The Russians couldn’t touch him. The Taliban couldn’t defeat him. Al Qaeda took the cowards way out and murdered him through a charade to fool him into letting down his guard.
The man was bigger than life. He was said to have been a brave and brilliant leader and fighter. The stories about him are epic. He is said to have lived modestly. He gave his money to his people. He was a fighter. A strategist. A leader. Some of the Afghans say that he would not have been too keen on American bases in Afghanistan.
I wonder. Would he have considered us an invading force? Would he have fought us? How would history record him in that instance. Many Afghans with whom I have spoken on the subject do not think that Massood would have been so welcoming to us. Some think that he would have turned and made a peace with the Taliban. I’m not so certain. I don’t think he would have done this. But I don’t know. I like to think that he would have become President of a more united Afghanistan.
At any rate. He is the great man in Afghanistan’s modern history. He overshadows all others. Karzai. Dostum. Rabbani. Hekmetyar. None of these men measure up to Massoud to the Afghan people. Drive down any street in Afghanistan. In almost any house and you will see his photo. His photo is on at least 2/3rds of the vehicles that you’ll see driving down the streets of Kabul. He is everywhere. He is a modern day Afghan Odysseus.
