| This will be officially confirmed a little later. The death of the military leader of the Northern Alliance of Afghanistan, Ahmad Shah Massoud, as a result of an assassination attempt on him on September 9, unfortunately, is a fact. The Vremya Novostey newspaper learned about this for certain from absolutely reliable sources in Afghanistan, who are not able to give their names.
The official leadership of the Northern Alliance - which for the third day now has been disseminating reports that Massoud is “in a stable condition, but unconscious”, or, moreover, only “slightly wounded in the arms and legs” - is trying, like us and previously assumed only to delay time to prevent panic among the fighters, rally the ranks of their supporters and choose a new leader. The latter is especially important since Massoud's successor must be recognized by all members of the Northern Alliance, belonging to various ethnic and political (which are almost the same thing) factions. In addition, the new leader of the anti-Taliban coalition should be completely acceptable to those states that support the Northern Alliance - Russia, Iran, India, and the countries of Central Asia.
There is no doubt that intensive consultations between the Afghan northerners and Moscow, Tehran and New Delhi are currently underway. On the other hand, the successor to the deceased military leader has already been named. This is General Fahim, head of Massoud's security service. Let us recall that this name was first mentioned in a report by the Russian ITAR-TASS agency on Monday, the day after, as is now finally clear, the successful assassination attempt on the Afghan leader. This may indicate that the figure of General Fahim suits Moscow.
The official announcement of Masood's death as a result of his injuries, a few days after the assassination attempt, may come today or tomorrow. However, it is unlikely that the Taliban will be able to take advantage of his death. After yesterday's unprecedented terrorist attack on the United States and the version already voiced by the Americans about the involvement of Osama Bin Laden in it, as if he is now hiding with the Taliban in Afghanistan, there is almost no doubt that soon a blow will be struck at Bin Laden's bases, and therefore at the Taliban retribution.
How effective it will be is another question. Arkady DUBNOV |
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