Americans Are ‘Forgetting’ 9/11 ‘Catastrophe,’ Afghan Resistance Group Tells the Sun After Congressional Meeting

Twenty-three years after 9/11, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan’s leadership is warning that America could see “a repeat of history,” and is raising alarms that “people are forgetting the catastrophe that happened on 9/11” and what “led up to 9/11.”Those remarks were made by the NRF’s head of foreign relations, Ali Nazary, in an exclusive interview with the Sun following a meeting on Capitol Hill between NRF members and the Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Representative Michael McCaul, on Tuesday. The NRF, a resistance movement against the Taliban, is an alliance of some former Northern Alliance members and other anti-Taliban fighters. They are loyal to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, which was toppled upon America’s abrupt withdrawal from the country in 2021. The NRF currently controls no territory in Afghanistan, though it has been carrying out guerilla attacks against the Taliban, which remains firmly in charge. Tuesday’s meeting was “constructive and positive,” with promises of increased engagement and cooperation, Mr. Nazary says, adding that it included discussion of the “rising threat of global terrorism inside Afghanistan, the issue of women’s rights violations that are going on inside Afghanistan, the humanitarian crisis, and political matters.” Ahmad Massoud, son of the late Ahmad Shah Massoud, the ‘Lion of Panjshir.’ Via National Resistance Front of Afghanistan“I believe this cooperation will enhance itself after today’s meeting in Congress,” he says. Though the NRF and Mr. McCaul have been in touch for years, it was the first time that the NRF’s leader, Ahmad Massoud, and Mr. McCaul spoke. Mr. Massoud, the son of the legendary Northern Alliance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda two days before the 9/11 attacks, joined virtually. An in person delegation, including Mr. Nazary, were also in attendance. “Chairman McCaul once again expressed his support for the resistance against the Taliban, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan’s efforts in struggling for a democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan,” Mr. Nazary says, adding that both sides agreed to continue open dialogue. Despite encouraging words from House Republicans like Mr. McCaul, the U.S. government has not been supportive of the resistance movement and says it does not support armed conflict in Afghanistan.“The country was at war for 44 years. We do not want to see a return to conflict in Afghanistan, and we hear from Afghans that they don’t either,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital when asked about the NRF.Militiamen in northeastern Afghanistan in 2021 fighting under Ahmad Massoud, son of the late Ahmad Shah Massoud. AP/Jalaluddin SekandarTuesday’s meeting came a day after a lengthy investigative report was released by the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Republican majority into the Afghanistan withdrawal, finding that the Biden-Harris administration’s “failure to plan for all contingencies” put American troops “in mortal danger,” resulting in the deaths of 13 American servicemembers and 170 Afghans.“It has damaged U.S. credibility. It has emboldened our adversaries, and it has made the United States more at risk of an attack emanating from Afghanistan,” a statement announcing the report read. “The administration’s unconditional surrender and the abandonment of our Afghan allies, who fought alongside the U.S. military against the Taliban — their brothers in arms — is a stain on this administration.”An online petition now circulating — with more than 300,000 signatures and counting — is imploring Congress to invite Mr. Massoud to testify. Tuesday’s meetings included agreement to continue engagement “at the highest level” and that it should expand to other congressional committees. “We believe that the ultimate goal is for Mr. Massoud to be invited to visit Washington in order to speak to the people, to speak with the decision makers and policy makers, and to bring the awareness that is needed because the mass media right now is ignoring Afghanistan as much as possible,” Mr. Nazary says. His message would be to “warn the U.S. government that the current policy that it’s pursuing has been detrimental, that it has failed, and strengthened terrorism.”Ali Nazary of the National Resistance Front. WikipediaWith nearly two dozen regional and global terror networks operating inside Afghanistan, it’s become a “hub and haven for terrorism,” he says. The resistance, he adds, needs a platform to “spread awareness” and “prevent another catastrophe.”With 9/11’s anniversary this week, too many people are forgetting what led to it, he says: “The same policy that is being pursued today was pursued before 9/11 in 2001,” he says, noting that Afghanistan was also ignored then as leaders in Washington weren’t “interested.” “We’re seeing a repeat of history, and if we aren’t active, if we do not bring enough pressure, and if we do not put an effort to spread the awareness, unfortunately, we will see such events happen once again, but this time, it will be much worse, because terrorism today is stronger than it was in 2001,” he says. The terrorist groups have stronger narratives now and more resources — including $7 billion of arms left behind by America when Kabul fell. As for the NRF’s efforts, he says they’re not only sustaining themselves but growing, and could do even more with even “minimal” outside support. The NRF has conducted more than 208 military operations in Afghanistan “targeting their military bases, their intelligence facilities, their high ranking commanders and officers,” he says, and the NRF is operating in more than half of Afghanistan. Taliban fighters celebrate the third anniversary of the withdrawal of US-led troops from Afghanistan, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Siddiqullah Alizai)The NRF’s leaders are hoping to “wake up” policy leaders across the world to see “that there is a problem inside the country,” he says. Mr. McCaul’s office did not immediately respond to a request from the Sun for comment about the meeting. In a statement on X announcing the meeting, he applauded the “honorable” mission of the NRF and said he was looking forward to hearing about Mr. Massoud’s efforts to free his people from the Taliban.”

Americans Are ‘Forgetting’ 9/11 ‘Catastrophe,’ Afghan Resistance Group Tells the Sun After Congressional Meeting

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