Former Afghan diplomat says fellow citizens 'are really up to here with Americans'

As the Taliban rapidly gains ground in Afghanistan, taking several provincial capitals in just a few days, the country's citizens are directing ire at the United States, the brother of a "legendary" Afghan rebel leader who fought against both the Soviet Union and the Taliban told The Wall Street Journal.

"Every Afghan, they are really up to here with Americans," said Ahmad Wali Massoud, whose brother Ahmad Shah Massoud was assassinated in a Taliban-Al Qaeda-linked plot just two days before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "You came to Afghanistan to root out terrorism. What happened?"

On his Twitter account, the younger Massoud, who served as Afghanistan's ambassador to the U.K. from 2002 to 2006, has criticized both the U.S. and Afghan governments, calling the former's military withdrawal "irresponsible," but adding that President Ashraf Ghani and other political leaders "were living under the delusion of making Americans as their permanent strategic ally." On Tuesday, he wrote that the swift fall of the provincial capitals is the legacy of the U.S.'s 20-year presence in Afghanistan. Read more at The Wall Street Journal.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up