Fighting Masoud's War

Throughout the 1980s, the Western world watched with what seemed only a passing interest while a war that no one really understood was waged in Afghanistan. In 2001, many in the West were stunned to realise that a conflict that seemed so far removed was somehow connected to the bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York.

One of the men who worked hard to bring peace to Afghanistan before that tragedy was Ahmed Shah Masoud, the head of the Northern Alliance, a beloved leader who ultimately brought the world’s attention to the atrocities of the Taliban. Beside this great man fought Dr Abdullah Shariat. Now a high school teacher in suburban Melbourne, he was once a Mujihadeen commander, under the command of Masoud.

This is Dr Shariat’s story, of the road he travelled beside Masoud and his personal stories of battles and wounds, of ambush and sabotage. Co-author Will Davies also brings a wealth of knowledge about behind-the-scenes KGB intrigue that affected the battle plans of the Soviets and ultimately allowed the tiny fragmented forces of the Afghans to squash the elephantine Soviet Union. 'Fighting Masoud’s War' is a readable account of the war against the Soviets and shows through first-hand experience the progression of events that finally shook the Western world out of its complacency.