On the Trail of a Lion

Provides an account of the turmoil in Afghanistan, and describes the human story of Ahmed Shah Massoud, his vision for his country, and his assassination. The author is one of the few westerners who actually met, travelled with, lived with, Ahmed Shah Massoud in Afghanistan.

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What do we really know about this extraordinary Afghan leader who has been called 'the Afghan Che Guevarra' or 'the lion of Panjshir'? Who really killed Massoud on 9 September 2001, two days prior to the 11 September 2001 attack on the World Trade Center? Was it real the work of Taliban/Al Qaeda operatives as many would like us to believe? We do know that there were two Arabs with stolen Belgian passports, one of whom was killed in the explosion and the other shot while trying to escape. Or was it a result of some other hostile' forces who wanted to get rid of this nationalistic leader, the lion of Panjshir'? What is really going on now in a Massoud-less' Afghanistan? How does the United States really view its own role and the future of Afghanistan? Andrew Ronald is one of the few westerners who actually met, travelled with, lived with, Ahmed Shah Massoud in Afghanistan. For many years and months, he attempted to meet Massoud. Then, after many futile efforts, he finally made it. This is a remarkable journey and voyage of discovery. And, a remarkable story of what is really going on in Afghanistan today and what went on there over the past decade. In the late 1980s, Andrew Ronald had started up a small charity named 'The Remote Communities Foundation'. It trained nurses in faraway places that lacked doctors and provided some medicines. Using this venture became Ronald's calling card'. He decided to seek out the legendary Massoud and offer to help the Commander's people. The quest took him into Central Asia and, finally, into the very home, helicopter and territory of the legendary Afghan Che Guevarra. The result is a unique, first-hand and often chilling account of the turmoil in Afghanistan over the past 20 years, an exposé of the heroes and the villains of that history and a most human story of one man, his vision for his country and his assassination!