Eyes on The Ground: The National Resistance Front in Afghanistan

SpyCast

News, Education, History

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 11 March 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

After the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan, the National Resistance Front rose up to defy them. We spoke with their leader Ahmad Massoud, who has overseen hundreds of military and intelligence-gathering operations. He’s following the footsteps of his father, who led his own resistance group, the Northern Alliance, until members of Al Qaeda assassinated him two days before they conducted the September 11 terrorist attacks. Fast forward to the mid-2000s, International Spy Museum executive director Chris Costa, then a human intelligence officer, worked with that group to develop intel on the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Now, in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal and Afghanistan’s collapse, Costa says the U.S. is losing an opportunity to support Massoud and the National Resistance Front. If you liked this episode, check out these links: Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Guest: Ali Maisam Nazary Spy Chat with Chris Costa | Guest: Christine Abizaid Subscribe to Sasha's Substack, HUMINT, to get more intelligence stories: https://sashaingber.substack.com/ And if you have feedback or want to hear about a particular topic, you can reach us by E-mail at [email protected]. This show is brought to you from Goat Rodeo, Airwave, and the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, this is Matt and McKinley from History Dispatches.
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0:20.1	Yep, all here on History Dispatches. New episodes every weekday. Find out. over Cromwell. The same head they kept on a pike for three years? Yep.
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0:29.2	Welcome to Spycast, the official podcast of the International Spy Museum, and the oldest spy
0:39.4	podcast in the United States.
0:41.9	I'm your host, Sasha Inber, and each week I take you into the shadows of espionage,
0:48.1	intelligence, and covert operations across the globe.
1:01.0	After the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan, the National Resistance Front rose up to defy them. I spoke with its leader, Ahmad Massoud, who has overseen hundreds of military and intelligence gathering operations.
1:09.0	He's following the footsteps of his father,
1:12.2	who led his own resistance group, the Northern Alliance,
1:15.7	until members of Al-Qaeda assassinated him
1:18.3	two days before they conducted the September 11th terrorist attacks.
1:23.6	Fast forward to the mid-2000s,
1:26.1	International Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa, then a human intelligence officer, worked with that group to develop intel on al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
1:37.6	Now in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal and Afghanistan's collapse, he says the U.S. is losing an opportunity to support Ahmad
1:46.2	Massoud in the National Resistance Front. They have eyes on the ground and could provide
	...

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