Most people think that September 11th was the opening of the main Al Qaeda campaign, but it was really two days earlier, on September 9th, with the assassination in Afghanistan of Ahmad Shah Massoud, a key figure in the liberation of Afghanistan from the Soviets, who afterward had been fighting to liberate his country from the Taliban for years. No one paid much attention to the event at the time, but in hindsight, as the Wikipedia article notes, there is good reason to think that he was assassinated by bin Laden as a means of consolidating his power in Kabul, as part of the preparation for the attacks scheduled to happen two days later.

As a remembrance, here is an open letter from him to the American people, published in 1998.

[Update in the evening]

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Some thoughts from Mark Steyn:

According to a poll in May, 35 percent of Democrats believe that Bush knew about 9/11 in advance. Did Rumsfeld also know? Almost certainly. That

Some fashion advice for Osama, from the Manolo.

FWIW, I remain unconvinced that it really is Osama.

[Update late morning]

Michael Ledeen is skeptical, too.

[Another update a few minutes later]

And then there’s this outtake from the video.

[Update at 11:30 AM]

Here’s another theory about the video:

All references to current events, such as the 62nd anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Japan, and Sarkozy and Brown being the leaders of France and the UK, respectively, occur when the video is frozen!

Actually, my strongest reason to think that bin Laden is at room temperature? Because the CIA says he’s still alive.

Peter Wehner explains the realities of the war to Jonathan Rauch. And obliquely, the Democrats:

Let

Peter Wehner explains the realities of the war to Jonathan Rauch. And obliquely, the Democrats:

Let

Peter Wehner explains the realities of the war to Jonathan Rauch. And obliquely, the Democrats:

Let

I agree with Andy McCarthy, at least as far as this goes:

My calculation

I agree with Andy McCarthy, at least as far as this goes:

My calculation

I agree with Andy McCarthy, at least as far as this goes:

My calculation

I wish that I was surprised about this:

Riyadh ul Haq, who supports armed jihad and preaches contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus, is in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain. The ultra-conservative movement, which gave birth to the Taleban in Afghanistan, now runs more than 600 of Britain