A former reconnaissance Marine, a former Navy SEAL and a former Pentagon chief who conducted civilian rescue missions inside Afghanistan are urging Congress to listen to top leaders of the Afghan resistance movement and end direct and indirect financial support for the Taliban government in Afghanistan.
The US withdrawal coincided with the return of National Resistance Front (NRF) leader Ahmad Massoud to the Panjshir Valley in northern Afghanistan.
There, opponents of Taliban rule held out until they were forced to flee, including Massoud, who fled to neighboring Tajikistan and was reportedly joined by at least one other figure from the ousted U.S.-backed democratic government, former Vice President Amrullah Saleh.
As of 2021, Saleh is taking refuge in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. France 24 News.
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Chad Robichaux, who took part in dangerous civilian rescue missions in Afghanistan – including the evacuation of former interpreter Aziz, who faced execution by the Taliban – said Massoud has since become a de facto opposition leader in exile.
“Masood is leading our allies of the last 20 years, all the people we left behind, our special forces, our translators, all the people who chose to resist and continued to fight afterwards,” Robichaux said. “We have completely failed him, our allies and the Afghan people.”
Robichaux said the U.S. government had essentially “switched sides” by allowing the Taliban to return to power in the middle of the fighting.
He pointed to reports that billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer funds are flowing to the Taliban, including the U.N. humanitarian aid budget, which is largely funded by the U.S.
“[O]”Our allies are trying to stop terrorist attacks on America, and yet, you know, we’re funding it. It’s insanity,” Robichaux said, adding that Massoud may have intelligence that could help prevent another 9/11-style terror attack on U.S. soil.
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Taliban soldiers stand guard in Panjshir province in northeastern Afghanistan on September 8, 2021. (AP Photo/Mohammed Asif Khan)
Robichaux added that Massoud’s father, who shares the same name, was a top anti-Soviet leader who helped Western countries fight the Taliban in Afghanistan decades ago.
Robichaux said Osama bin Laden assassinated Massoud just before the 9/11 attacks because the terrorists knew the U.S. needed an ally in Afghanistan to fight the Taliban.
“Twenty years later, his son is saying the same thing: An attack on America is coming. You’re sending money to the Taliban and they’re training terrorist groups to attack America,” Robichaux said.
Robichaux also argued that Massoud is subject to a vague “blacklist” that bars him from visiting the US, which is why he said it is essential that congressional leaders visit the Middle East to meet with Massoud.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the State Department to confirm or deny the blacklist claims.
Massoud himself said that the international community has adopted a policy of appeasement towards the Taliban regime, but this has not led to an improvement in the situation.
“The Taliban have not conceded a single thing,” Massoud said. “This policy will have global implications as it will allow them to buy time and achieve their objectives along with 21 other regional and global terrorist organizations.”
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Ahmad Massoud has launched efforts to build an anti-Taliban coalition to bring peace to Afghanistan. (Reza/Getty Images)
“For a peaceful world, we need to adopt more realistic policies that benefit the Afghan people and avert a global security crisis. We must emphasize international and U.S. support for a legitimate, democratic government based solely on the will and vote of the Afghan people,” he said.
Asked about Massoud’s safety if lawmakers agreed to accept him abroad, Robichaux said the other sponsor of the petition, former SEAL and podcast host Shawn Ryan, could host him as a civilian in Austria.
Fox News Digital also reached out to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) ahead of the formal filing of the petition to ask whether lawmakers planned to meet with Massoud, but did not receive a response by press time.
The petition, which lists Ryan as lead author, says Massoud’s testimony will shed light on the true situation in Afghanistan and better inform Congress’ decision-making and funding allocations in the region.
“Further, Congress should redirect funding to the NRF and restore critical logistical support and assistance to the NRF,” the petition demands.
Later in the interview, Robichaux said there was one development that could render his concerns about the State Department moot: the election of former President Trump.
Robichaux said Trump has long expressed an aversion to appeasing malign regimes and is confident he will find a way to stop U.S. funds from falling into the hands of the Taliban.
“If there’s a threat to the United States, [Trump] “I’m going to let the Central Intelligence Agency do their job,” he said.
Christopher Miller, Trump’s former secretary of defense, claimed that about $87 million of U.S. taxpayer money was going into the Taliban’s hands every week.
“[These are] “That this act was committed by the same people who killed more than 2,400 soldiers, wounded more than 21,000 and harbored an al-Qaida leader is beyond comprehension and meets the definition of manslaughter,” Miller said, calling for Congress to hear directly from Massoud.
At least one House member also agreed that Massoud needed to report to parliament.
Rep. Eli Klain (R-Ariz.), a former military sniper, said Massoud could shed light on a part of the world that is “in deep turmoil and that is being made even worse by this administration.”
