Amrullah Saleh

Panjshir in the Mirror of Civilization

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Amrullah Saleh was born in Panjshir province .He is a young intelligent and well-educated person. Amrullah Saleh, director of the Afghanistan National Security Directorate told Cleary University graduates at winter commencement. “Now we are free, because the United States has stood beside us to help a poor country gain its freedom.” with an honorary degree from Cleary The 33-year-old Saleh, who was presented University during the graduation ceremony, is an ethnic Tajik Panjsheri from the Northern Alliance(United Front) and received his secondary education in Afghanistan. In late 2001, he helped to oust the hard-line Taliban from power with the support of the U.S.-led coalition. Saleh served as the chief liaison officer with the foreign military and diplomatic corps in Kabul and as a deputy chief of Afghanistan Intelligence, focused In February 2004, he assumed his current on foreign relations position as head of the National Security Directorate, where he is attempting to reform and to restructure the country’s intelligence service. Although the war has been costly in terms of American lives lost, Saleh assured his audience that the “noble cause” of establishing democracy in Afghanistan is still popular in his country. Women, who were oppressed by the Taliban rule and had no legal rights, now make up 25% of Afghanistan’s new parliament. The number of children attending Afghan schools has risen from a few thousand to nearly five million. “All this has been achieved with the support of the United States,” Saleh said. “I’m honored to thank all those men and women (in uniform) from your country who have gone to help us in Afghanistan and all the American people for their generosity of attention and assistance for the people of Afghanistan.” He also expressed his appreciation to Cleary University and U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers for making it possible for him to attend commencement. Following his remarks, Saleh was presented with a doctor of science in analysis degree. Congressman Rogers, a Cleary emeritus trustee, prefaced the honorary-degree presentation, saying, “Amrullah Saleh distinguished himself while serving as an informal ambassador and coordinator of non-governmental organizations with Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance. During this difficult and dangerous time of opposing Taliban rule, he clearly rose above other leaders with his decisive style, business acumen and charismatic personality.”

Head of Afghanistan's National Security Directorate (NSD), the country's intelligence service, Saleh previously served as an intelligence aide to the legendary Northern Alliance (United Front) leader Ahmed Shah Massoud, who was assassinated by Al Qaeda operatives on Sept. 9, 2001. In this rare interview, Saleh accuses "proxy forces created by Pakistan" of trying to destabilize Afghanistan. He recounts an incident in which he gave Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf a list of Taliban commanders, their addresses and phone numbers; he says Pakistan did not act on the intelligence. Saleh tells FRONTLINE he does not believe the Taliban will succeed in undermining the legitimacy of the new Afghan government. "This nation has tasted the Taliban," he explains. "They were here. They do not, in their vision, promise anything bright for the future." This is an edited transcript of an interview conducted on June 6, 2006.