Former head of Afghan intelligence Amrullah Saleh

"Our policy was always to have a good and friendly realtions with everyone. But we never have accepted being oppressed and we will never accept it."

Ahmad Shaah Massoud


Former head of Afghan intelligence Amrullah Saleh was fired earlier this year because of his opposition to the Karzai administration's efforts to negotiate with the Taliban. He says a Taliban-friendly government would mean Afghan rights are "violated fundamentally."

Mr. SALEH: Whether the international community remains in Afghanistan or abandons us, I have to be able to defend my honor. I am not anti-Taliban because U.S. is anti-Taliban. I was fighting this war long before the United States started this. If General Petraeus decides tomorrow to leave and Taliban are at the gates of Kabul, yes, he can leave. I can't leave. As I said, I'm not anti-peace, but I'm anti-Talibanization of Afghanistan. So we were fighting the Taliban before NATO, and if we see our history, our life, our principles are compromised in a deal with Taliban, we will fight again.

NPR Transcripts

Saleh started out as a teenage mujahaddin, fighting the Soviets. And he became an intelligence aide to the legendary Panshiri fighter Ahmed Shah Massoud. It was the peace jirga that ended Saleh's time as Karzai's intelligence chief. Saleh and the country's top police official resigned after the rocket attack, though Saleh maintains his resignation involved much more. Sitting cross-legged in a sunny room, overlooking his apple orchard, Amrullah Saleh says he couldn't take what he saw as the Karzai government going soft on the Taliban.