Taliban Blames America for 9/11 in New Video
A new Taliban video that aired on Afghanistan national television blamed America for the events of 9/11, claiming the attacks were the result of “aggression against the Muslim world.”
The Long War Journal first reported the story Friday.
Taliban blames America for 9/11 in video celebrating its own suicide squads – https://t.co/TXz67BqNV8 pic.twitter.com/GxsbHzzkZQ
— Long War Journal (@LongWarJournal) September 3, 2021
“The nearly 40-minute film, which was broadcast on Afghanistan’s national RTA television station, is intended to commemorate the Taliban’s victory over the U.S.-backed government and Western forces. The Taliban describes America as the true ‘terrorist’ party, while blaming the U.S. for the 20-year war,” the site reported.
“The September 11, 2001 ‘attacks were the result of the United States’ policy of aggression against the Muslim world,’ the narrator says. Reenactments and archival footage of the 9/11 hijackings are shown on screen as the narrator faults America and the West for al Qaeda’s deadliest day.”
The video, called “Victorious Force 3,” is one in a series of short films promoting the Taliban’s activities.
It remains available on RTA Pashto’s Twitter account, where it has already been viewed more than 45,000 times. English subtitles are found throughout some portions of the video’s narration.
فاتح ځواک (۳) https://t.co/fBWzwQ7Shm
— RTA Pashto (@rtapashto) September 2, 2021
“The 9th September attacks were the result of the United States’s policy of aggression against the Muslim world,” the English subtitles say at one point in the video.
The video also criticized American democracy, claiming the U.S. “inflicted on Afghans the most notorious type of democracy and the most infamous faces in modern history.”
Later in the video, the English subtitles add, “Praise be to Allah, the sincere struggle of Afghans has paid off, the invaders are fleeing from Afghanistan.”
The video goes on to speak of Afghanistan, claiming “this nation now has a strong political position and advance, military, jihadi, and martyrdom-seeking force.”
Though 9/11 was coordinated by al-Qaida, the Taliban has often blamed America rather than the group once led by Osama bin Laden as the reason for the terrorist attacks nearly 20 years ago.
The program aired as the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan following the departure of the U.S. military.
As of Aug. 31, all American forces are out of Afghanistan with the Taliban controlling most of the nation.
President Joe Biden has faced significant criticism for leaving behind an unknown number of Americans after the Aug. 31 deadline.
In addition, 13 U.S. military personnel were killed along with more than 100 other people in a suicide bombing outside the Kabul airport just days before the military’s departure.
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