Taliban, Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi Prior 9/11!

In early 2001, pre-9/11, Rahmatullah Hashemi embarked on an American media tour as an envoy for the Taliban, meeting with State Department officials and delivering lectures at several universities. At the time, he was tasked not just with speaking on behalf of a tendentious government, but with defending the Taliban’s very recent destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan, a UNESCO world heritage site with ancient religious statues predating Islam. Hashemi was subsequently rebuked by many Americans.

During this 2001 tour he denied knowing anything about Osama Bin Laden until after the 20 August 1998 cruise missile attacks ordered by U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In one well-publicized instance, a woman heckled him while he spoke at the Atlantic Council. Hashemi’s response to the woman’s outburst — “You have imprisoned the women – it’s a horror, let me tell you,” she shouted — was filmed, and the clip was included in Michael Moore’s 2004 film Fahrenheit 9/11. “I’m really sorry to your husband,” Hashemi responded to the woman. “He might have a very difficult time with you.”

“In 1998, they just sent cruise missiles into Afghanistan and they announced that they were trying to kill Osama Bin Laden. We didn’t know Osama Bin Laden then. I didn’t know him; he was just a simple man. So we were all shocked. I was one of those men who was sitting at home at night. I was called for an immediate council meeting and we all were told the United States have attacked Afghanistan. With 75 cruise missiles and trying to kill one man.”

After 9/11, Rahmatullah’s family lived in Pakistan. During the US invasion of Afghanistan, Rahmatullah worked for CNN‘s Nic Robertson as a translator and a personal assistant.

Ref:
https://rense.com//general69/sturden.htm
https://www.wilsonquarterly.com