1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Israel-HamasUkraine
Terrorism

9/11

July 19, 2021

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 sent the world into a state of shock. Yet some had been loudly and publicly warning of the dangers posed by terrorism.

https://p.dw.com/p/3wgvK
USA New York Anschlag auf das World Trade Center
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Soi Cheong

Ahmad Shah Massoud, an Afghan Mujahideen commander, was among them.

Ahmad Schah Massoud Mujaheddin-Kämpfer Afghanistans ARCHIV 1986
Image: AP

It’s September 9, 2001, two days before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Ahmad Shah Massoud, an Afghan commander fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan, is assassinated. Who ordered his murder? The same man who masterminded the attacks on the US two days later: Osama Bin Laden. 

Bildergalerie Reza Deghati
Image: Reza/webistan.com

For months, Massoud had tried to make his voice heard, warning about the global dangers posed by an ascendant Taliban in Afghanistan. But Europe and the United States weren’t listening. Why not? Would heeding his warnings have affected lucrative arms deals with Pakistan? Did economic interests take precedence over security?

This little-known story is told firsthand by diplomats, political leaders and military officials. It sheds new light on the events leading up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Above all, it’s the story of a man who could have changed the fate of the world if his warnings had been heeded sooner.

Broadcasting Hours: 

DW English

THU 09.09.2021 – 01:15 UTC
THU 09.09.2021 – 04:15 UTC
FRI 10.09.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 11.09.2021 – 19:15 UTC
SUN 12.09.2021 – 02:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW Deutsch+

FRI 10.09.2021 – 09:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3