 Throughout much of its operational history, the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan (Northern Alliance) was headed by Ahmad Shah Massoud, a Kabul University engineering student turned military leader who played a leading role in driving the Soviet army out of Afghanistan, earning him the nickname "Lion of Panjshir".His followers also call him "Āmer Sāheb-e Shahīd" ("Our Beloved Martyred Commander").The Wall Street Journal at that time dedicated one of its covers to Massoud calling him "the Afghan who won the Cold War".