The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

finished, he concluded, “The composition of the leadership seems right. The distribution ofpositions will be good for this government. Allow me to add that Taraki, when distributingpositions, took into consideration the recommendations of the CPSU Central Committee, whichwere relayed to him during their last meeting at the TASS office. That should make our leaders feelmore optimistic.”“I think they are overly optimistic as it is,” Volodya observed.“Perhaps, but when people are overly excited, they often become very disappointed atsome point.”“Aren’t you optimistic?”“Well, there is some optimism, but I don’t know what it will evolve into. I believe that theleadership of Afghanistan will soon change. I’m afraid that we’ll soon have to implore Khalqis andParchamis to make peace with each other again.”***When Major General Zaplatin received the order to take a business trip to the German cityof Potsdam, he wasn’t surprised. Zaplatin served as chief inspector of the Soviet politicalheadquarters of infantry and often had to travel to the German Democratic Republic on business.In the late seventies, when the Cold War was at its height, the Soviet Union concentratedenormous military resources in the West. The territory of GDR was used particularly heavily formilitary purposes because it was close to the positions of a potential enemy. The top Sovietleadership watched over Soviet troops in Germany very closely. Commissions and inspectionswere constant. If World War III began, soldiers and officers of the Soviet troops based in the GDRwould be the first to perish in nuclear war. But before dying they were tasked with the duty ofannihilating all of Western Europe.137