The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

***One evening Starostin was called to an urgent meeting by Agent “Khost.” The meeting tookplace on a street on the side of Kuh-e Samay Mountain. In the evenings, the street was empty. Theonly other creatures that could be heard and seen in the street were enormously fat rats runningthrough dumpsters. Agent Khost was an elderly, white-haired, heavy-set Afghan who had difficultybreathing because of a heart ailment. Earlier, he had worked in the Foreign Ministry ofAfghanistan, occupying high positions there. Upon retirement, he decided to start a business.Khost was not a very wealthy man, but he was well off. He lived in a big, beautiful house, had a nicefamily, successful children and grandchildren.Khost was an undeclared member of the PDPA (Parcham). He didn’t occupy any positionsin the party. His name was not listed on any party lists. He was not so much a party member as apersonal friend and trusted man of Babrak Karmal. Babrak would often meet with his girlfriendand co-party member Anahita in Khost’s house, and would invite his confidants there for secretconversations.Seeing Khost, Valery took him by the arm and pulled him into the shadows, greeting him intraditional Afghan style as they walked. Then Valery asked about the cause of this emergencymeeting.“What happened, Ustaz? * ”“Now, in my home,” Khost said, nodding in the direction of his house, “sit Babrak Karmal,his brother Baryalai, Nur Ahmad Nur, Anahita Ratebzad, Bareq Shafi’i, and other leaders of theParcham faction. Officers—Parchamis who are offended by Taraki and Amin—have come to seektheir advice. Those officers say that there’s no way for them to make peace with the new* A very polite Afghan term connoting respect, such as from a student to a teacher.146