The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Kharazov was tasked by the Central Committee of the CPSU to meet with the Afghangeneral secretary and deliver a special message, the essence of which was the need to strive forparty unity. When they finally met and Kharazov passed along the message, Tarakidemonstratively refused to discuss the issue and hissed through his teeth, “Please pass along mygratitude to your leadership for their concern.”When the PDPA Politburo met on June 17, Amin, using his customary revolutionaryrhetoric, glorified “our beloved leader and teacher Nur Muhammad Taraki,” evaluated thesituation within the country and in the party, and sharply criticized Karmal and his allies.According to Amin, Karmal and his cronies, instead of participating in constructive party work,were preoccupied with intrigue and were more interested in deepening existing divisions withinthe party and Afghan society. Amin asked directly whether such people belong in the leadership ofthe party. Taraki remained silent. Unable to contain his emotions, Karmal took the bait. “If thecomrades believe that such rhetoric makes sense, we are prepared to leave our positions in theparty and state.”Amin’s trap had worked. “Then I propose a vote,” he said, “to send Comrade Karmal and hisallies to serve in diplomatic posts in foreign countries.” It was over within minutes. Amin’ssuggestion was adopted by a one-vote majority.Karmal was appointed to be ambassador to Czechoslovakia. His brother, a CentralCommittee member, Mahmoud Baryalai, was appointed to head the Afghan diplomatic mission inPakistan. Another Central Committee member, Dr. Najibullah (the future general secretary andpresident), received an ambassadorial appointment in Tehran. The minister of the interior, NurAhmad Nur, was appointed as ambassador to the United States. Anahita Ratebzad was to becomethe ambassador to Yugoslavia. Central Committee member Abd-al Majid Sarboland was appointed184