The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

13.07.2015 Views

Politburo superseded all protocol. The graduate student quickly grew accustomed to thework environment in the glorious halls of the Kremlin and managed his responsibilitieswell throughout the course of the visit.The signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation wentaccording to protocol. Having signed this most important document, the leaders of the twocountries, raising flutes of champagne, thanked the ministers of foreign affairs Gromykoand Amin, as well as all comrades who had participated in the preparation of the treaty.Then Kosygin and Amin, who were joined by the leaders of the related ministriesand organizations, signed agreements to increase military supplies and to send anadditional contingent of Soviet military specialists to Afghanistan, as well as agreements toexpand existing trade cooperation and to provide Afghanistan with comprehensiveeconomic assistance. A plan for ties between the Communist Party and the PDPA was alsosigned.Meanwhile, Amin wasted no time. During the second day of his visit, he arranged apersonal meeting with Premier Kosygin. Dmitry Rurikov interpreted their conversation.Amin began the conversation with a historical discourse. He reminded Alexei Nikolayevichthat in 1893, during the Second British-Afghan War, Britain annexed part of the territory ofAfghanistan. As a result, Peshawar, one of the great Afghan cities, became a part of BritishIndia. This city and other former Afghan territories were now part of the northwestfrontier province of Pakistan. Almost seven million Pashtuns, about the same number ofthose living in Afghanistan, are forced to consider themselves citizens of another stateagainst their wishes. Then Hafizullah Amin expressed his concern about the recentdevelopments in Pakistan that resulted in General Zia ul-Haq’s emergence as its leader.262

According to Amin, this reactionary, pro-American general, with the help of his “handlersfrom the States,” was doing everything in his power to extinguish the young Afghanrevolution. The Pakistanis, according to Amin, were planning to send gangs of religiousfanatics and terrorists to the DRA. This is why he and Comrade Taraki had to act. Analyzingthe situation in Pakistan, “the Great Leader of all Pashtuns”—Taraki and he, Amin—haddecided that Zia ul-Haq’s regime was not very strong. Its strength was based on the supportof some army divisions loyal to the general. The Pashtuns and Baluchi, as well as allies ofthe overthrown prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Pakistani Communists were wellpositioned to rebel against Zia ul-Haq. However, they would need financial support, arms,ammunition, and means of transportation and communication to do so. If the Soviet Unionwould provide such assistance, the Afghans themselves would assume responsibility for itsdelivery and distribution in the tribal areas.Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin, who, unlike Brezhnev, was in good physical shape, wasthe best negotiator among Politburo members. He immediately understood the logicbehind Taraki’s spectacle the previous evening. When Taraki demonstratively refused tospeak in Dari, his main intention was to present himself as a “Pashtunist.” That suggestedthat the key topic of their visit to Moscow, in the eyes of the Afghan leaders, wasPashtunistan. The Friendship Treaty was a formality. They never had any doubt that theUSSR would become their primarily ally and sponsor. However, the guests’ ambitionsappeared to go well beyond existing Afghan borders. This was strange, however, becausethey themselves had complained about the number of serious problems in all spheres ofAfghan society. Indeed, information at the disposal of the Soviet leaders painted a bleakpicture of internal affairs in Afghanistan. The idea of declaring war on a neighboring state263

Politburo superseded all pro<strong>to</strong>col. <strong>The</strong> graduate student quickly grew accus<strong>to</strong>med <strong>to</strong> thework environment in the glorious halls of the Kremlin and managed his responsibilitieswell throughout the course of the visit.<strong>The</strong> signing of the Treaty of Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Cooperation wentaccording <strong>to</strong> pro<strong>to</strong>col. Having signed this most important document, the leaders of the twocountries, raising flutes of champagne, thanked the ministers of foreign affairs Gromykoand Amin, as well as all comrades who had participated in the preparation of the treaty.<strong>The</strong>n Kosygin and Amin, who were joined by the leaders of the related ministriesand organizations, signed agreements <strong>to</strong> increase military supplies and <strong>to</strong> send anadditional contingent of Soviet military specialists <strong>to</strong> <strong>Afghanistan</strong>, as well as agreements <strong>to</strong>expand existing trade cooperation and <strong>to</strong> provide <strong>Afghanistan</strong> with comprehensiveeconomic assistance. A plan for ties between the Communist Party and the PDPA was alsosigned.Meanwhile, Amin wasted no time. During the second day of his visit, he arranged apersonal meeting with Premier Kosygin. Dmitry Rurikov interpreted their conversation.Amin began the conversation with a his<strong>to</strong>rical discourse. He reminded Alexei Nikolayevichthat in 1893, during the Second British-Afghan War, Britain annexed part of the terri<strong>to</strong>ry of<strong>Afghanistan</strong>. As a result, Peshawar, one of the great Afghan cities, became a part of BritishIndia. This city and other former Afghan terri<strong>to</strong>ries were now part of the northwestfrontier province of Pakistan. Almost seven million Pashtuns, about the same number ofthose living in <strong>Afghanistan</strong>, are forced <strong>to</strong> consider themselves citizens of another stateagainst their wishes. <strong>The</strong>n Hafizullah Amin expressed his concern about the recentdevelopments in Pakistan that resulted in General Zia ul-Haq’s emergence as its leader.262

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!