The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Division, stationed in Paghman near Kabul.At the height of the crisis at the Ministry of Defense, the Federal Republic ofGermany embassy’s military attaché arrived for a meeting scheduled with Minister Rasouli.The meeting was scheduled for 1 p.m. and the punctual German arrived precisely on time.While he was surprised to see the whole square filled with armored vehicles and that halfof the building had been destroyed by shelling, he was nevertheless unfazed andapproached the entrance of the ministry. Upon meeting passing-by officers, he explainedthe purpose of his visit, without verifying whether the officers were rebels or loyalists. Hewas listened to politely before being advised to come back later, as all the meetingsscheduled for that day had been cancelled.Between 1 and 2 p.m. a terrifying thunderstorm broke open above Kabul * . Thedarkness covering the city became even more ominous as the black smoke from firesacross the capital billowed skywards. Sometimes it appeared that not only tanks, mortars,and light weaponry targeted the presidential palace, but that the very firmament attemptedto strike the crumbling building with lightning bolts. It became impossible to distinguishbetween the roar of artillery and the roar of thunder as both coalesced into a singleoverwhelming reverberation. When the thunderstorm finally began to abate, fighter planesflashed in the clear skies behind the smoke and clouds.From 3:20 p.m. onwards, the presidential palace was under continuous aerial andmissile bombardment. SU7Bs, MIG-21s, and military helicopters participated in strafingruns. Fighter jets circled above the city. Heeding some unseen signal, they would split intogroups and descend upon the Ark, firing missiles before gracefully interweaving for their* The authors wish to emphasize the reality of the thunderstorm; it is not a literary trick used to enhance thetragedy of the situation but rather a verifiable meteorological event that occurred in Kabul on April 27, 1978.29