The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Charlie kept repeating to Bakhturin that they should refrain from storming the room,urging them to stall for as long as possible and to pursue negotiations with the terrorists,but he did not suggest an alternate plan to free the ambassador.Suddenly, there was movement in the hotel corridor. AGSA officers, dressed inplainclothes, entered the hall. AGSA was the Afghan special services. It had only recentlybeen formed, but already instilled fear in anybody who might possibly be perceived to bean enemy of the Afghan revolution. The appearance of the representatives of the competingAfghan special services annoyed Major Tarun. Tarun, a cocky fellow, who was one ofHafizullah Amin’s favorites, interrupted his conversation with a staff member of theAmerican embassy’s security services and quickly approached the AGSA group. They beganan animated discussion in Pashto, after which the AGSA group vanished as quickly as it hadappeared.***That winter, a syndrome akin to gold rush fever could be observed among Westerndiplomats. The imaginations of Americans, Brits, and other Westerners was excited by thediscovery of a golden treasure by the Soviet archaeologist Sarianidi near the town ofShibergan in the north of Afghanistan. Sarianidi unearthed the burial site of six Bactrianprinces from the second millennium B.C. Archaeologists found about seven kilograms ofextraordinary gold jewelry at the site.Discovery of the treasure became the hot topic at diplomatic receptions. Everybodyaddressed questions about the treasure to Valery Starostin, who knew a lot about Bactriaand those archaeological digs.295