The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

was discovered that the gas in the tanks was long past its expiration date, adding to thedubious nature of the ploy.Afghan snipers arrived. They were placed in rooms of the Da Afghanistan Bankacross the street from the hotel. The snipers spent a long time staring through their scopesinto the window that had been pointed out to them. However, they refused to shoot, citingthe blinding sun as an obstacle.Tarun and Saifuddin approached the Room 117 door periodically, addressing theterrorists through a megaphone. Police attempted to convince the terrorists that all of thenecessary steps were being taken, but more time was needed to resolve technical problemsrelated to meeting their demands. The reality, of course, was that there had been nomovement undertaken to appease the terrorists, not least because their main demandcould never be satisfied—Bahes had long since perished. The police were stalling in hopesof discovering some way out of the situation. Most probably, the lies were obvious to thosewho kept making the empty promises and to those who listened to them. All of that madethe negotiations process empty and unemotional, merely a formality.Around noon, the Americans asked the terrorists to give them an opportunity tospeak with their ambassador through Tarun. They agreed, on the condition that theconversation would be conducted in English. Judging by his voice, Dubs had kept his spiritsup. He spoke with his diplomats energetically and even attempted to joke. The ambassadorclaimed that he felt great, and that the “gentlemen” who had captured him were sufficientlywell behaved. Bakhturin and Kliushnikov exchanged glances. It seemed improbable to themthat a man in such a situation would appear so calm and confident. Dubs talked as if he wasabsolutely convinced that everything would end well.304