The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
Starostin was not surprised by what he had heard. He was surprised, however, thatthe normally calm, smiling, and reserved Comrade Ko saw fit to share such thoughts. Ko’seyes widened and his voice lowered, trembling. He could hardly conceal his disdain for theUnited States.Evening came. Artem strode into the safe house, looked around, and settled into hisfamiliar armchair. He smiled politely. He was a young, tall, physically fit Afghan. When hespoke, his body language seemed to reflect the words that he pronounced.Since the beginning of Amin’s repressions, Artem had fluctuated between growingand shaving his moustache, explaining the reason behind this new ritual in terms vaguelyrelated to his security. This time, his moustache had been shaved. After a brief discussion ofsome operative issues, Artem produced some papers from his coat pocket. He proudlyplaced the papers on the coffee table in front of Starostin. “Here are materials related toIkhvans * , as you requested. Here is the material about some of their organizations. This oneis about Mr. Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. This one is about Burhanuddin Rabbani. This one isabout Sibghatullah Mojaddedi’s arrival in Pakistan from Sweden, and his meetings withother Ikhvan leaders. Here are materials about the actions that they are organizing onPakistan’s territories in Kandahar and Herat. This is some information about the Ikhvancontacts in the Afghan armed forces and police.”Starostin looked through the papers that Artem had given him and asked Artem toclarify certain points. The agent poured some tea for himself and helped himself to a pastry.While drinking the tea, he watched Starostin begin to absorb the materials that he had* “Ikhvanami” (“Ikhvan-ol Moslemin”), or “Muslim brothers”: the term for members of Islamic fundamentalistorganizations that began to appear in Pakistan. These individuals fought against the adoption of a Westernlifestyle, as well as against socialist ideas. They were forced to leave Afghanistan after the destruction of theorganization “Muslim Youth” and the execution of its leaders, as ordered by Daoud.328
given him. Having finished looking through the papers, Starostin identified a few issues forthe agent to research before their next meeting. They agreed when and how the agentwould address Starostin’s requests, and decided on a time and place for their next meeting.When Starostin raised the issue of the terrorist act, Artem calmly shared hisfindings: “In the official report, the only terrorist demand that was listed was the return ofBadruddin Bahes. Don’t you think this is strange? How could this demand ever be fulfilled?If the terrorists were indeed so close to Bahes that they were prepared to die for hisliberation, they must certainly have known that he had been dead for a long time. I havelittle to do with Bahes, Tahir Badakhshi, and Setam-e Milli, but even I have known for a longtime that Bahes was killed in prison last summer.”“So how could they not have known?” asked Starostin, wishing to receive aconfirmation of his hypothesis.“It’s because these people had absolutely nothing to do with Badruddin Bahes. Theyused his name only to highlight some political affiliation. The cover by the name of Setam-eMilli was very convenient to them. Almost nobody knows anything about the makeup ofthis organization, particularly after a recent reshuffling within its ranks. Very little isknown about Badruddin Bahes. Have I told you that I used to know Bahes well? I was hisfriend.”“No.”“We were classmates at Kabul University. He was a member of the Student Council.He represented the department of theology on the council. Gulbuddin Hekmatyarrepresented the engineering department. I represented the law department. At first,329
- Page 278 and 279: “Valery, do you think that we wou
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given him. Having finished looking through the papers, Starostin identified a few issues forthe agent <strong>to</strong> research before their next meeting. <strong>The</strong>y agreed when and how the agentwould address Starostin’s requests, and decided on a time and place for their next meeting.When Starostin raised the issue of the terrorist act, Artem calmly shared hisfindings: “In the official report, the only terrorist demand that was listed was the return ofBadruddin Bahes. Don’t you think this is strange? How could this demand ever be fulfilled?If the terrorists were indeed so close <strong>to</strong> Bahes that they were prepared <strong>to</strong> die for hisliberation, they must certainly have known that he had been dead for a long time. I havelittle <strong>to</strong> do with Bahes, Tahir Badakhshi, and Setam-e Milli, but even I have known for a longtime that Bahes was killed in prison last summer.”“So how could they not have known?” asked Starostin, wishing <strong>to</strong> receive aconfirmation of his hypothesis.“It’s because these people had absolutely nothing <strong>to</strong> do with Badruddin Bahes. <strong>The</strong>yused his name only <strong>to</strong> highlight some political affiliation. <strong>The</strong> cover by the name of Setam-eMilli was very convenient <strong>to</strong> them. Almost nobody knows anything about the makeup ofthis organization, particularly after a recent reshuffling within its ranks. Very little isknown about Badruddin Bahes. Have I <strong>to</strong>ld you that I used <strong>to</strong> know Bahes well? I was hisfriend.”“No.”“We were classmates at Kabul <strong>University</strong>. He was a member of the Student Council.He represented the department of theology on the council. Gulbuddin Hekmatyarrepresented the engineering department. I represented the law department. At first,329
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