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

nationalist and anti-Soviet. However, as is well known, by late 1964 our political leaderswith revolutionary ambitions agreed to establish the PDPA. All of the sudden, ComradeAmin turned into a ‘convinced communist and passionate revolutionary.’ How could hisideological views and political preferences be transformed so quickly? Consider that bythen he was a mature man. Since that period, Amin has become Taraki’s ‘loyal pupil andfollower.’ Doesn’t this strike you as odd? Look at the history of the schism in the PDPA, atany episode involving it. Who was the initiator of all the squabbles and fights? Who was theprovocateur? It was Amin!”“But these are all indirect arguments.”“Certainly. Neither I, nor my comrades, are able to obtain documents that wouldconfirm ties between Amin and the Americans. Even you, with all of your connections,cannot do it. Most probably, such documents simply do not exist. However, even among theKhalqis it is rumored that Amin is a CIA agent.”“How, then, did he manage to infiltrate the PDPA leadership?”“He was constantly put forward by Comrade Taraki. Amin and Taraki met when ourcurrent general secretary was the press secretary of the Afghan embassy in Washingtonand Amin was the head of the Afghan community there. There exists a bizarre connectionbetween the two that nobody quite understands. And most probably, their closeness isrooted not in their political beliefs, but in something else.”Artem looked at Starostin as if he was trying to recall something important. Then, asif taking an important step, he said, “Perhaps you know that Taraki, when he was six orseven years old, was adopted by an English woman who lived with her husband in BritishIndia. He grew up in an English family, but in his language and spirit, he is as Afghan as he332

is English. When he was growing up, his ‘English parents’ sent him to study at a ‘college forforeign interpreters,’ where Indians who were dedicated to the British were educated.After graduating from college, they were given jobs in the British colonial administration.Taraki received Diplomat Number 37 when he graduated from the college. I am notimplying that Taraki is an English intelligence officer, although some of my Parchamicolleagues are convinced of it. However, I am convinced that there is a special connectionbetween Taraki and Amin, which is not rooted in their political views, but in somethingelse. I just don’t know what it is.”“And how would you explain the reason for the tragedy that occurred in HotelKabul?”“I think that Comrade Hafizullah Amin, having reached a top political post, imaginedhimself to be an overly independent political figure. Based on that, he began to act willfully,ignoring the interests and opinions of his former handlers at the CIA. When differentattempts to put him in his place failed, the Americans decided to take drastic measures, andlaunched the scenario involving the ambassador and the terrorists. However, their planfailed. At first Amin was scared, and then outraged. As a result, he ordered all of themdestroyed—the terrorists and the ambassador. I just can’t find any other explanation.”The room fell silent. Valery was contemplating Artem’s version of events. As a Sovietdiplomat and a person professionally involved in politics, he had to deny such “provocativeinsinuations” by an agent who was slandering the leaders of a friendly, almost brotherly,country. However, as an intelligence operative, Starostin had to follow the golden rule—never adopt a negative attitude toward one’s source of information. Starostin doodled333

is English. When he was growing up, his ‘English parents’ sent him <strong>to</strong> study at a ‘college forforeign interpreters,’ where Indians who were dedicated <strong>to</strong> the British were educated.After graduating from college, they were given jobs in the British colonial administration.Taraki received Diplomat Number 37 when he graduated from the college. I am notimplying that Taraki is an English intelligence officer, although some of my Parchamicolleagues are convinced of it. However, I am convinced that there is a special connectionbetween Taraki and Amin, which is not rooted in their political views, but in somethingelse. I just don’t know what it is.”“And how would you explain the reason for the tragedy that occurred in HotelKabul?”“I think that Comrade Hafizullah Amin, having reached a <strong>to</strong>p political post, imaginedhimself <strong>to</strong> be an overly independent political figure. Based on that, he began <strong>to</strong> act willfully,ignoring the interests and opinions of his former handlers at the CIA. When differentattempts <strong>to</strong> put him in his place failed, the Americans decided <strong>to</strong> take drastic measures, andlaunched the scenario involving the ambassador and the terrorists. However, their planfailed. At first Amin was scared, and then outraged. As a result, he ordered all of themdestroyed—the terrorists and the ambassador. I just can’t find any other explanation.”<strong>The</strong> room fell silent. Valery was contemplating Artem’s version of events. As a Sovietdiplomat and a person professionally involved in politics, he had <strong>to</strong> deny such “provocativeinsinuations” by an agent who was slandering the leaders of a friendly, almost brotherly,country. However, as an intelligence operative, Starostin had <strong>to</strong> follow the golden rule—never adopt a negative attitude <strong>to</strong>ward one’s source of information. Starostin doodled333

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