The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

perceived at the Center? It would surely be scandalous. There seems no way out, besidesnot writing anything to begin with.”However, if the emphasis of the analysis was not placed on Amin’s allegedcollaboration with the Americans, the Center would find the report easier to accept. Itwould be perceived as some sort of pulp fiction, like cheap entertainment after a lunchbreak. If one insinuated that Amin was a CIA agent, though, there would surely be a scandal.Not just a scandal, but a major scandal. The second-ranking official in a friendly state is anAmerican spy! Our diplomats, KGB officers, and party advisers have all been workingclosely with him. I should probably talk to the resident, and wait to write my report,decided Vladimir. He closed his notebook and went for a cigarette.As strange as it appears, the incident was soon forgotten. For some reason, theAmericans decided not to make a lot of noise about it, and limited their protest to a formalnote. Why wasn’t there an uproar in the Western media? Was it only because of the newhigh-profile events unraveling in the world, including the anti-shah revolution in Iran? Orwere the Americans simply eager to sweep the disaster under the rug?The Diplomatic Mission of the United States in Kabul remained without anambassador for many years. The number of American diplomats was reduced significantly.Amstutz became the chargé d’affaires. He was soon given the highest award of the U.S. StateDepartment.About a week after Dubs’s murder, Bakhturin was at a reception at one of theWestern embassies. Charlie, the American security officer, approached him. He claimedthat he had nothing to do with the accusations addressed by the U.S. State Department to344