The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

possible contingency. Any unforeseen element could jeopardize the revolution, the failureof which would mean the immediate execution of everybody participating in the uprising,as well as their family members, friends, and colleagues. The authorities would bemerciless; nobody would be spared. Daoud and his entourage only waited for a reason toslaughter their enemies.It wasn’t by chance that the colonel was asked to play a decisive role in therevolution. By then Abdul Qadir had become a professional behind military coups d’etat.Just five years earlier he participated in Daoud’s overthrow of the king. At that time heacquired priceless experience in coordinating the actions of different military divisions.A shrewd political operative, Daoud knew about the secret ties between Qadir andthe PDPA. He also could foresee many officers following Qadir, something he had to takeinto consideration.Qadir was not an ideological warrior. He stood apart from the leaders of the PDPA,Taraki and Karmal, who had dedicated their lives to politics since youth. His path wasdifferent. He was selected to be trained as a pilot in the Soviet Union along with some otherAfghan officers. Upon their return to Afghanistan, a group of like-minded military officerswas formed. The group was named the Military Revolutionary Youth Organization. Therewere seven members in the group at its inception in 1963. All were equal; there was noleader.The group had no program, no code of conduct, no membership. They held longconversations concerning the future of their country. They discussed methods of reformand modernization and puzzled about how to overcome backwardness in Afghanistan.Several years after the inception of the group, they learned of the Khalq and Parcham36