The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

military divisions had been deployed in the Turkestan military district and one in theCentral Asian military district, which meant that three detachments were within threehours of reaching Afghanistan. But the marshal said that this information was meant simplyto emphasize their readiness. He asked for permission to conduct tactical maneuvers at theborder, and stated in conclusion that, like his comrades, he did not support the idea ofmilitary intervention.Andropov also repeated his position from yesterday, and subjected the Afghanleaders to sharp criticism. He accused them of failing to control the situation, having toofew resources to support their regime, failing to engage in ideological work with theirpopulation, and continuing crackdowns. Andropov suggested replacing the primaryCommunist Party adviser, Veselov, with somebody with a higher degree of authority,possibly from the Central Committee. Secretary of the Central Committee Kapitonovobjected to this last point. “Veselov is a good specialist. He worked as an inspector in theCentral Committee apparatus and was the second secretary of the Bashkir Regional PartyCommittee. He is a young and energetic person.”The general secretary seemed pleased with the discussion. Brezhnev liked when hisclosest allies were not arguing with each other, and when the Politburo was unified. He wasnot fond of lengthy meetings. In this instance, they managed to make balanced decisionswithin one hour’s work.“I think we should approve the measures that have been formulated during the lastseveral days,” concluded Brezhnev. “We have decided to invite Comrade Taraki to theSoviet Union tomorrow, on March 20. Kosygin, Gromyko, and Ustinov will conduct talkswith him, then I will receive him personally.”374