The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
commander suddenly stopped and turned towards Sarwari. Sarwari raised his submachinegun and shot the major point blank.In the next few minutes all of the pilots were released. When they saw theircommander’s corpse, they understood what could happen to those who did not support theuprising.At the same time, the helicopter carrying the air force and air defense chief of staff,Colonel Abdul Qadir, touched down at the Bagram Air Base, just north of Kabul. Qadirgathered all of the pilots and technicians at the airfield and delivered a passionate speech.The essence of it was that the revolution to bring down “Daoud’s anti-people regime,” hadalmost won. All that was left was the capture of the presidential palace, “the stronghold ofdark reactionary forces and obscurantism.” The pilots of the Bagram garrison werehonored to finish off the tyrant.When the order to take off was given, none of the pilots hesitated. Now nothingprevented the air strike against the hated regime.Colonel Abdul Qadir got back in his helicopter and flew to Kabul. When he was in theair, the Bagram pilots contacted him by radio.“Name the precise targets for bombing.”“The target is the Ark Palace complex, the residence of President Daoud.”***Let’s rewind to eleven in the morning, when a tank column led by Watanjar enteredthe center of Kabul without facing any resistance from an artillery battery deployedsquarely in the route from the Fourth Armored Brigade to the city. The commander of theartillery battery knew nothing about the armed uprising against the ruling regime. When48
he saw the tanks driving towards the city, he immediately called the Ministry of Defense.There, by chance, the call was taken by one of the participants of the uprising. He explainedto the battery commander that the tanks were en route to Kabul in order to protect Daoud’spalace.Once the tank column entered the capital, it split into three groups. One group drovetowards the Kabul Airport, which housed both a large military garrison and the Air ForceCommand Headquarters. Several other tanks moved toward the ancient fortress of BalaHissar, where a regiment of commandos was deployed. The rebels had no problemscapturing the fortress. They did not have to fire a single shot. The third column had themost important tasks: to storm the presidential palace and to assume control of theMinistry of Defense.The tank of Battalion Commander Watanjar fired at the Ministry of Defense atprecisely noon. That shot was the signal for the beginning of the attack. Then the othertanks under the command of officers Mazdouryar, Omar, and Raffi began shelling thepresidential palace. About sixty tanks were involved in supporting the revolt. ThePresidential Guard, charged with defending the palace, immediately retaliated by firing atthe rebels with large-caliber machine guns and grenade throwers.Minister of Defense G. H. Rasouli arrived at the Eighth Division, where he gathered hisofficers and tasked them to go to Kabul, defeat the rebels, and save the government. He didnot wait for the division to take off, instead moving to alert other military detachments.After the Eighth Division departed from its base, the commander in the lead tank suddenlycame to a stop, turned around to face the other tanks, and fired a warning shot at hisservicemen. The division then responded by eagerly swearing allegiance to the single crew49
- Page 6: Chapter 1:VIRUS: How the invasion o
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commander suddenly s<strong>to</strong>pped and turned <strong>to</strong>wards Sarwari. Sarwari raised his submachinegun and shot the major point blank.In the next few minutes all of the pilots were released. When they saw theircommander’s corpse, they unders<strong>to</strong>od what could happen <strong>to</strong> those who did not support theuprising.At the same time, the helicopter carrying the air force and air defense chief of staff,Colonel Abdul Qadir, <strong>to</strong>uched down at the Bagram Air Base, just north of Kabul. Qadirgathered all of the pilots and technicians at the airfield and delivered a passionate speech.<strong>The</strong> essence of it was that the revolution <strong>to</strong> bring down “Daoud’s anti-people regime,” hadalmost won. All that was left was the capture of the presidential palace, “the stronghold ofdark reactionary forces and obscurantism.” <strong>The</strong> pilots of the Bagram garrison werehonored <strong>to</strong> finish off the tyrant.When the order <strong>to</strong> take off was given, none of the pilots hesitated. Now nothingprevented the air strike against the hated regime.Colonel Abdul Qadir got back in his helicopter and flew <strong>to</strong> Kabul. When he was in theair, the Bagram pilots contacted him by radio.“Name the precise targets for bombing.”“<strong>The</strong> target is the Ark Palace complex, the residence of President Daoud.”***Let’s rewind <strong>to</strong> eleven in the morning, when a tank column led by Watanjar enteredthe center of Kabul without facing any resistance from an artillery battery deployedsquarely in the route from the Fourth Armored Brigade <strong>to</strong> the city. <strong>The</strong> commander of theartillery battery knew nothing about the armed uprising against the ruling regime. When48
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