The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
in the lead tank, which was comprised exclusively of Khalq members.In the evening the minister of defense arrived at the Seventh Division, which wasdeployed in the suburbs of Kabul. He managed to convince its commanders to act insupport of the president. However, as soon as the military vehicles began moving forward,a squall of fire was unleashed on them from the sky by the fighter jets dispatched fromBagram. The commander of the Seventh Division was killed and the rest of the soldiersdeserted. Later that night Minister Rasouli was captured and executed without trial.This revolution, like most revolutions, was not carried out in white gloves.Major Hashim, the commander of the special forces detachment stationed in theancient fortress Bala Hissar, immediately understood that resisting the rebels would befutile. He voluntarily transferred his authority to the commander of the First Company,Senior Lieutenant Shahnavaz Tanai, who naturally was a party member. Tanai calledCaptain Imamuddin, the commander of the communications platoon.“You’re a communications specialist,” declared Tanai. “Here is the party order for you.Go to the Palace Ark and give President Daoud a message from the Military RevolutionaryCouncil.”Imamuddin initially assumed that he would be entrusted with some papers or asealed envelope with a message from the new commander. Nothing of the sort happened.Tanai made him memorize the text. The essence of the message was that the authority inAfghanistan was being transferred to the Military Revolutionary Council. Daoud and hisallies should turn themselves in.“Don’t take any weapons with you,” Tanai warned the communications officer.***50
Residents of the KGB and GRU began to form operative teams immediately after theyreceived orders from Moscow to organize the surveillance of military activities in Kabul.They decided that each Residency would form two groups, each consisting of two men. TheKGB and GRU groups would enter the theater of military action simultaneously. Each groupwould have a cover story explaining what it was doing in the city. The pairs of operativesreceived a route for them to traverse across Kabul that would be approximately an hourand a half long. The operatives entering the city were not allowed to carry cameras,recording devices, or any other communication equipment. They were not even allowed totake notepads. These measures were taken to diminish the risk to the operatives in case oftheir arrest.Valery Starostin, a thirty-three-year-old KGB officer, worked undercover as the thirdsecretary of the Soviet embassy, dealing with cultural issues, intelligentsia, religiousofficials, and sports organizations. He was appointed by Osadchiy to go into the city in thesecond team. He was paired with an older colleague, an experienced and distinguishedintelligence officer. Osadchiy chose Valery because he was calm under pressure, spoke Darifluently and without any accent, and knew the city thoroughly. Valery, a passionateOrientalist, had explored every inch of Kabul on foot while he was still a student working asan interpreter.Once they received their assignment and instructions from the resident, Starostin andhis partner went to the common room to prepare for their departure. Meanwhile, VictorBubnov and Yuri Kitaev, who comprised the first group, walked towards their car parkedoutside the embassy.Peering through the window, Valery watched the GRU operatives, followed by his51
- Page 6: Chapter 1:VIRUS: How the invasion o
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- Page 58 and 59: front of the airport and drove back
- Page 60 and 61: complained to him, “Your trade re
- Page 62 and 63: “What’s wrong? Should I call a
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- Page 66 and 67: well-prepared speech that touched u
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- Page 70 and 71: eally need to act a year ago, becau
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in the lead tank, which was comprised exclusively of Khalq members.In the evening the minister of defense arrived at the Seventh Division, which wasdeployed in the suburbs of Kabul. He managed <strong>to</strong> convince its commanders <strong>to</strong> act insupport of the president. However, as soon as the military vehicles began moving forward,a squall of fire was unleashed on them from the sky by the fighter jets dispatched fromBagram. <strong>The</strong> commander of the Seventh Division was killed and the rest of the soldiersdeserted. Later that night Minister Rasouli was captured and executed without trial.This revolution, like most revolutions, was not carried out in white gloves.Major Hashim, the commander of the special forces detachment stationed in theancient fortress Bala Hissar, immediately unders<strong>to</strong>od that resisting the rebels would befutile. He voluntarily transferred his authority <strong>to</strong> the commander of the First Company,Senior Lieutenant Shahnavaz Tanai, who naturally was a party member. Tanai calledCaptain Imamuddin, the commander of the communications pla<strong>to</strong>on.“You’re a communications specialist,” declared Tanai. “Here is the party order for you.Go <strong>to</strong> the Palace Ark and give President Daoud a message from the Military RevolutionaryCouncil.”Imamuddin initially assumed that he would be entrusted with some papers or asealed envelope with a message from the new commander. Nothing of the sort happened.Tanai made him memorize the text. <strong>The</strong> essence of the message was that the authority in<strong>Afghanistan</strong> was being transferred <strong>to</strong> the Military Revolutionary Council. Daoud and hisallies should turn themselves in.“Don’t take any weapons with you,” Tanai warned the communications officer.***50
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