The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University
you over to Amin,” Starostin replied.“I believe you, brother.” Sarwari took Valery’s hand emotionally. He used the Pashtoword for brother, “vrora.”The four men moved quietly in the moonlight. Two engines started on the other sideof the wall. Bakhturin and the Afghans sat in the first car; armed Zenit operatives weredriving in the second.Early the next morning the Starostins were awoken by the sharp sound of theirbuzzer. Marhos, who had finally been fed at night and allowed back in the house, wasbarking. Valery pulled an Afghan robe over his pajamas and went to open the gate to theresidence. There were two army jeeps parked in front of his house. Afghan soldiers, armedwith submachine guns, sat in the Jeeps. A captain dressed in a new, well-ironed uniformstood at the gate. He asked quietly, “Who lives in this house?”“I do. I am a Soviet diplomat, the third secretary of the embassy of the Union of SovietSocialist Republics, Valery Starostin,” Valery replied with intentional pathos. “And who areyou?”“I am Captain Jan Mohammad.”“What do you want?”“Who else is in the house?”“My wife and my dog.”At that moment the door to the house opened. Tamara, uncombed, looked outside andMarhos, very aggressive after the previous day’s exile, jumped out from behind the door.“Get the dog!” Valery shouted to his wife. Tamara walked out of the house and grabbed theresistant dog by the collar.560
“Anyone else?” asked the captain in a wavering voice.“Perhaps you will be convinced that I am telling you the truth if we invite the Sovietconsul and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan over here tohelp you conduct a search,” said Valery harshly, gazing straight into the captain’s gray eyes.“No, no, that won’t be necessary. I am sorry to have bothered you.”September 15L.P. Bogdanov:Early in the morning, Akbari, who had just been appointed as the head of securityservices, informed me of the following in as civil a tone as he could manage: “From now on,Hafizullah Amin is the sole ruler of Afghanistan. He is in charge of the state, the party, thearmed and the security forces. There will most likely be a plenary session of the CentralCommittee, as well as a meeting of the Revolutionary Council, where all of this will be put intolaw. As for Taraki, he is isolated in his residence, without access to a telephone or any othercommunication with the outside world. The military guards commanded by Jandad have sidedwith Amin and obey only his orders.”Akbari said that when he saw the recently removed head of state, he told Taraki that hisonly salvation would come in the form of Soviet intervention, which was highly unlikely, as theSoviets were reluctant to interfere and were unwilling to be accused of interference in thedomestic affairs of Afghanistan.Moscow appeared to be extremely alarmed by the situation. A meeting of the Politburowas called that morning to discuss the developing crisis. We received an order to meet withAmin immediately and, once again, insist that he not take any repressive measures against561
- Page 510 and 511: clear to him that he had to return
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- Page 514 and 515: There were also several plain-cloth
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- Page 528 and 529: his friends had already been arrest
- Page 530 and 531: By some strange coincidence, all of
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- Page 538 and 539: Taraki called Amin and spoke in Pas
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- Page 586 and 587: “So Taraki’s time is over?” a
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- Page 606 and 607: In the middle of October, military
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“Anyone else?” asked the captain in a wavering voice.“Perhaps you will be convinced that I am telling you the truth if we invite the Sovietconsul and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of <strong>Afghanistan</strong> over here <strong>to</strong>help you conduct a search,” said Valery harshly, gazing straight in<strong>to</strong> the captain’s gray eyes.“No, no, that won’t be necessary. I am sorry <strong>to</strong> have bothered you.”September 15L.P. Bogdanov:Early in the morning, Akbari, who had just been appointed as the head of securityservices, informed me of the following in as civil a <strong>to</strong>ne as he could manage: “From now on,Hafizullah Amin is the sole ruler of <strong>Afghanistan</strong>. He is in charge of the state, the party, thearmed and the security forces. <strong>The</strong>re will most likely be a plenary session of the CentralCommittee, as well as a meeting of the Revolutionary Council, where all of this will be put in<strong>to</strong>law. As for Taraki, he is isolated in his residence, without access <strong>to</strong> a telephone or any othercommunication with the outside world. <strong>The</strong> military guards commanded by Jandad have sidedwith Amin and obey only his orders.”Akbari said that when he saw the recently removed head of state, he <strong>to</strong>ld Taraki that hisonly salvation would come in the form of Soviet intervention, which was highly unlikely, as theSoviets were reluctant <strong>to</strong> interfere and were unwilling <strong>to</strong> be accused of interference in thedomestic affairs of <strong>Afghanistan</strong>.Moscow appeared <strong>to</strong> be extremely alarmed by the situation. A meeting of the Politburowas called that morning <strong>to</strong> discuss the developing crisis. We received an order <strong>to</strong> meet withAmin immediately and, once again, insist that he not take any repressive measures against561
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