The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

“However, certain difficult problems continue to confront the revolution, and they havebeen exacerbated because Taraki was developing a personality cult. He formed a group ofcronies around him who were inexperienced and unreliable. The law was repeatedlybroken. State security arrested scores of innocent people without any basis. When Tarakirecognized that the party leadership didn’t support him, he devised a plot, the goal of whichwas to assassinate Amin.”“How did you find out that this plot was taking place?” asked Gromyko.“The assassination plan was discussed in the headquarters of the security services. Acomrade loyal to the party warned Comrade Amin.” Then Shah Wali informed the Sovietminister about the details of the incident in the palace when Major Tarun was killed. Hespecifically emphasized that when Ambassador Puzanov spoke to Amin on the phone priorto the meeting, he had assured him that there was no danger to his life whatsoever.“So, do you think that it was organized intentionally for the Soviet ambassador to bethere, without a clue as to what was going on?” asked Gromyko gloomily.“What happened was that Amin went only after the Soviet ambassador assured himthat there was nothing to fear, but he brought along his own guards.”Gromyko changed the unpleasant topic. “And where is Taraki now?”“In Kabul,” replied Shah Wali vaguely.Then Gromyko inquired about the mood of the party members, the situation in theprovinces, and military affairs. Shah Wali assured him that the situation had improved onall fronts in the last month. After Comrade Amin became the minister of defense, thegovernment troops managed to garner a number of major victories. In particular, theyliberated several districts in the south of the country from the rebels.589