The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

came to us.But my husband was initially not too concerned. He thought that common sense wouldprevail and that everything would return to normal. He believed that his Soviet friends wouldnot allow Amin to do anything stupid. He didn’t want bloodshed or violence, and hoped forgoodwill and the power of camaraderie. It was true that he loved Amin very much andconsidered him to be his most loyal, dedicated, and capable pupil.The next day a note arrived from Amin: “Order your guards to put down their weapons.”Two bodyguards stayed with us: Babrak and Kasem. At first they both firmly refused to obeyAmin’s order. Taraki attempted to convince them: “Revolution means order; this is why youhave to obey.”“Don’t believe Amin,” the bodyguards objected. “He will kill you in cold blood, like he didyesterday when he set up his friend Tarun. He will go all the way.”“No, comrades,” Taraki objected softly. “You are not correct. This is not possible. We areold, loyal allies. I have given my whole life for the revolution. I have never had any other goal,and everybody knows it. Why would I be destroyed?”Then Babrak and Kasem agreed to kill each other in order to avoid giving up. Tarakitried to talk them out of it again: “You shouldn’t do this. They will think that you were plottersand decided to do this in order to avoid just punishment.” I also tried to convince them not totake their own lives. We both believed that everything would turn out fine.So Babrak and Kasem surrendered and turned themselves in. We watched with horroras Amin’s executioners dragged them off, as if they were goats being carried to buzkashi.People are dragged like this only before they are executed. And it was true—they were killedalmost immediately.595