The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

The results of the discussion were reflected in the protocol for the Politburomeeting of October 31, 1979. A grim evaluation of the actions of the new Afghan leader wasgiven at that meeting. It was mentioned that Amin had expanded the scale of repression,that he was preparing to eliminate a group of PDPA Politburo members, and that he waslosing the trust of his Khalqi colleagues:“Signs of Amin’s attempts to establish contacts with representatives of the Muslimopposition and anti-government tribal leaders are disconcerting. There are indicationssuggesting that the new leadership intends to conduct ‘better balanced politics’ regardingWestern states…”“Amin’s behavior in the sphere of relations with the USSR demonstrates his lack ofsincerity and hypocrisy more and more distinctly…”“Not only does Amin make no effort to curtail anti-Soviet discourse, he de factoencourages it…”It was concluded at that Politburo meeting that the Soviets had to deal with thepower-hungry, cruel, and treacherous leader. The scenario of Amin taking a step towardschanging the political orientation of the regime for the sake of preserving his personalpower was not excluded.The Politburo document suggested maintaining the following course of action:1) To continue working with Amin and the current leadership of the DRAwithout giving Amin reason to believe that we do not trust him and wouldrather not deal with him. To use contacts with Amin in order to applypressure on him and simultaneously gain insight into his true nature.634