The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Aligned Movement, of which Afghanistan was a member. As if sensing Kryuchkov’spondering, Andropov called him.“I am sending you drafts of responses in regards to the forthcoming events,prepared by our comrades from the Central Committee. Go over them attentively and tellme what you think.”Soon a heavy package of documents was delivered to him. All of them dealt with thedifficult issues that Kryuchkov had been pondering. The title of one document was “On theUnified Interpretation of Issues Related to Changes in the Afghan Leadership and SovietMilitary Intervention in Afghanistan.” In this document, a wide-ranging analysis outlinedviews pertaining to a number of related issues.The document said that Taraki and Amin had addressed Moscow requesting directmilitary intervention to counter armed foreign interference in Afghanistan’s domesticaffairs on at least fourteen occasions since March 1979. As a consequence, the Sovietmilitary intervention would be based on a solid international legal foundation inaccordance with the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation betweenthe USSR and the DRA, the UN Charter, and multiple requests from the Afghan government.As for an explanation regarding Afghanistan’s new leader: Karmal returned from forcedexile in the second half of October 1979, immediately following the murder of ComradeTaraki at the hands of Amin. Being in hiding, he first set up ties with undergroundorganizations and then began leading their activities. Amin’s regime will have beenoverthrown as a result of an underground activist movement consisting of members of thePDPA, which is supported by all patriotic forces within the country. Action vis-à-vis Aminwas thus undertaken by the Afghans themselves, including those who were members of the682