The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

“At this point, you should stop saying ‘you,’ and start saying ‘we,’” suggested BorisSemyonovich Ivanov, “as you are now among the very few who have been informed of theplan. You are hereby in charge of the army aspect of the operation. You should familiarizeGeneral Gus’kov with the plan.”Gus’kov, a paratrooper, having listened to Magometov’s presentation at Bagram,could not conceal his bewilderment. “Which wise-ass in Moscow has concocted this plan?When has attacking a well-defended enemy without having superiority in numbers or inany other area produced favorable results? Minus the surprise factor?” he asked indisbelief.The “wise-ass” behind the operation still remains unknown. No written directivesever arrived from the Ministry of Defense or the KGB. The author of the operation’s planhas never been revealed.On the twelfth of December, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the CPSUissued its verdict. Taking into consideration the secrecy and sensitivity of the task at hand,the document (in a previously unheard-of fashion at the Central Committee) was handwrittenby Konstantin Chernenko. This is what was said in the document:“Under the Chairmanship of L.I. Brezhnev.Present: Suslov M.A., Grishin V.V., Kirilenko A.P., Pel’she A.Ya., Ustinov D.F., Chernenko K.U.,Andropov Y.V., Gromyko A.A., Tikhonov N.A., Ponomaryov B.N.Resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU No. 176/125Regarding the situation in “A”1. To approve the considerations and actions described by Comrades Andropov Y.V.,Ustinov D.F., Gromyko A.A. To permit, during the realization of these actions, forthem to introduce minor amendments. The issues that require decisions of the686