The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

of war or a military attempt to capture a diplomatic mission. Diplomats began discussingtheir assigned responsibilities. As it turned out, one of the more experienced and respecteddiplomats was in charge of giving medical assistance to the wounded. That diplomat beganscreaming, “But I’m scared of blood! When I see blood I lose consciousness!”“Look, look right here, whose signature is this? Is it yours?” Novokreschenovretorted, not even attempting to hide his indignation. “Well, whose is it? Yours?”“Ok, yes, it’s mine, but when I signed it I had no idea I would ever actually beresponsible for handling the wounded.”“Here before you, comrades, is a classic example of a sloppy and irresponsibleattitude towards emergency preparation,” Novokreschenov commented dryly.While this chaotic meeting was taking place, the ambassador summoned both theKGB and GRU chiefs to his office to inquire about their views regarding the unfoldingsituation.“Last night we received information that an uprising against Daoud’s regime wasunderway. We have informed the Center of this report.” Osadchiy’s tone was calm andPuzanov thought he could hear a note of condescension in it. Osadchiy continued,“Yesterday it was still unclear whether the opposition would carry out the uprising. Earlythis morning, however, we received a confirmation of their intent. The information hasbeen sent to Moscow.”Osadchiy and the resident of GRU, Counter Admiral Pechenenko, exchanged glancesthat went unnoticed by the ambassador. Early that morning Osadchiy had informed hiscolleague from GRU about Mahmoud’s report. Pechenenko had immediately notified hissubordinates and asked them to collect pertinent information. Contrary to the popular26