The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Question from a correspondent of The Observer: The U.S. State Department hasstated that during the events of February 14, there were some Soviet specialists present atthe site of the operation. Do you have any comment?A: Hotel Kabul is one of the oldest hotels in Afghanistan. It is the second largest hotelafter the Intercontinental. A great number of foreign citizens, including Soviet citizens,reside at Hotel Kabul. Therefore the presence of Soviet citizens in the hotel on that dayshould not raise any questions.Question from a correspondent of The Observer: Were any of the Sovietinstructors present there to provide assistance?A: Your words sadden me. For some reason, it seems anything that we do on ourown is underestimated in some countries. It is perceived with suspicion and doubt. Wecarried out the April Revolution in a manner that until it actually occurred, no one in theworld knew about its preparation. Even those countries that spend millions of dollars onespionage in Afghanistan had no clue. When young Afghans achieved the victory of therevolution, some circles abroad said that the Soviet Union must have been involved.We did everything possible to save Mr. Dubs. However, again our efforts areunfortunately linked with the assistance of the Soviet Union. This saddens us.Question from a correspondent of The Observer: Perhaps I misunderstood yourresponse to my question. Do you mean to say that there was not a single foreign adviser onthe scene of the incident?A: There was not a sole foreign adviser, Soviet or otherwise, to provide us with anyassistance.337