The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

eported and objectively interpreted developments in Afghanistan.“Our correspondents refer to speeches of Comrades Taraki and Amin, whorepeatedly cited cases of American interference in the domestic affairs of Afghanistan. Butthere are also a number of articles published by Western journalists, including those inAmerican newspapers and magazines, which certainly cannot be suspected of having abiased attitude towards the United States.”Upon hearing that, Flatin became somewhat less enthusiastic, as recently aninfluential American weekly had reported some of the details of covert CIA operationsagainst the DRA. Puzanov continued to put pressure on the American: “Stop yourinterference, and then there will be no basis for accusations. I would also like to remind youthat the U.S. Congress declined President Carter’s request to allocate 17 million dollars ofaid to Afghanistan, and despite that, the government of the DRA maintains friendlyrelations with you. How about the fact that on the Fourth of July, there was a number ofhigh-level Afghan officials, including two ministers and two deputy ministers, present atthe Independence Day reception at your embassy.”“All of this is true,” agreed Flatin, “and we highly value such positive cases. However,at the same time, I would like to direct your attention to the fact that the U.S. government isunable to put any pressure on the military administration of Pakistan because of a numberof bilateral disagreements, including our differences with regard to the nuclear issue.”The American and the Russian parted coolly.As the confrontation intensified, the State Department reduced its staff at the U.S.embassy in Kabul. The decision was made to evacuate family members. About one hundredAmericans were to depart from the Afghan capital. Amstutz notified DRA Deputy Foreign452