The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

An intense firefight was underway from the Ark down to 26 Saratan Street * nearPashtunistan Square, the site of the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Tanks and armoredvehicles, maneuvering between burning vehicles, were shooting continuously at thepresidential palace. No fire, however, was being returned from the Ark walls. This led theoperatives to an important conclusion—the center of Daoud’s resistance had moved insidethe palace compound. There were no less than a hundred killed or seriously woundedsoldiers in the square in front of the Ark. Nobody was helping them. Some were trying tocrawl, some moaned in anguish, some were silent. Others tried to apply bandages to theirwounds. Spent shells, boots, helmets, and tatters of uniforms and human extremities lay inpuddles of blood before the palace.Victor calmly and masterfully avoided moving tanks and vehicles, as well as otherhazards, while maneuvering the car through this dangerous segment of the route. Concernsabout the possibility of live munitions led him to grant a wide berth to burning tanks andarmored vehicles. He made a similar effort to drive around the killed and wounded. Valerywas busy quickly counting the number of active and destroyed tanks and other vehiclesthat had participated in the storming of the palace. He noted the various attack positionsthat the rebels had taken up in their assault. The postcard in his hand quickly darkenedwith pen markings detailing the battle scene.After they finished surveillance of the front of the presidential compound, Victor andValery headed towards the Kabul International Airport. They had noticed many tanks andarmored vehicles moving in that direction as well. The Afghan Radio building, located enroute to the airport, was surrounded by tanks. They turned around on the circular plaza in* This was one of the nicest streets in Kabul. It was named in honor of Daoud's anti-monarchical coup, which,according to the Afghan calendar, occurred on the 26th of Saratan 1352 (July 17, 1973).57