The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

The KGB chairman sat thoughtfully for a minute.“Yes, you are correct—we should reward them. But how? If we submit a request forissuing the awards at the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, it will inevitably reveal someaspects of the operation. People will begin wondering as to the occasion behind such alarge number of awards. They will want to know what the KGB folks have done. Let’s wait abit with the awards. When we celebrate some anniversary, then you can include youroperatives on the award lists. As to our internal awards, please prepare your proposals. Wecan give them all kinds of certificates and gifts. Agreed? Now, tell me the latest news fromKabul. What’s happening with Taraki, and how is Amin perceived among the Afghanpeople?”They sat across from each other at a small coffee table. Kryuchkov described thesituation to his boss. Taraki and his wife remained in isolation. There was absolutely noaccess to them. Nothing was known about Taraki’s health. Constant attempts by the KGB’stop people and the Soviet ambassador in Kabul to convince Amin not to take any repressivemeasures against the former general secretary continued. As to the situation within theleadership of the country, there was no obvious opposition to Amin at the time. There weremembers of the PDPA Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council who firmly andsincerely supported the new leader. There were those who supported him out of fear fortheir own lives. But one should know Afghans better. Dissatisfaction would percolateamong Amin’s entourage as expectations of progress and personal gain began to fade overthe weeks. There were some remaining military supporters of Taraki who might rebel dueto the ousting of their former leader, but according to Kryuchkov, such acts would bedisparate and easy to suppress.585