The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

Documents that were later declassified revealed that diplomats and secret serviceagents from Western countries were monitoring the situation in and around Afghanistanwith particular attention in the fall of 1979. In early October, the British embassy informedLondon that the Russians were conducting covert work in Europe with leaders of theParcham faction, who were regarded by the Russians as the leaders of a future “alternative”government.Bearing in mind the absolute secrecy of that operation, one can conclude that theleak to the British occurred as a result of a double game played by one of the Parchamis or“comrades”’ from Czechoslovakia.In late November, the British military and air force attaché wrote with alarm, “Theassault against the rebels conducted in the second half of October was highly successful.The main goals of the assault were to secure the territory and communications near thePakistani border, as well as to deliver a blow to the enemy. Both goals were met. The airforce played a primary role in achieving this success. Mi-24 helicopters were particularlysuccessful in incapacitating the rebels. In the long term, as I foresee, the rebels are doomed,because the tactics and equipment of the government troops have improved considerably.The partisans remain politically divided and their strategies uncoordinated.”Further, the attaché emphasized that the number of Soviet military advisers hadincreased significantly among government troops, and, in his view, they were the onesplanning the above-mentioned operations in Paktia province and leading the Afghan troopsin those campaigns. The situation with Amin remained complicated. However, the reportestablished that the Afghan leader enjoyed support from the armed forces. “Besides,” the623