The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

doctors, he continued to smoke his favorite Novost’ cigarettes until the end. All of the otherrecommendations he fulfilled precisely. It was rare for anyone in his entourage to seeBrezhnev irritated or anxious. Members of his inner circle were trying to protect thegeneral secretary and his family members from bad news that could have a negative impacton his health. And here was this disastrous story with Amin. There was no way to keepsuch a story, which involved the leader of a friendly country, away from Leonid Ilyich. Adecision on how to proceed in this situation would have to be made by Brezhnev himself;nobody from his entourage would be able to assume responsibility for such a decision onhis own. Brezhnev needed to be informed. Despite not feeling well, he had to try to graspthe situation. Unfortunately, the more he understood, the worse his mood became.What was happening? In the meetings, Afghan comrades gave oaths of fealty to thesocialist ideal, emphasized their unwavering friendship with the USSR, and calledthemselves younger brothers of the Soviets. The reality was that they couldn’t care less.“We are paying for thousands of advisers to work there, in every outlet of the Afghan state.We are providing economic and military assistance worth many millions of rubles, whichalone should give us the right to control the situation in the country, as we control thesituation in other socialist countries,” thought Brezhnev. And here arises this unsavorysituation. Some decision needed to be made, but what sort of decision should it be? LeonidIlyich was accustomed to decisions being made by others on his behalf. Those decisionstook form as thoroughly prepared documents placed on his desk for him to sign, withoutthinking too deeply about their content. And now all eyes were on him, waiting for him totake the lead on making such an important decision. Nobody dared to assumeresponsibility for the resolution of the situation.626