The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

group arrived to support the detachment led by Senior Lieutenant Vostrotin. Still, it seemedas though there was not adequate military force to capture the whole city.At approximately the same time, Senior Military Adviser General Magometov calledMarshal Ustinov on the phone. “Comrade Minister, I have studied the situation and shouldstate with full responsibility that currently I do not have sufficient forces and means tosuccessfully fulfill the task, nor to subsequently maintain order in Kabul.”“What, are you a coward?” was Ustinov’s decisive reply.Magometov broke into a sweat. “Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, I am thinkingabout only one thing: how to successfully fulfill the task that has been assigned to me.”“So fulfill the task. Get busy.”Having connected with Gus’kov, and having received confirmation that theparatroopers had arrived, the senior military adviser issued the order to begin theiradvance.However, as soon as the first armored vehicles left the perimeter of the base, anorder to halt arrived.In Moscow, a council of military and KGB leaders, having analyzed the evolvingsituation after receiving information regarding the ineffectual attempt to poison HafizullahAmin, and having consulted with their representatives in Kabul, decided to postpone theoperation. This meant the adoption of the second scenario that had been discussed withinthe Politburo but that was never officially recorded. That scenario called for theintervention of the Soviet Limited Military Contingent and, only then, the assault ongovernment sites and the transfer of power in the capital.695