Word: taraki
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...that changed in April 1978, when Noor Muhammad Taraki, a Soviet-supported Marxist, seized power in Kabul. It would be 20 months before Moscow would send the first of some 100,000 troops to occupy the country, but Soviet advisers were already leading the Afghan army in search-and-destroy missions across the countryside. The residents of Dobanday first became alarmed when they heard that the new regime was attacking religious leaders and traditions. The authorities then arrested two local elders and decreed that all houses in the settlement be thrown open for inspection...
...Hafizullah Amin emerge "from nowhere." Long the No. 2 man in the Khalq faction of the Communist party, Amin was the key man in organizing the 1978 coup and immediately emerged as the strongman of the Taraki regime. These and other questionable assertions would not have escaped the attention of any high-ranking KGB officer specializing in the area. One is forced to wonder about Mr. Kuzichkin's motives in making these statements. Rosanne Klass, Director Afghanistan Information Center New York City
Brezhnev would do nothing to stop this slaughter-and Karmal, who was already disgruntled, began to bear a bitter grudge against the Soviet Union. Things soon went from bad to worse. The Shah had fallen in Iran. Taraki's policies seemed certain to ensure there would also be a massive Muslim insurrection in Afghanistan. Taraki's response was to slaughter any opposition within his reach. Moscow tried to persuade him that this was a recipe for disaster, he should not repeat Stalin's errors. Taraki told Moscow to mind its own business...
...things began to look brighter. A man called [Hafizullah] Amin seemingly emerged from nowhere to be Taraki's deputy. He was a cultivated Oriental charmer. Quietly, Amin began to take control away from Taraki. More important, he persuaded Moscow that he would be able to defuse the Muslim threat. We at the KGB, though, had doubts about Amin from the start. Our investigations showed him to be a smooth-talking fascist who was secretly pro-Western (he had been educated in the United States) and had links with the Americans. We also suspected that he had links with...
Despite our warnings, and to our complete amazement, Mr. Brezhnev backed Amin. Taraki was invited to Moscow. Secretly, Mr. Brezhnev and his Politburo colleagues had agreed with Amin that Amin would arrange for Taraki to step down as President on his return to Kabul. Amin carried out the agreement in spirit, if not to the letter: Taraki stepped straight from the presidency to his grave. Moscow was willing to turn a blind eye to that. It was only weeks, however, before the smooth-talking Amin made the KGB argument seem correct. Amin did not honor specific promises made...