334. Telegram From the Embassy in Afghanistan to the Department of State1
3003. Subject: Situation in Afghanistan. Ref: Kabul 2962.2
1. (C—Entire text.)
2. Summary: The skies above Kabul have again been filled with helicopters and other aircraft for the past few days as Soviet and Afghan forces launched offensives against Mujaheddin in several parts of the country. Some of this activity within 80 kilometers of Kabul has been billed by the DRA as Afghan military maneuvers, but travelers report that it is no exercise. The Shia day of deep mourning passed in Kabul without major incident but the week witnessed several violent incidents in and around the city, including the killing of an Afghan family by marauding Soviet troops. Bus drivers on the route north of Mazar-i-Sharif went on strike to protest the shooting of one of their number by Soviet troops last week, and there have been attacks on convoys along other major highways. Fragmentary reports from Herat and Kandahar indicate that a Soviet offensive is also underway in those large cities, where some knowledgeable diplomats claim Cuban troops are stationed. The regime has dispatched party volunteers to mine coal and collect firewood for delivery to Kabul for the approaching winter. The party held its fourth plenum on November 11, followed by a series of rather hysterical meetings urging support for the regime. The DRA propaganda mill has stepped up its activities, especially against the US, China and Pakistan, often using slanted or false material. Low-level harassment of Mission personnel continues, and we still find it difficult to obtain visas for new arrivals. End summary.
New Soviet offensive
3. The Soviets may have shifted their tactics in trying to crush the ubiquitous but elusive Mujaheddin. On November 15 the DRA Ministry of National Defense announced joint ground and air maneuvers in Kabul, Parwan, Ghazni and Nangrahar Provinces beginning the next day. Dozens of Soviet helicopters took to the air heading in those [Page 884] directions on November 16. That activity continues as this is being drafted and a few high-flying jet fighters and bombers have also been sighted over Kabul. Soviet air transport flights also seem to have increased markedly during this period, but large road convoys have not been observed as often as about a week ago.3
4. The DRA announcement noted that the forces slated for the maneuvers had already left for the listed areas, and our sources confirmed that large military contingents had arrived in several locations by November 15. Two of them said that one contingent had also moved into Wardak Province, though that was not one of the sites specified for the maneuvers. All of these sources reported that the military forces were conducting searches of villages for Mujaheddin and potential conscripts. In at least one case (in Wardak) Soviet forces were shelling a suspected Mujaheddin encampment. Another generally reliable source informed us November 18 that Soviet forces trying for the fourth time to invade the Panjshir Valley had met with the usual stiff resistance for the fourth day in a row.
5. Kabul itself has been slightly more tense since the beginning of the Shia religious mourning month of Muharram on November 8. However, the 10th of Muharram (November 17), a day usually marked by processions of self-flagellating Shias, passed without major incident in the city. The Shia processions were unusually small and none was addressed by leading DRA figures, as had been the practice in pre-leftist days. Justice Minister Aryan was sent to observe one procession. While he made no speech himself, he ordered attending preachers to include blessings for the DRA in their prayers, after which many participants were heard to grumble loudly about “godless Communists.”
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800553–0906. Confidential; Immediate. Sent for information Immediate to Islamabad, Moscow, and New Delhi (also for RSS). Also sent for information to Ankara, Beijing, Bonn, Canberra, Dacca, London, Paris, Rome, Tokyo, USUN, USNATO, CINCEUR, CINCPAC, and CINCUSAREUR (military addressees also for POLADs). A copy of this cable was also found in the Department of Defense, Afghan War Collection, Box 2, Afghan Sitreps 1980.↩
- Telegram 2962 from Kabul, November 10, is an earlier situation report from the Embassy. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D800539–0495)↩
- [text not declassified] Soviet military leaders in Afghanistan had recently concluded that the “situation in Afghanistan is currently a stalemate.” Despite recognizing that “most” of the country was controlled by insurgents, the Soviets believed the rebels could be defeated eventually. Among the tactics authorized toward that end, the report noted, was an increased use of helicopters. (Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, North/South, Thornton, Country File, Box 91, Afghanistan: 1/80–1/81)↩