FIRST CONVERSATION WITH NEW AFGHAN PRESIDENT

CONFIDENTIAL KABUL 3619


E.O. 11652: GDS
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, PINT, AF, US
SUBJECT: FIRST CONVERSATION WITH NEW AFGHAN PRESIDENT

1. MUR MOHAMHAD TARAKI, THE PRESIDENT OF AFGHANISTAN'S NEW
REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL, AND HE LIKES TO BE CALLED "MR. PRESIDENT,"
RECEIVED ME ALONE IN HIS OFFICE AT THE OLD PRIME MINISTRY BUILDING
AT 5 P.M. ON MAY 6, I WAS RECEIVED AT THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUILDING
BY THE SAME CHIEF AND DEPUTY CHIEF OF PROTOCOL WHO HAD SERVED THE
PREVIOUS REGIME. AS AN INDICATION OF THE TIMES, THE DEPUTY CHIEF,
WHO IS A MOHAMMADZAI, STARTED WEEPING WHEN I ASKED HIM ABOUT HIS
FAMILY. IT WAS IN THIS MOOD THAT HE USHERED ME INTO HIS NEW CHIEF'S
OFFICE. SECURITY PRECAUTIONS SEEMED TO BE MINIMAL, WITH ONLY ONE
ARMORED VEHICLE VISIBLE IN THE COMPOUND OF THE PRIME MINISTRY.

2. TABAKI GREETED ME WITH A WARM HANDSHAKE AND A FRIENDLY SMILE,
DULY RECORDED BY PHOTOGRAPHERS. WE THEN SAT DOWN IN THE CORNER OF
HIS OFFICE AND EXCHANGED A FEW PLEASANTRIES WHILE OUR PICTURES
CONTINUED TO BE SNAPPED. I GOT A GOOD LAUGH FROM HIM WHEN I SAID I
WAS SORRY I HAD NOT MET HIM DURING MY FOUR AND ONE-HALF YEARS IN
AFGHANISTAN -- AND EVEN SORRIER DURING THE PAST NINE DAYS. TARAKI
SPOKE EXCELLENT, IF SOMEWHAT RUSTY, ENGLISH.

3. TARAKI BEGAN HIS CONVERSATION BY RECOUNTING WITH OBVIOUS PRIDE
AND RELISH THE SUCCESS OF HIS REVOLUTION, STRESSING THAT IT IS A
REVOLUTION AND NOT A COUP. HE SAID ON THURSDAY, APRIL 27, THE TANKS
FIRST MOVED IN THE DIRECTION OF KABUL ABOUT 9 A.M., BUT TOOK MORE
THAN TWO HOURS TO REACH THE CENTER OF THE CITY. BY EVENING, THE
DAOUD REGIME HAD LOST THE BATTLE, ALTHOUGH THEY TRIED IN VAIN
DURING THE NIGHT TO SEND REINFORCEMENTS FROM CENTRAL CORPS
HEADQUARTERS AND FROM KARGHA. WITH THE COMING OF DAYLIGHT, HE SAID,
THE AIR FORCE WAS ABLE TO FINISH THE JOB. MEANWHILE, WITHIN THE
PALACE DAOUD HAD BEEN ASKED TO SURRENDER, BUT REFUSED, SHOT AT HIS
ATTACKERS, AS DID HIS WIFE AND FAMILY, AND WAS THEREFORE KILLED.
THE INTENTION, SAID TARAKI, HAD BEEN TO TAKE HIM AS A CAPTIVE.
TARAKI ADDED THAT DAOUD PROBABLY WOULD HAVE BEEN COURT-MARTIALED
AND POSSIBLY SHOT. TARAKI HAD YESTERDAY
THE SOLDIER WHO HAD BEEN SHOT BY DAOUD'S "WHITE PISTOL".

4. TARAKI THEN SAID HE WAS SURPRISED THAT I HAD NOT BEEN THE FIRST
AMBASSADOR TO CALL ON HIM, BECAUSE WHAT HE IS TRYING TO ESTABLISH
IN AFGHANISTAN IS A "GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE, AND FOR
THE PEOPLE." CORRECTING HIMSELF A BIT, HE SAID HE HAD ASKED THE SAME
QUESTION OF THE PAKISTANI AMBASSADOR BECAUSE PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN
HAVE SO MUCH IN COMMON, CULTURALLY AND ETHNICALLY.

5. I THEN EXPLAINED THAT IN CASES LIKE THIS, WE DO NOT EXTEND FORMAL
RECOGNITION BUT INDICATE, AS WE HAVE DONE, THAT WE WANT TO CONTINUE
NORMAL DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS. I SAID, IN FACT, WE HOPE TO HAVE CLOSE
WORKING RELATIONS WITH THE NEW GOVERNMENT. I ADDED, AS OUR NOTE
STATED, THAT I HOPE HIS GOVERNMENT WOULD HAVE A CHANCE SOON TO
AFFIRM THE VALIDITY OF EXISTING TREATIES AND AGREEMENTS. HE MAD NO
COMMENT ON THAT SUGGESTION.

6. AT SEVERAL POINTS DURING THESE PRELIMINARY EXCHANGES, TARAKI
REFERRED TO THE TIME HE HAD SPENT IN THE UNITED STATES, HIS
FRIENDSHIP FOR AMERICANS, AND HIS LIKING FOR THE AMERICAN QUALITY OF
FRANKNESS. WE AGREED THAT AFGHANS AND AMERICANS HAVE LOTS IN COMMON
IN THIS REGARD.

7. I THEN STATED I WANTED TO BE FRANK WITH HIM. I SAID THAT, AS HE
KNEW, THE UNITED STATES HAD NEVER SOUGHT ANY STRATEGIC OR POLITICAL
ADVANTAGE FROM AFGHANISTAN. HE AGREED. I SAID THAT ONE OF THE CARDINAL
POINTS OF OUR POLICY IS TO HELP AFGHANISTAN MAINTAIN ITS INDEPENDENCE,
ITS INTEGRITY, AND ITS NATIONAL IDENTITY. HE NODDED ENTHUSIASTICALLY.
I SAID THAT SINCE THE BRITISH LEFT INDIA, IT WAS OUR VIEW THAT THE
ONLY COUNTRY THAT COULD POSSIBLY THREATEN AFGHANISTAN'S INDEPENDENCE
IS THE SOVIET UNION. IN PAST TIMES, I NOTED, OUR POLICY HAD BEEN TO
TRY TO CONSTRUCT BLOCS AGAINST SOVIET EXPANSIONISM, BUT THAT OUR
APPROACH TO THIS PROBLEM HAD, IN THE COURSE OF TIME BECOME MORE
SOPHISTICATED.

I STATED WE COULD READILY UNDERSTAND -- GIVEN AFGHANISTAN'S
GEOGRAPHIC POSITION AND ECONOMIC NEEDS -- WHY IT WOULD WANT A CLOSE
RELATIONSHIP WITH THE SOVIET UNION. BUT, I SAID, WE WOULD BE DISTURBED
IF AFGHANISTAN'S FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC POLICIES WERE TO BECOME
INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM THOSE OF THE SOVIET UNION BECAUSE THAT WOULD
OBLITERATE AFGHANISTAN'S NATIONAL IDENTITY AND WOULD GIVE RISE TO
TENSIONS IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD WHICH COULD THREATEN PEACE. I SAID
THAT IT IS IN THIS CONTEXT THAT WE APPRECIATE AFGHANISTAN'S NONALIGNED
POLICY.

8. IN RESPONSE, TARAKI AFFIRMED THAT AFGHANISTAN IS AND DESIRES TO
REMAIN AN INDEPENDENT COUNTRY AND MASTER OF ITS OWN DESTINY. HE SAID HE
WAS PLEASED THAT THE UNITED STATES TAKES A MORE FLEXIBLE VIEW OF THE
WORLD AND ADMITS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT IT MADE A MISTAKE IN VIETNAM. HE
REFERRED TO HIS BEING IN WASHINGTON DURING THE DAYS OF SENATOR MCCARTHY,
AND NOTED THAT THE THEN VICE PRESIDENT NIXON HAD REFUSED ONCE TO COME
TO AN AFGHAN EMBASSY RECEPTION BECAUSE AFGHANISTAN WAS TOO CLOSE TO THE
SOVIET UNION. HE WAS PLEASED THAT THAT IS NO LONGER THE APPROACH THE
UNITED STATES TAKES TOWARD HIS COUNTRY.

9. I THEN SAID THAT IN EVALUATING THE POLICIES OF A GOVERNMENT IN A
DEVELOPING COUNTRY LIKE AFGHANISTAN, THE UNITED STATES WOULD LOOK FIRST
AND FOREMOST AT WHAT THAT GOVERNMENT IS DOING TO RAISE THE STANDARD OF
LIVING OF ITS PEOPLE AND TO ASSURE THE MAINTENANCE OF HUMAN RIGHTS --
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND LEGAL. AT THIS POINT, TARAKI BECAME
MUCH MORE ANIMATED AND HELD FORTH AT SOME LENGTH ON THE SUBJECT OF HOW
HIS GOVERNMENT WANTS TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN. HE SAID THAT HE
AND HIS COLLEAGUES -- UNLIKE HIS PREDECESSORS, REALLY CARE ABOUT THE
POOR PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY AND HAVE NO INTEREST IN PUTTING MONEY IN
SWISS BANKS. HE SAID THAT IN JUDGING HIS GOVERNMENT'S POLICIES, WE
SHOULD ASK THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN WHETHER THEY THINK THEY ARE
SUCCESSFUL. IN THE PAST, HE BELIEVED FOREIGNERS TENDED TO ASK THE
ARISTOCRATS WHO, OF COURSE, WERE NOT INTERESTED IN HELPING THE POOR
BECAUSE SUCH A POLICY WOULD THREATEN THEIR OWN PROSPERITY. REGARDING
HUMAN RIGHTS, TARAKI SAID THIS IS A VERY COMPLICATED PROBLEM AND THAT
EACH NATION MUST JUDGE FOR ITSELF THE KIND OF HUMAN RIGHTS THAT ARE MOST
SUITED TO ITS OWN SITUATION AND CULTURE. HE MADE IT CRYSTAL CLEAR THAT
HE WOULD NOT WANT US TO MAKE VALUE JUDGEMENTS WHICH WOULD BE TANTAMOUNT
TO INTERFERENCE IN AFGHANISTAN'S INTERNAL AFFAIRS. I ASSURED HIM THAT
THE UNITED STATES HAD NO DESIRE TO TRY TO TRANSPLANT ITS GOVERNMENTAL
SYSTEM ELSEWHERE, BUT THAT WE, NEVERTHELESS, CARE DEEPLY ABOUT HUMAN
RIGHTS.

10. TARAKI THEN SAID HIS GOVERNMENT WOULD JUDGE OTHER GOVERNMENTS BY
THEIR WILLINGNESS TO HELP AFGHANISTAN. HE SAID THAT HIS GOVERNMENT'S
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS HAD NOT YET BEEN FORMULATED, BUT THAT HE
WOULD BE ASKING US FOR ASSISTANCE AS, INDEED, HE WOULD BE ASKING THE
SOVIET UNION AND OTHER COUNTRIES. HE SAID THAT THE PRINCIPAL SLOGAN,
ADDING THAT HE REALLY MEANT POLICY AND NOT SLOGAN, OF HIS GOVERNMENT IS
TO PROVIDE BREAD, CLOTHING, AND SHELTER FOR THE MASSES. I DESCRIBED OUR
AID PROGRAM OF RECENT YEARS AND ITS EMPHASIS ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND
AGRICULTURE FOR THE RURAL POOR. HE SAID HE WOULD TELL ME, AS HE HAD
TOLD THE SOVIET AMBASSADOR, THAT OUR RESPECTIVE AID PFORAMS HAD FAILED,
AND THAT THE FAILURE WAS DUE TO THE LACK OF COMMITMENT OF THE PREVIOUS
REGIME. I SAID I AGREED WITH HIM THAT OUR AID PROGRAM HAD NOT ACHIEVED
ITS GOALS. HE ASKED ME WHY. I REPLIED THAT HE KNEW HIS OWN COUNTRY
BETTER THAN I, AND THAT I WOULD MERELY SAY THAT THE PREVIOUS GOVERNMENT
WAS NOT CAPABLE OF IMPLEMENTING THE KIND OF PROGRAM THAT WE WISHED TO
SEE IMPLEMENTED. HE OBVIOUSLY TOOK GREAT PLEASURE IN MY SAYING THIS.

11. TARAKI THEN SAID HE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE
MEANT BY "BREAD". HE SAID HE WANTS TO PROVIDE JOBS FOR THE THOUSANDS OF
AFGHANS WHO HAVE LEFT THE COUNTRY TO WORK IN IGNOMINY ABROAD. THIS WILL
MEAN THE CONSTRUCTION OF INDUSTRY AND INFRASTRUCTURE, AND HE HOPED WE
WOULD HELP WITH THAT. I TOLD HIM THAT ONCE THE APPROPRIATE MINISTERS IN
HIS GOVERNMENT WERE PREPARED TO DISCUSS SUCH MATTERS WITH US, MY AID
MISSION DIRECTOR AND I WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO SO.

12. I THEN SAID THAT ONE OTHER MATTER OF IMPORTANCE TO THE UNITED
STATES IS THE STABILITY OF THIS REGION IN THE WORLD. I SAID WE HAVE BEEN
DELIGHTED AT THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN RECENT YEARS IN
DEVELOPING REGIONAL COOPERATION. TARAKI SAID THAT THAT WAS, OF COURSE,
A MATTER THAT HIS GOVERNMENT WOULD BE STUDYING. HE ALSO SAID THAT WHEN
ONE TALKS OF REGIONAL COOPERATION, THAT MEANS NOT ONLY COOPERATION WITH
INDIA, PAKISTAN, AND IRAN -- BUT ALSO WITH THE SOVIET UNION.

13. THE CONVERSATION ENDED WITH PLEASANTRIES AS IT HAD BEGUN. HE SAID
THAT HE HOPED THE SOVIET UNION WOULD NOT JUDGE HIM BADLY IF HE BUILT MORE
MOSQUES. BY THE SAME TOKEN, HE HOPED WE WOULD NOT JUDGE HIM BADLY IF HE,
HIMSELF, DID NOT GO TO A MOSQUE. HE CONCLUDED BY SAYING THAT EVERYTHING
HE HAD TOLD ME HE HAD ALSO TOLD THE SOVIET UNION.

14. COMMENT: TARAKI IS A SLIM, WHITE-HAIRED, PROFESSIONAL MAN WHO LOOKS
SOMEWHAT OLDER THAN 61. HE HAS THE CHAN AND EMPATHY THAT ONE LEARNS TO
ASSOCIATE WITH AFGHANS. HE IS ALSO CLEARLY HARDHEADED AND EXHILARATED BY
HIS SUCCESS. WHEN HE IS PARTICULARLY ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT A POINT HE IS
MAKING, HIS EYES ASSUME A FIERCE, INTENSITY. OUR CONVERSATION WAS
EXTREMELY CORDIAL AND WAS ALSO, I THINK, A REAL DIALOGUE.

ELIOT