The Reagan administration has never made a secret of its support for the Afghan rebels despite the embarrassment it must cause to the Pakistan government which continues to deny that it is serving as a conduit for the supply of money and weapons for the Mujahiddin. Indeed, in view of the strident manner the US administration flaunts its commitment to an anti-communist crusade, even the CIA, which masterminds and supervises the aid programme, has been more than willing to leak information. This became fully evident a couple of months ago when The Time magazine carried a detailed account of the weapons the CIA is providing, the exact supply routes and even the way landmines were disguised as “telephone equipment for a religious organisation.” For, as a commentator (Philip Geyelin) wrote in an article in The Washington Post, “it is hard to believe that such minutiea could have been gathered without the help of the agency in charge, the CIA.” All in all, there has been nothing “covert” about the so-called covert programme. It has been as open, in fact as brazen, as it could possibly have been.
Even so the size and the date of the start of the programme must come as a surprise to all those who have not taken a deep interest in his affairs. As for the size, it is estimated that the United States has spent $200 million to $300 million on assistance to Mujahiddin. This is several times the money it has invested in its efforts to bring down the left-wing Sandinista government in Nicaragua which, as we know, have provoked so much opposition in Congress. And apparently the administration, with bipartisan support in Congress, has recently stepped up its support for the rebels. For, on top of the earlier allocation of $35 million for the “covert” programme during the current financial year ending September 30, Congress, before it recessed earlier this month, approved an additional amount of $50 million for it. The money is formally earmarked for “other procurements” for the air force. But The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post have confirmed that the amount is in fact meant for the Afghan rebels. It has also been reported that the Reagan administration will ask for $45 million as a starter for them for the new financial year beginning October 1. Even more interesting is the disclosure that the CIA funding in Afghanistan began in mid-1979 under President Carter, that is months before the direct Soviet military intervention in December that year. Since the details are not available, it is not possible to say whether this move was initiated before the assassination of President Tarakki in September that year by the followers of Hafizullah Amin, whether it was intended to bolster Amin’s position or undermine it, and whether the Soviet intervention was in any way related to it. All we can say right now is that this is an important disclosure.