The fate of Afghanistan was mapped in a private meeting between a new US ambassador and a Pakistani general, a conversation that stayed hidden for decades while the region burned.
By Desmond Okafor ·
For decades, the U.S. ignored warnings that arming Pakistani dictators would fuel a nuclear fundamentalism—a gamble recorded in a 50-minute meeting kept secret since 1988.
By Eleanor Voss ·
Hundreds died in East African embassies while Washington pivoted toward a doctrine of preemption that remained a legislative study for years
By Desmond Okafor ·
Kept under a 'NODIS' restriction, a 1999 cable shows U.S. officials negotiating with a protector of Arab militants while the man who would orchestrate 9/11 remained in place
By Desmond Okafor ·
The United States relied on a secret pipeline through Pakistan to arm the resistance, a logistics chain that nearly derailed the Geneva Accords during a heated exchange in March 1988.
By Desmond Okafor ·
Rebel forces in Herat nearly toppled a regime crippled by internal purges and "unjustified repression" while the Kremlin insisted the DRA suppress the revolt alone.
By Desmond Okafor ·
Pro-Soviet loyalists were purged and 600 executed without trial before Amin's secret meetings with American officials convinced the Kremlin that their ally had become a security breach.
By Desmond Okafor ·
Hafizullah Amin was killed by the very Soviet forces he begged to bolster his morale, after assuring Moscow that his state remained sovereign and independent.
By Vera Kessler ·
Soviet agents forged letters to Imam Khomeini and manipulated Baluchi leaders to incite ethnic conflict and poison diplomatic ties between Islamabad, Delhi, and Tehran.
By Marcus Boone ·
Redacted Saudi payments and hidden radio propaganda themes mask a covert war that Jimmy Carter authorized over a foreign policy breakfast.
By Desmond Okafor ·
Jonathan Dean was stripped of his post after he clashed with Ronald Reagan over the empowerment of fundamentalists in Kabul and suspected the Israeli secret service killed a Pakistani president.
By Vera Kessler ·