I don'know — The problem I have with that interpretation is that in March '79 Taraki went to Moscow with a formal request for ground troops and was turned down because Moscow's position as put to the Afghan gov't was that intervening would be ... well ... a big mistake.

After things really started going to hell under Amin, I'dve authorized intervention too, sure. Still I have to question whether that stage would have been reached without US assistance. (To the muj, I mean. I'm not of the opinion that Amin was a CIA asset.)