IT WAS DIZZYING HOW QUICKLY EVERYTHING UNRAVELED.
The leadership council was formed prematurely. It elected Rabbani president. The other
factions cried nepotism. Massoud called for peace and patience.
Hekmatyar, who had been excluded, was incensed. The Hazaras, with their long history of
being oppressed and neglected, seethed.
Insults were hurled. Fingers pointed. Accusations flew. Meetings were angrily called off
and doors slammed. The city held its breath. In the mountains, loaded magazines snapped
into Kalashnikovs.
The Mujahideen, armed to the teeth but now lacking a common enemy, had found the
enemy in each other.
Kabul's day of reckoning had come at last.
And when the rockets began to rain down on Kabul, people ran for cover. Mammy did too,
literally. She changed into black again, went to her room, shut the curtains, and pulled the
blanket over her head.