ABSTRACT
Afghanistan was structured on distinctive lines not readily captured by models designed to describe and explain social and political developments in other societies. Afghanistan provides one of the saddest examples of a country in which state organized terror has been deployed by a regime against substantial elements of its own population. It is also an example that illustrates the circumstances propitious for the deployment of terror to aid the controlled transformation of society and the consolidation of Marxist-Leninist regimes. Intellectuals, supporters of previous regimes, and other individuals identified as enemies of the "revolution" were particular targets. The most famous of KHAD's targets was the distinguished historian Professor Hasan Kakar, arrested in March 1982 for attempting to establish an independent association of teachers at Kabul University, and imprisoned until 1987, when he was released for publicity purposes.
