265. Editorial Note
On March 9, 1963, the Afghan Government of Mohammed Daud resigned. (Telegram 394 from Kabul, March 10; Department of State, Central Files, POL 15 AFG) Daud was succeeded as Prime Minister by Dr. Mohammed Yusuf, who had served as Minister of Mines in the Daud government. Yusuf also held the positions of Foreign Minister and Minister of Mines in the cabinet he formed on March 13. (Telegram 411 from Kabul, March 13; ibid., POL 15-1 AFG) On March 13, the Embassy in Kabul reported to the Department of State that a “rash of rumor” was circulating in Afghanistan to the effect that the fall of the Daud government was the result of “adroit U.S. engineering.” (Telegram 407 from Kabul; ibid., POL 15 AFG)
The Department concurred with the Embassy’s assessment that speculation associating the United States with the change of government in Afghanistan was probably inevitable and largely uncontrollable. The Department also agreed that U.S. actions should provide no fuel for such speculation. Accordingly, the Kennedy administration intended to pursue “cautious and correct” relations with the new Afghan Government. The object was to “neither burden it with embraces nor discourage it with coldness.” In line with that policy, the Department informed the Embassy that no new initiatives with regard to the border dispute between Afghanistan and Pakistan were contemplated. (Telegram 248 to Kabul, March 17; ibid., POL 15-1 AFG)