They were begging for terms. In London, officials discussed what terms to impose on them. Some favored taking direct control of the country, but the Paris Peace Conference had just ended, and Woodrow Wilson’s fourteen points were still hovering over the Western world. Talk of “self-determination” and the rights of “small nationalities” filled the air. Taking over Afghanistan would not look cool. If it were done, it would have to be done in a “veiled” manner.5 Such were the thoughts the British brought to Rawalpindi.
