While at Beloit, classmates, who said they did not want to refer to Dubs by the first name of an enemy dictator, gave him the nickname "Spike",[4] which stuck for the rest of his life.

[5] He subsequently entered the United States Foreign Service as a career diplomat, and his postings included Germany, Liberia, Canada, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union.

[7] In 1978, Dubs was appointed United States Ambassador to Afghanistan following the Saur Revolution, a coup d'état which brought the Soviet-aligned Khalq faction to power.

"[11] Some accounts state that the militants demanded the exchange of Tahir Badakhshi, Badruddin Bahes (who may have already been dead), and Wasef Bakhtari.

[13] The U.S. urged waiting in order not to endanger Dubs' life, but the Afghan police disregarded these pleas to negotiate and attacked on the advice of Soviet officers.

[10][12] After a short, intense firefight, estimated at 40 seconds[11] to one minute,[10][15] Dubs was found dead, killed by shots to the head.

[15] Some attribute responsibility for the kidnapping and murder to the leftist anti-Pashtun group Settam-e-Melli,[19][20] but others consider that to be dubious, pointing to a former Kabul policeman who has claimed that at least one kidnapper was part of the Parcham faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

[11][12] Anthony Arnold suggested that "it was obvious that only one power… would benefit from the murder—the Soviet Union," as the death of the ambassador "irrevocably poisoned" the U.S.–Afghan relationship, "leaving the USSR with a monopoly of great power influence over" the Nur Muhammad Taraki government.

[11] Carter's national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski stated that Dubs' death "was a tragic event which involved either Soviet ineptitude or collusion",[12] while the Afghan handling of the incident was "inept.

[14] The Afghan government aimed to diminish the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and restricted the number of Peace Corps volunteers and cultural exchange programs.

Worried Dubs knew the region deeply and had CIA ties, they saw his appointment as a U.S. attempt to sway the new Afghan government and prevent them from aligning with the USSR.

Not only did they perceive him as knowledgeable and potentially linked to the CIA, but they also feared he would leverage his understanding of the USSR and foreign policy to influence Afghan leaders.

The agent further claimed the US embassy, led by Dubs, was actively using propaganda among civilians and intellectuals to paint the USSR as an occupying force aiming to expand its influence to neighbouring countries.

The plan involved condolences, lowered flags, staged photos of dead "terrorists," and eliminating potential witnesses.

[32][33] Dubs is commemorated by the American Foreign Service Association with a plaque in the Truman Building in Washington, D.C.,[34] and by a memorial in Kabul.