Afghanistan: An End in Sight?

Even if Soviet troops are heading home, the war is likely to continue

Mikhail Gorbachev may finally get his way. Two months ago, the Soviet leader said he wanted to begin withdrawing the 115,000 Soviet troops mired in Afghanistan by May 15, but deadlocked negotiations in Geneva over the precise terms of the pullout cast doubt on his schedule. The snag was caused by Washington's insistence that the U.S. could arm Afghanistan resistance fighters as long as Moscow continued to provide military help to Kabul's Communist regime.

The Geneva talks were about to break down over that contentious point last week when Gorbachev decided to yield to the U.S. demand. Having won support from...

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