Afghanistan: Withdrawal Pains

The March 15 target date for an agreement on a Soviet pullout from Afghanistan came and went last week without an accord. The main snag in the negotiations between the Afghan government and Pakistan, which represents the U.S.-backed mujahedin rebels, was the so-called symmetry issue, with Washington demanding that the Soviets cut off all military aid to the Afghan government at the same time that the U.S. ends arms deliveries to the rebels. The issue may be resolved this week when Secretary of State George Shultz and Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze meet in Washington.

Though the impasse in Geneva initially dampened hopes that Moscow would begin to withdraw its 115,000 troops by May 15, the date set by Moscow, the lack of an accord may not matter after all. A Foreign Ministry official declared last week that the Kremlin would pull out its troops "regardless of whether a Geneva peace agreement is ready or not."