Afghanistan Homeward Bound at Last

United Nations Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar declared the occasion a "major stride in the effort to bring peace to Afghanistan," but his audience looked less than convinced. As diplomats from Pakistan, Afghanistan, the U.S. and the Soviet Union gathered in Geneva's Palais des Nations last week to sign an accord that secured the withdrawal of the 115,000 Soviet troops from Afghanistan beginning May 15, serious questions remained about a pact that had been under negotiation for the past six years.

The most problematic section called for a ban on "encouraging or supporting rebellious activities" -- wording that was clearly aimed at stopping the flow of U.S. weaponry through Pakistan to the mujahedin, the Afghan resistance forces. That provision has been a source of contention between the superpowers for many weeks. The Soviets refused to cut off their arms supplies to President Najibullah, the leader Moscow installed in Kabul in 1986. Washington insisted on "symmetry," the right to arm the mujahedin as long as Moscow helped Kabul, and two weeks ago Moscow grudgingly agreed.

After the signing, U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz gave Perez de Cuellar a statement saying that Washington reserves the right to "provide military assistance to parties in Afghanistan." It added that "should the Soviet Union exercise restraint in providing military assistance to parties in Afghanistan, the U.S. similarly will exercise restraint." Since Moscow seems determined to support its Afghan ally at least for a while, the decision all but guaranteed continued warfare in a struggle that has taken more than a million lives since the Soviet invasion of December 1979.

Though the Geneva accord will fall short of bringing immediate peace to Afghanistan, the signing was a remarkable turning point in the struggle. Much as the U.S. did in South Viet Nam, Moscow has decided to retire from a conflict it cannot win. An estimated 30,000 Soviet troops have died in the eight-year conflict (compared with nearly 50,000 U.S. troops in Viet Nam). The mujahedin denounced the accord last week, largely because they were not invited to participate, but they are nonetheless gleeful over the Soviet retreat. Said Nabi Mohammadi, the leader of Harakat, one of the main resistance groups: "Small Afghanistan has triumphed over the wild Soviet bear."

The bear obviously disagrees. At a meeting with U.S. businessmen in Moscow, a pleased Mikhail Gorbachev said the agreement and the general relaxation of international tensions offer a "window of hope." He added, "The possibilities of finding solutions to the complicated issues engendered in the years of the cold war have become more apparent." President Reagan also applauded the agreement, and praised the "valiant struggle of the Afghan people to rid their country of foreign occupation." The two leaders will meet in Moscow on May 29, two weeks after the Soviet troop pullout is scheduled to begin, to discuss a 50% reduction in strategic nuclear weapons.