Word: afghanistan
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...expressions of warm good wishes. Gorbachev spoke with some feeling, verging on bitterness, of what he called the unreliability of the U.S. as an economic and political partner. He was referring to the interruption of a number of bilateral programs -- in response, of course, to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. And a few of his remarks suggested, at least to me, that he has a seriously flawed picture of how American society and the American political system work...
Opposition forces, though, were unimpressed. The mujahedin guerrillas launched fresh attacks in eastern Afghanistan. In Washington, the Reagan Administration dispatched an envoy to Pakistan to discuss a Western response to the peace plan...
Rebel spokesmen were quick to reject the bid as a "deception," noting that Najibullah had not indicated whether the 115,000 Soviet troops in Afghanistan would stay in their barracks. Said Mohammed Nabi Mohammedi, spokesman for the Islamic Alliance of Afghan Mujahedin: "We should have direct negotiations with the Soviets, and they should stop hiding behind the puppets in Kabul...
...greeted the news warily. The Shevardnadze-Dobrynin mission, said Secretary of State George Shultz, showed that the Soviets realized they could not "get their way" in Afghanistan. Indeed, the Soviet army has suffered an estimated 35,000 dead and wounded. Privately, U.S. officials say they are convinced that Soviet Leader Mikhail Gorbachev, frustrated by the expensive military stalemate and eager to bolster the ailing Soviet economy, is anxious to bring his soldiers home from Afghanistan. The question facing Gorbachev is how. The rebels refuse to join a government that is not independent, while the Soviets want a regime friendly...
With the rebels showing no intention of going along, it is doubtful that Najibullah's cease-fire will get off the ground this week. A fresh test of Soviet intentions will come on Feb. 11, when, under U.N. auspices, talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan resume in Geneva. In previous rounds the sticking point has been the timing of a Soviet withdrawal. Moscow would like a three- or four-year deadline; Pakistan, which indirectly represents the interests of the rebels and the West, insists on no more than three or four months. "If the Soviets are as serious about seeking settlement...