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Show Tht Suit Lake Tribune W rdnrdjs lHrrmber lh . A'i I'M 5 Soviet Troops Remain Mired in an Endless War in Afghanistan fcU'tui'v Amin Within days 40.000 Soviet troops had poured across the border, Amin was assassinated, the Afghan armed forces were under Soviet control and Babrak Karmal had been installed as the new Afghan leader. The People's Democratic Party, the Afghan communists, had seized power in a bloody coup in April 1978. but quickly ran into problems when it tried to impose a Marxist program on the conservative, religious Afghan Not. Cne Ol the woilj ur It teing (ought in ot Afghanistan' volley lonyeit-runniri- the remote Hindu Kush mountain. A it enter seventh veat, here is a report on Atgnjn Wot, a Soviet Quagmire, by AH Hokistun correspondent, recently traveled through port ot it (tie the hp the wor tone. By Barry Renfrew Associated Press Writer Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Six years after Soviet forces poured into Afghanistan, they remain locked in a costly war that has killed hundreds of thousands of Afghans and thousands of Soviets and still shows no sign of ending . The Soviet military intervention apparently was intended as a shortterm action to save Afghanistan's collapsing communist government and preserve Moscow's influence in the neighboring central Asian nation. Instead, Soviet forces found themselves battling a nationwide Islamic insurgency that has forced Moscow to send more and more troops into Afghanistan. In a military sense they seem to be as far from victory as ever." Dean Hinton, U. S. ambassador to Pakistan, said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. Soviet paratroopers seized the airport in the Afghan capital of Kabul Dec. 24, 1979, as the first step in taking control of the country and toppling communist ruler Hafizullah Har rods' people. The Soviet Union sent troops into Afghanistan when it became apparent that the government was disintegrating in the face of a swelling revolt and that Amin was starting to turn against Moscow. Since 1979, the Soviet army in Afghanistan has grown to an estimated 1 15.000 soldiers. The Afghan army, crippled by desertions, has shrunk from 80,000 to an estimated 30,000 men, leaving the bulk of the fighting to the Soviets. They face up to 200,000 guerrillas, who call themselves holy warriors. anti-Marxi- The war has shattered Afghanistan. Such major cities as Kandahar have been extensively damaged in street fighting. An untold number of villages have been destroyed or damaged by Soviet and Afghan air force bombing or artillery fire. Large agricultural areas have been razed in a Soviet campaign to deny food to the guerrillas and starve out their has confirm reports from the war. But accounts by relief workers, diplomats, guerrilla commanders and others indicate hundreds of thousands of people have been killed. Many estimates range around one million dead d of Afghanistan's Up to prewar population of 15 million has fled, most io refugee camps in northern F'akistan and about 1.5 million to Iran. The Afghan War has settled into a stalemate between the Soviets' conventional military forces and the guerrillas. Soviet and Afghan government forces hold the cities and periodically launch major offensives tc clear rural and mountain areas ot guerrillas. But the insurgents usually withdraw in the face of attack, to return when the attacking force pulls one-thir- back. Western intelligence officials, speaking on condition they not be identified further, estimate the Soviet army has lost about 8,000 men killed in Afghanistan since 1979, with an additional 15.000 wounded. They're paying a price, but it's one they can afford and there are lots of advantages for them, said one West ern intelligence official, The Soviet armed fortes, whuh had not been in a war smee 1945. are gaining valuable combat experience in Afghanistan and are testing every-tnmfrom new tanks and jets to tactics. the intelligence officials said New Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev indicated in early 1985 that he was tired of the Afghan impasse. By summer, Soviet forces had opened a series of major offensives, some of the war's heaviest fighting, but failed to make major breakthroughs. The guerillas face many problems They recently have been getting much better weapons from the covert supply line run by the United States. China and other nations, but they are still divided into many, often opposed factions that do not cooperate inside Afghanistan. Because of poor training, light weaponry and disunity, the guerrillas rarely can confront large Soviet units head-on- . They have little hope of defeating Moscow militarily, Hinton and other Western observers note. "The Soviet Union is a country of well over 200 million people, vast military and economic resources. The Afghans, relatively speaking few in number, rely on their courage, their guerrilla tactics to deny a vic g - can be charged on customers American Express cards, Harrods said. "We are very pleased that Harrods can expand its annual January sale to include discriminating shoppers in the U.S., said I. F. Drewitt, managing director of Harrods. The famed Har-rod- s well known store, department for its annual sale, announced Tuesday that American consumers can join the bargain hunt e this year via an international telephone number. Shoppers in the United States who will be able to dial place orders from Sunday to Jan. 5 for a limited selection of cashmere clothing at Harrods Knightsbridge, before the sale opens London, store to the public Jan. 8. The store, which will kick off the e advertisement event with a in New York Times, is ofthe Sunday fering U.S. customers women's coats at $225, womens sweaters at $85 and men's sweaters at $130. The items toll-fre- tory to the Soviets." said the an ambassador for ending the Afghjn War on United talks held from tune to time sine 1982 in Geneva, involving the Afghan Hope icnter government and 1akistan fg You are inv ited to a OFF Salt limited to merchandise on hand. Vlbr-- . bttf Exclusive SUPER-SAVING- . , adjust-man- w Open Daily ra ppi n t. Dual Edga 10-f- i paper 445 t4 tulh Trraple tl VIDEOCASSETTE .. .5 ! Mi occeot o bonk tMiiwre (ertft or OMi bon Atnfticon etwee UebCASSE .y raTtic LD0cSSEI4 E if u 474 Nuuth Nth t .'ha raniicPO VoCASSEr,E. T-1- 20 VHS t-1- Buy 4 Fuji Video Tapes VMS iwawL. L-7- 50 Beta S I g E OVER 20 DIFFERENT MODELS TO CHOOSE FROM ALL ON SALE NOW 8-- Dlal-A-N- haight it & Sale Starts Thurs. Dec. 26, Ends Tues. Dec. 31 D UPRIGHT-SAL- II .bar, t in mas ornament., uni CLEARANCE jptl No Special Orders OFF 50 GET A GREAT DEAL ON FUJI VIDEOTAPE... FODoDO The American Telephone & Telegraph Co. said this is the first time a store has used its International 800" calling to market goods overseas since the service was introduced in November 1984. The United Kingdom got "800" service in April. GETS OUT THE DEEP DOWN DIRT. year end STOREWIDE CLEARANCE SALE toll-fre- YEAR-EN- All Nations-sponsore- "Our store has served customers around the world, and we now believe e this exciting service will give us increased access to the American market," Drewitt said. full-pag- . Groemwi But there has been little or no agreement on how to achieve these goals The Soviets have made ( lear they will not withdraw their troops without guarantees that foreign support for the rebels will cease Ariicri-- t 28STORE BUYING POWER HOME OFGREATW ALUESlSOU ND SPECIALISTSI28 STORE BUYING Sale Goes International After-Yu- le LONDON (UPI) Because the government sought to seal Afghanistan s borders it is often difficult to independently 0H2:!;'?5o S Klaanar cleans Irom J PRICED FROM huge capacity dust bag. MODEL 1402 T-- 1 Exclusive MODEL 5047 Vibra-Groome- handle keeps Apiece TOOL SET beater bar brush you in control of the vac at all times. roll loosens deep grii and Touch-Contr- H ground-i- n Rugulalor1."' 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