Senator Warns of ‘Trap’ in Afghan Talks

A leading Senate supporter of U.S. aid to the Afghan rebels expressed concern Monday that the United States and its allies may be “falling into a trap” in negotiations with the Soviet Union aimed at ending the war in Afghanistan.

After meeting with Afghan resistance leaders in the frontier city of Peshawar, Sen. Gordon J. Humphrey (R-N.H.), who has been conducting a fact-finding tour, told reporters that he has cabled President Reagan “expressing my grave concerns about the situation.” Humphrey would not discuss the cable in detail.

He said he cautioned U.S. officials in Pakistan that “I think the proposed Geneva agreement is far from perfect and represents a potential trap.” He said Soviet leaders are hoping to get the U.S. government to cut off arms supplies to the rebels in order to gain a military advantage.

Regime Won’t Fall in Weeks

Humphrey, who served four years in the Air Force, said he thinks the United States is being too optimistic in estimating that the Kabul regime will fall in a matter of weeks after a settlement is negotiated.

“I think it will take months, maybe more than a year,” he said.

Accordingly, he indicated, the rebels may need more weapons than U.S. officials think.

Softening an earlier stand, Humphrey said that after reviewing the programs with Arnold L. Raphel, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, he is no longer convinced that there was a deliberate slowdown in the supply of arms to the rebels with the resumption last month of peace talks in Geneva.

“In my view, there is, and was, no design to slow things down,” he said. Earlier, he had denounced the U.S. position as an “indecent sell-out” of the rebels.

Opposed to Arms Cutoff

Humphrey is the leader of an influential congressional bloc opposed to any cutoff of U.S. arms until the Soviet troops in Afghanistan, estimated to number 115,000, all have been withdrawn.

Pressure from Congress is partially responsible for holding up the negotiations. Previously, the U.S. position in the Geneva talks was that it would begin cutting supplies to the rebels 2 months after an agreement was signed and Soviet troops had begun their pullout. Now, the U.S. position is that the flow of U.S. arms--reportedly more than $700-million worth last year--will not stop until the Soviet Union stops supplying arms to the Afghan government.