European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                . Diplomats pulling out of Afghanistan Kabul Afghanistan a . Diplomats Low ered the stars and stripes and closed their Mission in embattled Kabul on monday As departing soviet troops headed North in what one soviet envoy said could be the last truck Convoy Home. Afghan troops and moslem guerrillas continue tonight for control of the Salang Highway the Only Road linking the capital and the soviet Border. Insurgents based in Pakistan said sunday that soviet bombing and missile attacks along the 260-mile Highway had killed 600 civilians and injured 1,200 inthe past several Days. Official radio Kabul monitored in Pakistan said afghan troops had carried out successful military operations with civilians who want to keep the Rugge Salang Highway open. Just North of Kabul on sunday a Convoy of soviet soldiers in armoured personnel carriers and trucks loaded with missile launchers cruised through a Sovie Bunker checkpoint As helicopter gunships hovered nearby offering cover. A soviet Diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said this could be the last  he re fused to elaborate. Two fighter jets streaked overhead and disappeared behind the Snow covered mountains just beyond the Hills surrounding Kabul. The remaining red army troops apparently Are Leav ing on transport planes completing a withdrawal begun eight months ago under a  to end the soviet Union s nine year intervention in Afghanistan. The soviet Union sent about 115,000 troops int Afghanistan in december 1979 to prop up marxists who seized Power in a coup the previous year. Soviet diplomats in Kabul said the remaining15,000 to 20,000 red army troops could be gone by the end of the week about 10 Days before the  of feb. 15. The guerrillas Are not a party to the . Agreement and have vowed to overthrow the government of presi Dent Najib once the soviets Are gone. At the . Embassy in Kabul american Diplomat said they would return once peace is restored. Today we leave at a moment that is both Happy and sad said the charge d affaires Jon d. Glassman tuesday january 31, 1989 the stars and stripes Page 3 . Charge d affaires Jon Glassman Waves a folded american Flag As he closes the Mission in Afghanistan. After a Flag lowering ceremony in the embassy s Snow covered compound. We Are pleased that the people of Afghanistan Are going to be relieved of their suffering but we know their struggle is not Over. The people of the unite states Are with them he said. We will be Back As soon As the conflict is  at the ceremony three Marine guards took Dow the . Flag folded it and handed it to Glassman. Last week the state department ordered the 11-Meniber embassy staff to leave citing fears that the afghan army May not be capable of protecting foreign diplomats once the soviets leave. West Germany Britain Japan France and Austri Aall have withdrawn or Are withdrawing their embassy staffs. Italy and 591116 of the soviet Union s East bloc allies Are considering similar action. Senator wants chiefs of a is to pay for woes Washington a officials trying to bail out the fund that insures deposits in Federal savings and loan institutions should go after the executives who contributed to the problem and get rid of unsound institutions the chairman of a Senate banking subcommittee said monday. We ought to be seeing to it that those people whore driving around in jaguars and have big yachts and belong to fancy country clubs come up to the bar no Wand pay up sen. Alan Dixon d-i11., said on lbs this  there Are a lot of people that were executives of thrifts around the country that Are personally liable and we ought to be getting after them said Dixon who Heads the banking subcommittee on consumer and regulatory affairs. We ought to invoke safety and soundness rules against states that Are liberalizing investment Laws for thrifts and endangering the Security of those institutions. And we ought to be putting some Money into the folic Federal savings and loan insurance corp fund and reducing the number of thrifts in the country get Ingrid of the bad ones and supporting the Good  asked whether there was any Chance Congress would approve a Bush administration proposal to charge Bank and so investors 25 cents per $100 de posited to help pay for insurance Dixon said none  i Haven t heard of anybody that likes the idea and think that idea is born dead he said. White House chief of staff John Sununu said Sun Day that the proposal remains an option despite wide spread congressional and Industry opposition. He also said on Abc s this week with David Brinkley that there Are a variety of options being  noting that financial institutions have Long paid Afee for Federal Deposit insurance Sununu said the plan under study was simply a matter of taking the current fee and adjusting it to affect the  if financial institutions were to pass along such a increased fee directly to depositors american savers still would be getting a bargain for having their Money insured by their government he said. Sen. Lloyd , chairman of the sen ate finance committee said that trial balloon of putting a tax on deposits was really very  Warsaw pack claims nato holds Edge Moscow a the soviet led Warsaw pact said monday that nato holds a striking advantage in attack air Craft and combat helicopters and that nato ground forces in Europe out number those of the pact. The report published in the soviet communist party newspaper pravda gave the most detailed breakdown of comparative conventional forces the soviet bloc has Ever released. But it did not appear to alter Long standing differences Between the two alliances Over the comparative strength of their conventional forces. A statement by the Warsaw pact s de sense ministers committee carried bythe Tass news Agency said the break Down shows there is rough parity unconventional forces. The pravda report said nato has 2.1million ground troops in Europe facing 1.8 million from the Warsaw pact coun tries with 685,000 nato sailors com pared with 338,000 from the East bloc. The figures also showed a Warsaw pact advantage of nearly 2 19 1 in tanks an acknowledgement of superiority by the seven member Eastern Alliance but still not approaching Western claims. Nato con tends the soviets have a 2-to-l manpower Edge and 3-to-l tank advantage. The new Warsaw pact statement however said that nato has issued tendentious data base Don a selective approach and that Overall the two sides Are close. Nato officials monday denied the Warsaw pact contentions. It is Clear that the idea of a rough parity Offe Rees in Europe does not correspond tothe factual situation said a spokesman for the North Atlantic treaty organization. . Gen. John Galvin nato s to military commander in Europe said i definitely do not agree that a rough parity of conventional forces already exists in eur personal income up 0.9% in dec. Washington a americans personal income Rose 0.9 percent in de Cember after a slight decrease in novem ber the government said monday. The Commerce department said in come Rose $37.1 billion to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $4.2 trillion last month following a decline of 0.2 percent in november and a 1.5 percent increase in october. November s decrease had been the first since january when in comes dropped 0.4 percent. Personal income for 1988 was up 7.5 percent from the previous year the big Gest increase since a 9.5 percent Rise in 1984. The december increase was bolstered by an increase in farm subsidy payments. Excluding those subsidies personal in come Rose 0.8 percent in december and 0.5 percent in november both fairly Strong gains. October s unusually Large 1.5 percent jump also was boosted by a surge in farm subsidy payments and bonuses to autoworkers. Personal consumption spending which includes everything except interest payments on debt Rose 0.9 percent in december to a seasonally adjusted an Nual rate of $3.34 trillion last month after a 0.3 percent gain a month earlier. The biggest increase in spending Las month was for durable goods big ticket items expected to last three or More Vears. The category Rose 4.1 per cent followed by a 0.7 percent increase in spending for services and a slight de crease in spending for non durable goods. Disposable or after tax income rose0.9 percent in december following a 0.3 percent decrease a a month earlier that was the first decline since april when annual income tax payments depressed personal income by 1.4 percent. Wages and salaries a key component of personal income were up 0.6 percent to $2.53 trillion in december following revised 0.3 percent gain in november. Manufacturing salaries edged up 0.2 per cent after falling 0.6 percent in the pre Vious month. The volatile category of farm income soared 73.2 percent to $23.9 billion after plunging 66.8 percent in november. Rope. The Western Alliance contends the so Viets and their allies have built up a huge superiority in conventional or non nuclear forces in Europe. After years of talking past each other without any substantive agreement the two sides Are to sit Down in Vienna aus Tria on March 7 to begin a new round of discussions on ways to reduce their conventional forces. The new talks were Given a boost dec. 7 when soviet presi Dent Mikhail Gorbachev announced that the Kremlin would reduce the red army by a half million by 1991. The soviet Union also says it will reduce its weapons by 10,000 tanks 8,500 artillery sys tems and 800 combat planes. Following the Kremlin s Lead Roma Nia Bulgara Czechoslovakia Hungary East Germany and Poland have announced cuts in their military forces. Nato officials citing what they Saidis Warsaw pact superiority have said it would be unwise for the Western Alli Anceto reduce its. Armed forces in response to the Warsaw pact cuts. Among the figures published by the soviet daily Warsaw pact 1.8 million425,000 338,000 2.783 2.785 59,470 1,608 1,829 ground troops air forces Navy personnel strike aircraft helicopters tanks tactical missile launchers interceptor warplanes infantry vehicles and armoured personnel carriers 70,330 artillery 71,560 Large surface ships 102 submarines 228 nato 2.1 million 482,000 685,000 4.075 5.270 30,690 136 50 46,900 57,060499 200