Soviet leaders continue to express frustration over the protracted [drawn out] war in Afghanistan. This was evident at the party congress in February 1986 when General Secretary Gorbachev referred to the war as a "bleeding wound." Soviet involvement in Afghanistan has led to periodic censure within the United Nations, become a stumbling block to improved Sino-Soviet relations, and complicated Soviet policy toward nations in the nonaligned movement. At home, pockets of social unrest related to Afghanistan, the diversion of energies from pressing economic problems, and dissatisfaction in the political hierarchy over the failure to end the war also probably worry the leadership. The war has not been a substantial drain on the Soviet economy so far, although the costs of the war have been rising faster than total defense spending. We estimate that from their i

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