SOVIET PROPAGANDA ALERT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00364R001903760004-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2007
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: October 7, 1983
• Content Type: REPORT

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STAT
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ESOeutive fFristry
nioviet Pro aaa a Ale
No.16
October 7, 1983
SUMMARY
Major Soviet propaganda themes and developments from
.July 1 to September 15:
Need to Improve Propaganda. Party spokesmen demanded See p. 1
more effective propaganda to combat the "unprecedented
psychological warfare" allegedly conducted by the West.
KAL Flight 007--A U.S. "Provocation." The USSR brazen- See p. 2
ly blamed the U.S. for the tragedy, claiming that U.S.
had used the flight for espionage.
Arms Control. Soviet media continued.to hammer on the See p..5
theme that the U.S. seeks military superioritj and is
not interested in equitable arms-limitation agreements.
Madrid Conference. As the CSCE Conference in Madrid See p. 7.
drew to a close, Moscow lauded the agreement as a tri-
umph for Soviet diplomacy over U.S. "opposition."
U.S. Scored for Human Rights Violations. Dismissing See p. 7
U.S. leaders' statements as hypocritical, Soviet media
emphasized that millions of Americans are deprived of
basic rights.
Central America. Drawing parallels with Vietnam, See p. 9
Soviet commentators. denounced the United States' "big
stick" policy and "undeclared war against Nicaragua."
The Middle East. The U.S. and Israel are "actually Seep. 10
working out plans for a direct military intervention
and a seizure of oil-producing countries," Soviet
sources alleged. U.S. Marines in Beirut are nothing
but "occupation troops" with aggressive designs.
Chad. Condemning "imperialist" intervention, Soviet See p. 11
media claimed that the U.S. and France were trying to
"suffocate the Chadian people's struggle for freedom."
Washington's "threatening" behavior toward Libya was
soundly criticized.
Office of Research
(United States Information Agency h 3 / / _
Washington. D. C. (P
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THE STRUGGLE FOR HEARTS AND MINDS
Since the Central Committee's Plenary Meeting in June, the
Soviet Communist Party has placed heavy emphasis on improving
its propaganda techniques (see Propaganda Alert No. 15)._ On
July 14, Pravda carried a front-page editorial, "The Struggle'
for Hearts and Minds," that stated:
Our times are notable for the unprecedentedly intense and
acute confrontation of two diametrically opposed world
outlooks, two political courses--socialism and imperial-
ism. Making their main gamble the attainment of military
superiority and an unrestrained arms race, the United
States and the NATO countries are mounting desperate
hostile campaigns and waging an unprecedented "psycho-
logical war" against the Soviet Union sand the states of
the socialist community.
Although the "voice of Moscow, the voice of truth and reason,
reaches many corners of the planet," Pravda noted that
our foreign political propaganda is not yet succeeding
fully in surmounting the barricade of anti-socialist pre-
judice with which the West's ruling circles surround their
peoples. Sometimes the information is late, sometimes
events are commented on superficially, and as a result we
have no longer to persuade but to dissuade the listener or
reader, which is much more difficult. Our ideological
institutions and cadres...are urged to strive persistently
to boost the combativness, convincingness, currency, and
attractiveness of our foreign political propaganda.
Steps must also be taken to improve "counterpropaganda" within
the USSR. "It is necessary," Pravda emphasized, "to cultivate
in every Soviet citizen unwavering ideological conviction and
vigilance, a unique sort of 'immunity' to any manifestations of
hostile views." Toward this end, it called on party organiza-
tions to "take a principled stand against the actions of people
who consciously or unconsciously echo alien sentiments" and
urged "a more careful approach to the selection of foreign
intellectual.output obtained through cultural exchanges."
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Concurrently, Soviet media continued to lambaste U.S.-sponsored
radio broadcasts and the USIA. As if to justify the USSR's
jamming of Western broadcasts, Izvestiia.(July 11) charged that
"the subversive, provocative radio propaganda... can be viewed
,as nothing but a flagrant violation of international law."
"Washington is raising anti-Soviet propaganda to a qualitative-
ly new level,", Pravda. asserted (July 12), citing sharp in
creases in funding for Radio Free Europe and Radio. Liberty and.
the launching of Project Democracy.. Allegedly at the center of'
this campaign is USIA Director Charles Wick, "the general of
"
disinformation,
who strikes "the highest hysterical notes in;
the 'psychological war'" (TASS, August 22).
SOVIET REACTION TO THE DOWNING OF KAL.FLIGHT 007
The USSR's.treatment of.the Korean airliner's destruction is a
striking example of its resort to disinformation and deception.
.Soviet authorities?released.no word on KAL Flight 007 until.12.
hours after the plane was shot down. The first TASS report,
datelined Tokyo at 0605 GMT on September 1, observed.only,that
a KAL passenger plane en.route from New York to Seoul had "dis-
"
appeared without a trace.
A second report, made 11, hours
later, stated that:
Fighters of. the anti-aircraft defense, which were sent.
aloft towards the intruder plane,.tried to give it assist-
ance.in directing it to the nearest airfield. But.the
intruder plane did not react to the 'signals and warnings_
from the Soviet fighters and continued its flight,in the
direction of the Sea of Japan.
That same day Secretary of State George Shultz accused:.the USSR
of shooting . downthe.plane and demanded an explanation.--Not,:
until September 6,.'.however, did the Soviet Union finally-
acknow-ledge that its interceptor "fulfilled the order of the command
A U.S. "Provocation"
Rather than accept responsibility for the destruction of the
plane and the death of its 269 passengers.and crew,.-the USSR
--backed up by its East European allies--launched a propaganda
campaign that attempted to shift the blame 'to the U.S. From
S
eptember 2 on, it stressed the following points:
.o The violation of Soviet airspace by KAL Flight 007 was-a
premeditated "provocation"'masterminded bythe CIA and.
:other U.S.._,intelligence services.
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o The U.S. sought to test Soviet air defenses, conduct
espionage, and--if the plane were shot down--foment a
worldwide outcry against the USSR, sabotage the arms-
control negotiations, and intensify its military buildup4
o The incident was timed "perfectly" to precede the final
CSCE meetings in Madrid, the resumption of arms-limitation
talks in Geneva, and debate in the U.S. Congress on the
military budget.
o The U.S. acted with callous disregard for the loss of life
that was likely to result from its actions.
o Soviet pilots acted honorably and in accordance with
international codes in defending the USSR against an
intruding aircraft.
o The U.S. alone was responsible for this tragedy. But
instead of admitting its guilt, the U.S. sought to divert
attention from its misdeeds and to whip?up anti-Soviet
hysteria.
According to Soviet' accounts, KAL 007 entered Soviet airspace
under mysterious circumstances after passing near a U.S. RC-135
reconnaissance plane. It flew with its navigation lights off
and emitted electronic signals characteristic of planes on
espionage missions. It did not respond to standard warnings
(radio calls, flashing lights, wiggling of wings, warning
shots).
Such actions, the Soviets charged, could not have happened by
chance. They pointed out that the Boeing 747, equipped with
modern computerized navigation equipment, was unlikely to err.
In a vein typical of Soviet propaganda, Izvestiia commentator
Melor Sturua asserted (September 7):
More and more new information is coming in literally every
day to indicate that the CIA's hands, the Pentagon's hands,
and...the hands of the U.S. military-industrial complex
programmed the tragic loss of the South Korean airliner,
sacrificing its passengers on the altar of the selfish
interests of the U.S ruling circles.
Supporting this claim, the Soviet media cited testimony from
Westerners who alleged that U.S. secret services employ civil-
ian airplanes for espionage or as a "cover" for reconnaissance
planes that hover above them, shielding themselves from Soviet
radar.
.After the U.S. made public the recorded conversations of the
Soviet figher.pilots, Soviet media cited evidence purportedly
showing that the plane had deliberately gone off course and
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that a cover-up was now occurring. In an attempt to put the
U.S. on the defensive, Soviet commentators repeatedly charged
that the. Reagan Administration avoided answering key questions:
Why did the plane fly 500 km. into Soviet airspace and pass
over extremely sensitive military installations? Why did U.S.
tracking stations not warn the aircraft or notify the Soviet
authorities? Why did the U.S. and Japan not release tapes of
the communications between KAL 007's pilot and its control
station on the ground?
Some commentators went so far as to assert that President
Reagan himself was directly involved. Referring to the Presi-
dent's remark that "no one will ever know" what caused the
plane to stray from its path, Vitalii Kobysh stated on Moscow
TV, September 15: "This statement is irrefutable proof that
he, Reagan, knew--and could not fail to know--of the American
special services' plans and, therefore, is guilty of the death
of the passengers of the aircraft."
Top Soviet political figures played a relatively minor role in
presenting the official line. CPSU General Secretary Iurii
Andropov said nothing publicly about the incident, and comments
by Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, who was compelled to
address the issue at the Madrid meetings, were only cited in
passing in the Soviet domestic media. On the other hand,
Soviet media gave prominent coverage to a number of military
officials. Particularly noteworthy was September 9's extra-
ordinary-two-hour press conference in Moscow that featured
Marshal Nikolai Ogarkov, chief of staff of the Soviet armed
forces. The conference was transmitted abroad by the Soviet
and East European Intervision TV network and received much play
in the domestic press. Domestic reporting, however, carefully
omitted the embarrassing, skeptical questions raised by Western
correspondents.
Ogarkov disclosed that on the day of the downing,. the Soviet
government established a special state commission. Its report,
he emphasized, fully supported the government's contention that
"the intrusion... was a thoroughly planned intelligence opera-
tion."
During the first half of September, the Soviets stuck to this
line, brazenly repeating that the United States alone is to
blame for this tragedy. As Moscow Radio put it in an English-
language broadcast to North America, September 9: "Another 269
people have been added to the number of victims of U.S. imperi-
alism and its tool, the CIA."
Such crude distortions strongly suggest that the CPSU leader-
ship's main concern has been to justify the actions of the
military.to its own people and to its allies abroad. Support
of the armed-forces appears to have been given precedence over
the USSR's credibility and image as a country devoted to peace
and deserving of respect in the world community.
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In the months before the KAL incident, the USSR directed a
heavy propaganda barrage at world opinion, continuously
stressing U.S. aggressive intent and the peace-loving character
of its own policy. Moscow claimed to have made far-reaching
proposals to freeze and reduce stockpiles of nuclear weapons,
establish nuclear-free zones in Europe, and prevent an arms
race in space. Simultaneously, the Soviets charged that the
Reagan Administration's alleged obsession with ensuring U.S.
military-strategic superiority over the USSR not only precludes
genuine arms control, but also indicates that the Pentagon is
"planning a surprise attack on the socialist community" (Pravda,
August 24).
Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
The Soviet destruction of KAL 007 cast a shadow over the INF
negotiations that resumed on September 6 after a two-month
recess. Throughout the recess the Soviets maintained keen
opposition to the proposed U.S. deployment: of 572 new cruise
and Pershing II missiles scheduled to begin`in December in
Western Europe, claiming that the new missiles would shatter
the present "parity." The Soviets categorically reaffirmed
that. the USSR would respond with "corresponding countermeasures"
once the deployment begins. And as before, they were adamant
in insisting that British and French nuclear arsenals be counted
in the INF negotiations.
Any melioration of the Soviet INF stance which accompanied
German Chancellor Kohl's Moscow visit in early July was belied
by Defense Minister Ustinov's threatening Pravda interview at
the end of the month. If the U.S. deploys the new missiles,
Ustinov warned, the Soviet Union
will take retaliatory measures that will make the military
threat to the territory of the United States and the coun-
tries on whose territories the American missiles will be
deployed the same as the threat the United States is try-
ing to create for the Soviet Union and our allies (Pravda,
July 31).
Pravda (August 1) extended this threat, emphasizing that the
deployment of new American missiles will; especially complicate
West Germany's relations with the Eastern bloc, and that the
military danger .to the FRG could grow "many times." Returning
to this theme at a September 14 Moscow press conference, Deputy
Foreign Minister Kornienko asserted that if the American mis-
siles were installed, the USSR would revoke its "moratorium on
the deployment of medium-range means in the European zone" and
find additional means to "create the necessary counterbalance
to the grouping of NATO nuclear armaments in Europe."
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-6-
Ustinov and Kornienko forcefully reasserted the Soviet insis-
tence that inclusion of British and French nuclear weapons in
INF negotiations was not a "bargaining point" but an "objective
necessity" of Soviet security. While adhering to this posi-
tion, Andropov tried a new tack in late August: In exchange
for NATO's not deploying the 572 Pershing II and cruise mis-
siles, he offered to "liquidate" any Soviet intermediate-range
nuclear missiles on its European territory that exceed the 162
British and French missiles. The offer, as first announced,
appeared unprecedented in that it would entail dismantling
missiles, rather than simply redeploying them east of the Ural
mountains, as some Western analysts had speculated. Andropov
insisted that his offer was a gesture of goodwill that "makes
it clear to any unprejudiced person that the Soviet Union has
done and is doing everything in its power to find solutions" at
Geneva (Pravda, August 27).
Other Developments
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks (START). The Soviets continued
to resist U.S. efforts to achieve sharp cuts in the numbers of
large land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles that would
be permitted to the Soviet Union. AndroptV stressed that it is
"absolutely unrealistic" of the U.S. to persist in a.bid "to
convince or compel the other side to break down the structure of
its strategic forces and to reduce its basic components while
keeping for itself a completely free hand" (Pravda, August 18).
Furthermore, Pravda (August 16) criticized the U.S. START posi-
tion as being."set in concrete," and claimed that current U.S.
proposals would result in substantial increases of nuclear war-
heads over current levels.
Chemical. and Biological Warfare (CBW). The U.S. Senate's
approval of binary chemical weapons production constitutes,
according to TASS (July 14), convincing evidence of the Reagan
Administration's "program of preparation for chemical and germ
warfare." TASS also labeled U.S. efforts to convince the world
that the Soviets have been using chemical and toxin weapons in
Southeast Asia a "slanderous hullabaloo" designed to perpetuate
the arms race and help gain passage of CBW funds in Congress.
Weapons in Space. The USSR castigated the U.S. for planning to
extend the arms race into outer space. Andropov reaffirmed the
Soviet commitment "not to be the first to put into outer space
any type of antisatellite weapon," and proposed a ban on such
weapons and a prohibition of the use of force in outer space
(Pravda, August 18). Moscow attributed Washington's "negative
attitude" toward these proposals to the Pentagon's plans to
deploy an antisatellite system that would "disarm the Soviet
Union in the face of the American nuclear threat" (Moscow World
Service, August 24).
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Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR). The USSR reitera-
ted its contention that the West's raising of academic argu-
ments and verification issues were "pretexts for blocking any
agreement" (TASS, August 25).
CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (CSCE)
In July, nearly eight years after the signing of the Helsinki
Final Act and after almost three years of negotiations, the 35
riations participating in the Madrid conference reached agree-
inent.On a draft document. Soviet media portrayed the accord as
a victory for the USSR's persistent diplomacy in the face of
U:S. opposition. Observed Radio Moscow (July 8):
It is no secret that from the very outset the Madrid meet-
:ing did not enjoy Washington's favor. The Reagan Adminis-
tration quite simply wanted to bury it.quickly under vari-
ous pretexts so as to rid itself once and for all of the
policy of detente and to untie its. own hands. But it...was
prevented in this not just by ourselves, the Soviet Union
and the socialist countries, but other'Western countries.
In commenting on the final meetings, Soviet media alleged that
the U.S. was using the KAL 007 incident as another pretext to
obstruct the talks, but that it did not succeed.
As the Madrid conference moved toward a close, the USSR lashed
out at the United States for alleged rights violations. A
full-page Pravda editorial "On Human Rights--Authentic and
Fake" (July 18) decried the fact that the Reagan Administration
is "mobilizing all forces--including the forces of reaction in
countries which are Washington's allies in aggressive military
blocs--for a 'crusade' against real socialism." No one should
be misled by the U.S. leaders' rhetoric, the newspaper averred:
The organizers of this "crusade" have printed on their
anti-communist banners the slogans "For Democracy! For
Human Rights!" But the false glitter of the banners and
armor of the "crusaders" of anticommunism can only dazzle
simpletons.
.After presenting a lengthy catalog of the economic, social, and
political rights enjoyed by Soviet citizens, Pravda contrasted
.them with the "inalienable rights" that supposedly exist in the
United States--where millions of citizens are unemployed or
.living below the poverty level, and millions more suffer from,
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malnutrition, occupational diseases, inadequate housing, and
rampant crime. "What a happy country!" Pravda caustically
declared.
The U.S. government, according to Pravda, not only deprives
millions of such basic rights, but also:
Refuses to sign or ratify international conventions on
economic, social, cultural, and political rights, on the
prevention of genocide, on the elimination of racial
discrimination and apartheid, etc.
o Pursues a policy aimed at crushing "political dissidence,"
allegedly documented in a report by the American Civil
Liberties Union.
o Allows free rein to fascists and neo-Nazi organizations,
such as the Ku Klux Klan, while harboring thousands of
'Nazi war criminals.
o Keeps practically the entire population under surveil-
lance with its secret police.
o Supresses labor unions that stand up for workers' rights.
In much the same vein, TASS (July 20) responded to President
Reagan's proclamation on the eighth anniversary of the Helsinki
Accords, pointing out that the U.S. is a country where
the police and national guard stage bloody pogroms in
cities' black ghettoes when their inhabitants--driven to
despair by their poverty, lack of rights, and racist
terror--dare to protest against the existing system.
According to Andrew Young; former U.S. Ambassador to the
United Nations, hundreds and thousands of political
prisoners are languishing in U.S. prisons. -
Attacks on Andrei Sakharov
The.position of the USSR's leading dissident, Andrei Sakharov,
stands in sharp contrast to Soviet platitudes on human rights.
In an open letter to U.S. physicist Sidney Drell published in
Foreign Affairs, Sakharov openly challenged the official Soviet
position on arms control. On July 2, Izvestiia carried the
article "When Honor and Conscience are Lost" written by four
academicians. Although the authors said that they already knew
that "Sakharov tries to blacken everything that is dear to us
and slanders his own nation," they expressed shock and outrage
at his new article. Sakharov, they claimed, is "urging the use
of the monstrous power of.nuclear weapons in a bid to try to
intimidate the Soviet people once again, to make our country
capitulate to an American ultimatum." The scientists voiced a
veiled threat: "Our state and our people have been more than
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patient with regard to this man, who is calmly living in the
city of Gorky from which he distributes his misanthropic works."
They did not mention, of course, that Sakharov is in Gorky
against his will, is not allowed to emigrate, is prevented from
receiving medical care in Moscow, and is harshly persecuted for
expressing views at odds with the official line.
Central America
Moscow scourged America's "flagrant interference" in Central
America. While dismissing American claims of Soviet and Cuban
intrigues as "hackneyed disinformation," Soviet commentaries
warned of an imminent U.S.-backed invasion of Nicaragua to
overthrow the Sandinista government. The. Soviets also scored
Washington's Caribbean Basin Initiative, calling it an undis-
guised attempt to perpetuate Caribbean states' subjugation as
"agrarian, raw-material appendages of the U.S." (TASS, August
6).
The Reagan Administration's "undeclared war" Against Nicaragua,
as depicted by Soviet media, contains several elements:
o military pressure from the "iron triangle" consisting of
El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala under U.S. aegis and
the U.S.-sponsored maneuvers ("Big Pine II") that began in
Honduras in August near the Nicaraguan frontier.
o "gunboat diplomacy," illustrated by the dispatch of U.S.
warships to Nicaraguan coastal waters in late July al-
legedly to organize =i naval blockade.
o covert operations in the territory of Nicaragua by counter-
revolutionary Somozist agents financed, trained, and
equipped by the C.I.A.
o economic subversion, most recently shown by the U.S.
refusal to buy Nicaraguan sugar and to extend credits.
o "psychological warfare," implemented by both the Voice
of America and transmitters in countries neighboring
Nicaragua.
o maintaining servile puppets who will respond obediently to
Washington's bidding. Thus, Moscow attributed the Guate-
malan coup in early August to U.S. machinations: General
Rios Montt had failed to suppress the guerrilla movement
in the country, so Washington replaced him with General
Mejia, "a rabid anticommunist and goon," who would imple-
ment U.S. military plans (Sovetskaia Rossiia, August 11).
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Soviet media often drew analogies between U.S. involvement in
Vietnam in the early 1960s and present American activities in
Central America. For example, according to a Russian-language
broadcast (June 30), two U.S. ships off the coast of Nicaragua
sought to provoke an incident similar to the one in the Gulf of
Tonkin 19 years earlier. "The hotheads in Washington", the
report continued, plan to turn Honduras into "a bridgehead to
suppress the liberation movement in Central America, as it once
did to South Vietnam, and to overthrow the Sandinista Govern-
ment in Nicaragua." in a similar vein, TASS (September 9) said
that Secretary of Defense Weinberger's visit to Central America
demonstrates official Washington's "full approval" of the "pol-
icy of genocide implemented by the Salvadoran regime against
the peaceful population."
In contrast, the Soviets claimed to be setting the United
States an example of noninterference in Central America. In
early August, Moscow also went on record in support of the
Contadora peace initiative, and asserted that the four members
of the Contadora Group were taking a sensible line and advo-
cating a just settlement of the region's conflicts (Pravda,
August 3). The Reagan Administration,-on the other hand, was
accused of trying to "split" the Contadora'fnembers by putting
strong pressure on them, particularly Mexico (Pravda, August
17).
The Middle East
In Moscow's eyes, the United States' principal objective is to
work with Israel to divide and conquer the Arab countries and
turn the Middle East into an "anti-Soviet bridgehead." Moscow
World Service even stated (July 11) that the U.S. and Israel
"are actually working out plans for a direct military inter-
vention and a seizure of oil-producing countries." According
to the same source, the American "Bright Star-83" military
maneuvers in August were a "flagrant violation of the Arab
states' sovereignty and an overt interference in their internal
affairs." These exercises, along with-alleged U.S. plans to.
increase sharply the strength of its contingent in the multi-
national force in Lebanon, were portrayed as an attempt to
impose the Reagan plan on the Arab world and compel Syria to
accede to U.S. demands. Stressing the "interventionist thrust"
of. the "saber-rattling" maneuvers as well as their timing, the
army newpaper Krasnaia zvezda (July 9) claimed that because of
recent failures in its diplomacy, the United States feels com-
pelled to resort to military operations.
As the Kremlin sees it, Lebanon lies at the center of U.S.-
Israeli aggressive designs. The country had been "compelled at
gunpoint" to sign a capitulatory agreement that allowed Israel
to continue to occupy part of its southern tier and permitted
the U.S.-to.create a "military springboard for aggressive
sallies against neighboring Arab states" (TASS, July 20).
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Israel's redeployment of troops in August, "obviously with the
knowledge and connivance of Washington," was seen by Moscow as
a strategic expedient and a "prelude to the annexation" of
southern Lebanon (Pravda, September 9). The U.S., in turn, has
been widening its military role in Lebanon "under the pretext
of 'maintaining peace' in that country" (TASS, August 26).
Responding to renewed hostilities in Lebanon, Soviet media con-
demned the United States' "creeping aggression" and portrayed
American Marines in Beirut as "occupation troops" (TASS, Sep-
tember 12). Soviet observers insisted that the U.S. was pre-
paring to launch a major war in the Middle East. Pointing to
reinforcements of the Marine contingent, they argued that U.S.
military forces were sinking progressively deeper into the
"Lebanese quagmire which they themselves created" (Moscow World
Service, September 14). One commentator concluded that the
events in Lebanon represent the "germ of a new Vietnam" for the
U.S. (Izvestiia, September 4). The Soviets rebuked Washington
for blaming Arab countries for the Lebanese strife, and called
for an end to American intervention and Israel's unconditional
With regard to Israeli politics, Moscow attributed Begin's
resignation to the "bankruptcy of Tel Aviv's aggressive expan-
sionist policy," but forecast no change whatsoever in Israel's
"pro-U.S. course" (Pravda, August 30). Moscow TV (September
12) characterized the probable successor, Yitzhak Shamir, as
even more of an extremist than Begin, and asserted that the
"era of terrorist rulers" would continue in Israel.
withdrawal from the country.
The Conflict in Chad
Soviet media regularly scored "imperialist" (read U.S. ane
French) intervention in Chad, claiming that the West was trying
to "suffocate the Chadian people's struggle for freedom," and
turn the country into a "bridgehead for aggression against
neighboring states" (Moscow Domestic Television, August 10).
Expressing the standard Soviet line, Krasnaia zvezda (August
14) dismissed as "fabrications" U.S. accusations of Libyan
intervention in Chad.
Soviet press accounts excoriated Washington's pretension to
"world gendarme," and described U.S. aid to President Hissein
Habre as aimed at expanding Washington's military presence in
central and northern Africa, a possible prelude to the partition
of Africa (Izvestiia, September 13). Soviet observers repeat-
edly emphasized that the U.S., wishing to "skim the cream from
the Chadian adventure," was pressuring and even blackmailing
France and Zaire to intervene (Za rubezhom, August 19-25). On
the other hand, a leading commentator also speculated that the
U.S. may want to squeeze France out so as bring the continent
under its domination (Izvestiia, August 22).
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President Reagan's "anti-Libyan campaign" received constant
attention in Soviet media. Washington's behavior in the region
was portrayed not only as camouflage for U.S. military inter-
ference in Chad, but also as a serious threat to Libya itself.
Responding to Reagan's dispatch in early August of American
warships closer to Libyan waters, AWACs and fighter aircraft to
the Sudan, and'the "Bright Star-83" maneuvers, Moscow decried
Washington's "unconcealed military blackmail" vis-a-vis Libya.
These actions, TASS charged (August 7), were designed to pro-
voke an incident that the U.S. could exploit to topple the
Qadhafi government, or at least "teach it a lesson."
Other Regional Issues
South Asia. Moscow slammed Secretary of State Shultz's Asian
tour in early July, portraying it as a "provocative" attempt to
sabotage U.N.-mediated talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan
and boost the counterrevolutionaries' flagging morale. Soviet
media continued to insist that the U.S. is the "main inspirer
and organizer of the 'undeclared war' against democratic Afghan-
istan," a war the U.S. is purportedly intensifying (Krasnaia
zvezda, August 28). In this context, Soviet media claimed that
the U.S. was using blackmail to force Pakistan to become both
its policeman in Southwest Asia and a potential stopover for
troops of the U.S. Rapid Deployment Force. The Soviets attri-
buted widespread domestic unrest in Pakistan. to the populace's
dissatisfaction with the country's military-strategic align-
ment and dependence on the U.S. (Tashkent International Service
in Uzbek, August 22).
Sri Lankan violence. While condemning "outside interference"
in Sri Lanka, Pravda (August 8) dismissed accusations of
socialist countries' complicity in the disturbances as "ground-
less fabrications." The United States, on the other hand, was
accused of welcoming the country's destabilization as a means
for the Pentagon to gain a foothold closer to the shores of
South Asia; to punish Sri Lanka for its activism in the non-
aligned movement; and to damage Sri Lanka's relations with
India, thereby furthering Washington's "anti-Indian" campaign
(TASS, September 13).
Chilean turmoil. In a Spanish-language broadcast to Chile
(July 18 , Moscow claimed that the U.S. was "openly and shame-
lessly" intervening in Chile's political life, and attempting
to divide the opposition to the collapsing Pinochet regime.
Soviet media also scored what they described as U.S. attempts
to draw the Pinochet regime into an "aggressive South Atlantic
bloc" and "recarve the whole geography of the world" (TASS in
English, July 27).
U.S. bases in Greece. Although Soviet media found some posi-
tive value in the U.S.-Greek agreement because it provides a
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specific timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. forces, they con-
tinued to stress that the bases are "hotbeds of tension" and
"sources of military danger for the surrounding region" (Moscow
Domestic Service, July 15). Izvestiia (July 26) warned that
the bases may "continue to be used to implement the aggressive
plans of U.S. imperialism in the Eastern Mediterranean."
Aquino assassination. Soviet media were reticent, for the most
part, although TASS (August 24) claimed that continuing U.S.
use of military bases in the Philippines smacked of a "link
between the terrorist act that has been committed and the.U.S.
special services."
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Listed below are representative items from Soviet sources on
the themes discussed in this report. Translations or summaries
appeared in the FBIS Daily Report (Soviet Union) between July 1
and September 15.
PROPAGANDA
"Brigandage on the Air," by A. Grachev, Izvestiia, July 11.
"The Struggle for Minds and Hearts," Pravda, July 14.
"Operation to Deceive," by Vitalii Korionov, Pravda, July 29.
.Moscow TASS in English, August 22. [USIA Director Charles Wick
denounced as "general of misinformation."]
"The Struggle for People's Minds: Strategy of U.S. Ideological
Aggression," by Leonid Zamiatin, Literaturnaia gazeta, September
"Provocateurs Cover Traces," Pravda, September 5.
"Political Provocation with Far-Reaching Aims," by Gen. Col. S.
Romanov, Pravda, September 6.
"Barbarians and Hypocrites," by Melor Sturua, Izvestiia, Sep-
tember 7.
"Siberia, the Boeing, and a Little about Hospitality," by A.
Bovin, Izvestiia, September 13. [Links KAL "espionage mission"
with alleged U.S. plans to invade Siberia.]
ARMS CONTROL
"Dangerous Miscalculations," by Iurii Zhukov, Pravda, July 15.
"You Can't Get Far by Deceit," by Vitalii Korionov, Pravda,
July 22.
"Answers by Marshal of the Soviet Union D. F. Ustinov, USSR
Minister of Defense, to Questions of a TASS Correspondent,"
Pravda, July 31.
"Washington's Dangerous Illusions," by Col. M. Ponomarev,
Krasnaia zvezda, August 7.
"Reception of American Senators by Iu. V. Andropov," Pravda,
August 18.
"Our Country's Goodwill," Pravda, August 29.
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"Madrid: A Continuation of Helsinki," by V. N. Nekrasov,
Moscow Domestic Service in Russian, July 28.
"In the Interests of Peace and Detente," by A. Alekseev, New
Times, No. 32, August.
"A. A. Gromyko's Speech." [Delivered in Madrid.] Izvestiia,
September 9.
"On Human Rights--Authentic and Fake," Pravda, July 18.
Moscow Domestic Service in Russian, August I. [Reagan's procla-
mation of a Human Rights Week called a smokescreen for "the
crudest violation of true human rights.]
CENTRAL AMERICA
"A Dangerous Undertaking," by G. Vasilev, Pravda, August 9.
"Washington's Military Blackmail.," by Vladimir Travkin,
Sovetskaia Rossiia, August 11.
"From Big Stick to 'Big Pine,'" L. Koriavin, Izvestiia, August
"'Shield for Democracy' or Sword of Imperialism?" by Dmitrii
Volskii, New Times, No. 23, August.
THE MIDDLE EAST
"Trojan Horse and Arab Unity," by V. Midtsev, Izvesti'ia, July 1.
"Biting Off More Than They Can Chew," by Vladimir Kudriavtsev;
Izvestiia, September 4.
"Conversation on Near East Crisis," between G. Musaelian and E.
M. Primakov, Sovetskaia Rossiia, September 4.
CHAD
"Chad -- A Critical Time," by A. Bovin, Izvestiia, August 22.
"Africa Is Not Alone at a Testing Time," Za rubezhom, August
19-25.
"Washington's 'Big Stick' Over Africa," by V. Vinogradov,
Krasnaia zvezda, August 14.
"The Imperialists' Chad Strategy," by V. Kudriavtsev,..Izvestiia,
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