USSR-AFGHANISTAN: MORE MEDIA COVERAGE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP96R01136R002605130009-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 29, 2010
• Sequence Number: 9
• Publication Date: January 23, 1984
• Content Type: REPORT

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/10/29 :CIA-RDP96R01136R002605130009-4
USSR-AFGHANISTAN: More Media Coverage
Increased attention by the Soviet media to Afghanistan robab/
reflects in part interna! pressures for expanded coverage. ~~
Since mid-December a series of articles have portrayed
conditions in Afghanistan as difficult but improving. An authoritative
editorial in Pravda on 2 January called the US the principal obstacle
to a political settlement, and reiterated major elements of the USSR's
position on the outlook for Afghanistan. Recent articles also have
attacked China, Pakistan, the UK, West Germany, a i bia,
Egypt, and Iran for allegedly aiding the resistance.
Two articles in Red Star have described in detail the heroism of
Soviet personnel in defending against two separate insurgent attacks
on a convoy and an airfield. One revealed in passing that the USSR
Comment: The coverage is designed in part to counter the
increased attention the Western press pays to Afghanistan on the
anniversary of the invasion. In addition, Soviet journalists periodically
claim they are under pressure from the public, particularly families of
men serving in Afghanistan, to provide more information about the
conditions faced by Soviet troops. A recent Soviet radiobroadcast
acknowledged receivin "man "letters asking why Soviet soldiers
are still in Afghanistan.
The articles in Red Star illustrate the gradual expansion since
1981 of the practice of acknowledging intermittently the involvement
of Soviet troops in the fighting. These articles suggest the leadership
may be under pressure from elements of the military establishment to
give more coverage to the valor of Soviet soldiers.)
The USSR's coverage of Afghanistan, however, is still
circumscribed by Moscow's concern to limit internal and international
attention to the conflict. Soviet media continue to paint an unrealistic
picture of conditions in Afghanistan.
The revelation of seven additional casualties raises Moscow's
public tally of its losses in Af hanistan to 19-
12 wounded.
Tap Secret
2 23 January 1984
25X1
25X1.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/10/29 :CIA-RDP96R01136R002605130009-4