SOVIET MEDIA COVERAGE OF AFGHANISTAN - READING BETWEEN THE LINES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00757R000100130013-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 10, 2008
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: January 20, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2008/01/10: CIA-RDP85T00757R000100130013-3
THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
National Intelligence Council
NIC #0542-83
20 January 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Central Intelligence
Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
VIA Chairman, National Intelligence Council
National Intelligence Offjcey4or
General Purpose Forces-
Assistant NIO for General Purpose Forces
SUBJECT Soviet Media Coverage of Afghanistan--
Reading Between the Lines
1. Recent Soviet press coverage of combat casualties
in Afghanistan may portend an intent to intensify that
conflict. As reported in the 11 January Afghanistan SitRep
article (attached), internal media in the USSR are beginning
to report that Soviet troops are engaging in combat and
suffering casualties. While three occurrences in a single
week do not constitute a trend, this treatment of a highly
sensitive subject is a significant departure from previous
Soviet practice. For some six months after the invasion,
the Soviet press hardly acknowledged the presence of any of
their military forces in Afghanistan. This coverage was
succeeded over a period of more than two years by numerous
articles (mostly in the military press) showing Soviet
soldiers assisting Afghans in various social, educational
and charitable enterprises. Some minor treatment of combat
occurred, but only a single combat death was reported (in
September 1981). The Soviets went to great lengths to
conceal casualties by treating their wounded in medical
facilities in the Southern Asian republics and, some say, in
East Germany. Dead soldiers were returned in sealed coffins
and usually buried without military honors, many away from
their homes.
2. While some might argue that the new media treatment
of casualties is merely acknowledging a reality that can no
longer be hidden from the Soviet populace, I believe that if
the press treatment continues, particularly on television
and in other internal me ia, it signals more than mere
Soviet resolve to persevere. The Politburo is well aware of
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LUNr1ULNI1AL NIC #054 -83
the populace's impatience in bettering its living standards
and its lack of enthusiasm for foreign adventures. Further
coverage of the realities of the war in Afghanistan could
well be a forerunner of Soviet intent to step up the
intensity of the conflict and perhaps once more to increase
their force levels in country. I have discussed this topic
with FBIS analysts, who are monitoring both internal and,
external Soviet media for further instances of casualty
coverage.
Attachment:
As stated
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CONFIDENTIAL
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1SOVIET COMBAT ROLE, CASUALTIES ACKNOWLEDGED
Breaking the usual practice of playing down- the' Soviet
military's combat role in Afghanistan, Soviet media on several
recent occasions have reported Soviet troops coming under fire
and siiffering casualties. The most graphic and telling-portrayal
appeared on the 26 December edition of a weekly armed forces
television program, which showed film of a Soviet-escorted convoy
under attack and carried a- brief interview with a wounded Soviet
lieutenant. Two items in the army newspaper KRASNAYA ZVEZDA, on
the 25th and 28th, likewise described Soviet troops coming under
attack, citing in the former case a Soviet private who suffered
burns while dis
l
i
p
ay
cg heroism.
Comment: While these stories contained routine propaganda
assertions that the Soviet-backed Afghan regime is winning the
battle fore popular support, the accompanying film and commentary
tended to undercut those claims by conveying the impression that
the regime is under attack not only on the highways but even in
t,abul. Having pledged itself to persevering in Afghanistan, the
now Andropov regime now seems to be warnin
that the struggle will be long and costly. th_e Soul@t people
Afghanistan tuation Report
11 January 1983
I
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