In Moscow: Defiant Defense

Brezhnev blames it all on U.S.

Moscow may have been taken aback by the worldwide condemnation of its invasion of Afghanistan, but all its trumpets of propaganda blared denial and defiance. The Afghanistan rebellion had to be suppressed, went the Kremlin line, and so the Soviet army had to suppress it. "To have acted otherwise," said Soviet Communist Party Chief Leonid Brezhnev, "would have meant leaving Afghanistan a prey to imperialism." Furthermore, said Brezhnev, Afghanistan was not even the cause of the current crisis. Said he: "If there were no Afghanistan, certain circles in the U.S. and in NATO would have found another pretext to aggravate the situation."

Pravda elaborated on Brezhnev's theme: "American policy is acquiring a trend that is ever more hostile to the interests of peace, detente and equitable cooperation among states. At present, this policy of interference in domestic affairs and encroachment on people's rights is shown in relation to Iran, but tomorrow in relation to other sovereign states." Alexander Bovin, a senior writer for Izvestia, warned, "It is time for the U.S. to learn to behave with greater modesty. That will be better for both America itself and the whole world." The man in the Moscow street often echoed his leaders' sentiments. "Why are you pushing us around?" asked an economics teacher. "Afghanistan is a Marxist country."

While assailing the U.S., Moscow sought to soothe other countries. Literary Gazette assured the Muslim world that although the U.S.S.R. is atheist, it is not at war with any religion. Brezhnev asserted that the Soviets want continued detente with Western Europe.

If there was any dissent about the invasion inside the Kremlin, it was well concealed. Despite persistent rumors that the ailing Brezhnev was not fully in command, there was no evidence that he did not make, or at least concur in, the decision to invade. Soviet Ambassador Anatoli Dobrynin, who has maintained an affable relationship with Washington policymakers for some 20 years, was in Moscow when the decision was reached, but it is not known what he advised. Americanologist Georgi Arbatov suffered a heart attack in November and probably did not contribute to the invasion plan or an assessment of an American reaction.

Among Communists elsewhere, there was far less unanimity. Although the Eastern European satellite regimes generally acquiesced as supinely as ever, both Yugoslavia and Albania protested the invasion. French Communist Leader Georges Marchais, who once pretended to independence from Moscow, echoed Brezhnev in saying that the Soviets had acted only to resist an imperialist threat, but Spain's more wayward Communists criticized the Soviet move. The Italian Communists were more rebellious. In a resolution introduced before the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Italian Communist deputies declared the invasion "an open violation of the principles of national independence and sovereignty." The Italians' goal, in the view of expert observers, is to win enough credibility to enable them to join in a coalition government in Rome.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.