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Therein,
Chebrikov got to the heart of the U.S. senator's offer to the USSR's
general secretary: "Kennedy believes that, given the state of current
affairs, and in the interest of peace, it would be prudent and timely
to undertake the following steps to counter the militaristic politics
of Reagan."
Of these, step one would be for Andropov to invite the senator to
Moscow for a personal meeting. Said Chebrikov: "The main purpose of the
meeting, according to the senator, would be to arm Soviet officials
with explanations regarding problems of nuclear disarmament so they
would be better prepared and more convincing during appearances in the
USA."
The second step, the KGB head informed Andropov, was a Kennedy strategy
to help the Soviets "influence Americans." Chebrikov explained:
"Kennedy believes that in order to influence Americans it would be
important to organize in August-September of this year [1983],
televised interviews with Y. V. Andropov in the USA." The media
savvy Massachusetts senator recommended to the Soviet dictator that he
seek a "direct appeal" to the American people. And, on that, "Kennedy and his friends," explained Chebrikov, were willing to help, listing Walter Cronkite and Barbara Walters (both listed by name in the memo) as good candidates for sit-down interviews with the dictator.
Kennedy concluded that the Soviets needed, in effect, some PR help,
given that Reagan was good at "propaganda" (the word used in the memo).
The senator wanted them to know he was more than eager to lend a hand.
Kennedy wanted the Soviets to saturate the American media during such a
visit. Chebrikov said Kennedy could arrange interviews not only for the
dictator but for "lower level Soviet officials, particularly from the
military," who "would also have an opportunity to appeal directly to
the American people about the peaceful intentions of the USSR." [Kennedy and the KGB]
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