In his Western media appearances Pozner was a charismatic and articulate apologist for some of the Soviet Union 's most controversial foreign and domestic policy decisions . He would frequently draw parallels and point out similarities between Soviet and Western policies as well as candidly admitting the existence of certain problems in the USSR . However , while stopping short of unequivocal endorsement and support , he nevertheless rationalized , among other events , the arrest and exiling of Andrei Sakharov , the invasion of Afghanistan , and the shooting down of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 , in his 1990 autobiography '' Parting with Illusions '' . Later , he wrote that some of the positions he had taken were wrong and immoral . In a 2005 interview with NPR 's '' On the Media '' , Pozner spoke openly about his role as a Soviet spokesman , stating bluntly , " What I was doing was propaganda . " Comparing his former role to that of Karen Hughes , the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs , he commented that , " You know , as someone who 's gone through this and someone who regrets having done what he 's done , and who spent many , many years of his life , and I think probably the best years of my life , doing something that was wrong , I say it just is n't worth it "
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
Vladimir Posner