From: Horse (horse@darkstar.uk.net)
Date: Tue Jun 08 2004 - 02:10:42 BST
Hi Jon
I think you missed the main point of my post which was to illustrate that it was the people
of the Soviet Union who brought about change and not the US or European leaders.
The 'aggressive rhetoric' which you mention would have been of little use if the people
hadn't been willing to free themselves and/or the military had been available to suppress
any uprising as it had in the past - think Hungary and Czechoslovakia.
I'm not trying to belittle Reagan (and I'm not one of those who think that Reagan was
stupid either) and his part in these events but trying to bring in a sense of proportion.
Why should we take away the credit from those in the front line? Walesa was there.
Where was Reagan? Was Thatcher jailed? Did Kohl get any sort of beating? None of
these people took the risks that the Soviets did but they seem to want to take the credit.
As I said previously, it's just more of the same ol same old.
Horse
On 7 Jun 2004 at 16:49, Ascmjk@aol.com wrote:
>
> In a message dated 6/7/2004 2:47:45 PM Central Standard Time, horse@darkstar.uk.net writes:
> I think that Reagan, Thatcher and Kohl were little more than bit players in the events of
> the late 80's with regard to the USSR. Along with Reagan and the majority of other
> 'world leaders' at the time they were just carrying on the same old same old.
>
> Pretty much every major historian agrees that Reagan's level of aggressive rhetoric (a Quality
> Robert Pirsig would not flippantly dismiss) toward the USSR was unprecedented, and many
> Russians today consider Reagan a hero because he had the courage to call the USSR "evil."
> Don't take my word for it, Horse, take the word of the very people you say deserve the real credit:
> thepeople of the former Soviet Union. Many of them are saying Reagan was a hero whose
> words of encouragement had a very real and lasting influence on them. Gorbachev has been
> saying for years now how important Reagan was, and he has reiterated his deep admiration for
> the man time and time again. A prominent Russian military man (a general whose name escapes
> me at the moment) has said that Reagan's SDI threat "blackmailed the Soviet Union into falling
> apart." That's only partially paraphrased. I can locate the source of this quote if you don't believe
> it.
>
> Clearly, Reagan was more than a "bit player" in the eyes of Gorbachev and many of the Russian
> people. Reagan's rhetoric not only inspired Americans, it inspired Russians.
>
> Jon
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