General Zinni on Sixty Minutes

On 30 May 2004 21:36:46 GMT, (WalterM140) wrote:

Your history is failing you again. But, I digress. The fact of the
matter is that US containment policy was consistent from Truman
through the collapse of the SU in 1989. To ascribe it to one party or
the other is definitely revisionist.


But to give credit to Reagan alone -- per you- is not.

Surely you can do better than this.

Walt


I think that most readers would say I did do better. You started by
saying that Reagan was the worst president (a near tie, according to
you with Bush 43.) You asserted that he always took the easy way out.

I responded with a number of Reagan policies that were significant. I
did not say that the SU collapsed because of a policy of
containment--you did.

I DID say that Reagan's reversal of the demilitarization, disarmament
policies of Carter were instrumental in the collapse. The reversal of
the trend started by Carter caused the Soviet response to demand more
than their strained economy could sustain. That was the Reagan policy
that I referred to.

One should also note that the generational shift in Soviet leadership
from the 80-year old Stalinists to the new generation Gorbachev also
led to reforms that hastened the collapse. Glasnost and perestroika
opened the door to interactions that raised the expectations of the
Soviet people and created demand for change.

Once again, complexity over simplicity leads to understanding of what
went on.


Ed Rasimus
Fighter Pilot (USAF-Ret)
"When Thunder Rolled"
Smithsonian Institution Press
ISBN #1-58834-103-8