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We all have disappointments even with presidents that we support, just as we do not find our friends, spouses, or parents to be perfect. I do not know what went on in the private councils of the administration, but I'll accept your view that an excess of loyalty clouded Reagan's judgment. I will say, though, that after what happened in Iran, I can understand Reagan's reluctance to be another Carter and suddenly pull the rug out from under a longstanding ally in the hope that something decent would fill the vacuum. Since I agree with the Kirkpatrick doctrine, as you know, I also do not think it would have been wise to have made every dubious ally we had throughout the globe more uncertain of his position with respect to us. Finally, as I have said on the Kosovo thread, I believe that we were properly leery of taking on responsibility for the political future of every country with which we were allied, and therefore that it was best to be primarily guided by strategic, rather than humanitarian, interests, and to deal with the existing regimes.... |
