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I have him on the list, only I have moved him around a bit, indecisive about the placement. Since I do not think the Cold War was a waste of time, except in the limited sense that I am sorry we had to endure the threat for so long, and since I think that Gorbachev would not have had much political support if the Politburo had not been desperate to neutralize Reagan,I do not give him as much credit as others. On the other hand, he was sincere about reforming the Soviet Union, and opened the floodgates with perestroika and especially glasnost. He also seems sincere about coming to a better accommodation with the West, which is why Reagan and Thatcher were prepared to do business with him, and which restrained him from following through on the Breshnev Doctrine as the outer satraps of the empire began to rebel. Therefore, he deserves credit. On the other hand, he did not intend the end of the Soviet Empire, but only a retrenchment, and events clearly overtook him, and went far beyond his intentions..... |
