Gorbachev: 'We all lost Cold War'

[Cannikin]

Former Soviet leader says both sides were forced to spend trillions

'We all lost'
But if he had warm, appreciative words for Reagan, Gorbachev brusquely dismissed the suggestion that Reagan had intimidated either him or the Soviet Union, or forced them to make concessions. Was it accurate to say that Reagan won the Cold War? "That's not serious," Gorbachev said, using the same words several times. "I think we all lost the Cold War, particularly the Soviet Union. We each lost $10 trillion," he said, referring to the money Russians and Americans spent on an arms race that lasted more than four decades. "We only won when the Cold War ended."

By Gorbachev's account, it was his early successes on the world stage that convinced the Americans that they had to deal with him and to match his fervor for arms control and other agreements that could reduce East-West tensions. "We had an intelligence report from Washington in 1987," he said, "reporting on a meeting of the National Security Council." Senior U.S. officials had concluded that Gorbachev's "growing credibility and prestige did not serve the interests of the United States" and had to be countered. A desire in Washington not to let him make too good an impression on the world did more to promote subsequent Soviet-American agreements than any American intimidation, he said. "They wanted to look good in terms of making peace and achieving arms control," he said of the Reagan administration.

The changes he wrought in the Soviet Union, from ending much of the official censorship to sweeping political and economic reforms, were undertaken not because of any foreign pressure or concern, Gorbachev said, but because Russia was dying under the weight of the Stalinist system. "The country was being stifled by the lack of freedom," he said. "We were increasingly behind the West, which . . . was achieving a new technological era, a new kind of productivity. . . . And I was ashamed for my country -- perhaps the country with the richest resources on Earth, and we couldn't provide toothpaste for our people."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5185977/

[pop goes the weasel]

1. when Gorby dies

I just might stand in line to view his casket. He took great personal risks in the name of freedom and peace, and refused to take "no" for an answer.

[mmonk]

2. And we'll keep spending trillions

even when not facing a superpower. And it will bring us down as it did the USSR. Not matter where we send our newly tooled war machine, eventually the weight of the war profiteers at the expense of our people and world co-operation will be too much. I don't feel all that great about the future. We're squandering our position in the world. The E.U. will be the beneficiaries at our (the people of the US) expense.

[Generic Other]

3. 10 trillion dollars

How many schools, hospitals, research facilities, social programs, public works projects did we give up for our Pharoahs to build their pyramids?

[LittleApple81]

4. He is right. Can you imagine how much blood would not have been

spilled, how many humans would not have suffered, how much hunger would have not happened...

[DinahMoeHum]

5. A ditty I learned: The Cold War's over. . .the Asians won. . .

They took all our jobs,
and never used a gun.


:evilfrown:

[theboss]

6. Gorby's a great man. . . . but . . .

It's kind of hard to make the argument that both sides lost when the country he ruled no longer exists.

I agree with him on everything else though.

[mrboba1]

8. Sure, they lost more...

but that doesn't mean just because we lost less than they did, that we "won".

You can have lose-lose:
(from 7 Habits of Highly Effective People):
"When 2 win/lose get together, that is when 2 determined, stubborn, ego-invested individuals interact the result will be lose-lose"

That seems to fit the Cold War to a 'T'

[russian33]

7. While Gorbachev spent time and effort pandering to the West..

...he left the rest of us, people of his own country, to rot and die...I was fortunate enough to get out in 1991, but not before going thru Hell in Azerbaijan, where Armenians were getting killed...the country had civil wars breaking out left and right, the Baltics, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbiajan, Asian republics...and he had no time for that...Sorry, I have no love or respect for Gorbachev, having lost members of family and friends due to his leadership, or better yet, lack thereof.