> Yes, they were directly responsible for that change. It was in extremis,
> however. We bankrupted them (or forced foreclosure on the bankruptcy, if
> you prefer), by forcing them to keep up with us.
They didn't try. Despite the massive US conventional arms buildup the USSR
did not substantially alter their military defences during Regan's period of
office. The cost of the Afghanistan war was a more significant factor.
> Reagan declared this,
> with his intention of making soviet communism obsolete. How typical of
you
> to overlook this.
The public statements made during the Regan years alledged that the USSR
outgunned NATO on every imaginable point of comparison and that the
West had to build up the military defenses for self defence.
> >The USSR was bankrupt since Nixon's time so starting an arms race to
> >bankrupt them further was superfluous - and in any case the records of
arms
> >production show that the USSR did not follow the US lead.
>
> Now you acknowledge it - almost.
The arms race was irrelevant, the economic system in the USSR had
failled. It is arguable that it never recovered from the second world war.
> He was smart enough to surround himself with persons who were very gifted
> and talented on the areas they were to specialize in,
Such as selling arms to terrorists in Iran to give to terrorists in Lebanon
and
giving the profits to terrorists in Nicaragua who were subsequently
convicted
of running crack Cocaine into the US.
> Here in the US, the mainstream media made much ado, on the alleged limited
> intellect of Dan Quayle - most of the heckling was politically motivated.
> Have you ever seen such carrying on about the spelling of "potato(e)"? Al
> (I invented the internet, discovered love canal, was the male lead in love
> story, etc.) Gore displays even worse mannerisms and aberrations than
> Quayle ever did, but all of them receive only passing notice, if that - in
> the US mainstream press.
Dan Quayle was arguably less of an airhead than Reagan (or George Bush Jr),
and some of the attributed remarks are false (speaking latin in latin
america)
but most are not and the sheer volume is the issue.
Al Gore did not claim to have invented the internet - that was our friend
Declan putting words into his mouth as we have established time and time
again on the FC list. Gore was involved in the process that lead to love
canal becomming the poster child for urban pollution but the case he brought
up was actually earlier than love canal and the author of love story only
disputes the extent to which he used Gore as the basis for the lead
character.
> FDR is said to have made disparaging remarks of Sir W. Churchill, also.
> Would you hold that up, as a proof that Churchill was flawed in the manner
> FDR alleged?
I strongly suspect that Churchill himself would have concurred. He was
not exactly the type of person one would normally want in charge of
anything.
But he was the right person for the job that he did - as FDR himself
recognised.
> I'd bet this particular topic isn't of any particular interest on any of
> the other lists you cross-posted to, but if anyone on fight-censorship or
> freematt cares, be sure to include cypherpunks in your reply.
Hey you are the guy who wants to rewrite history.
Phill
