First, a little hint for you all: every so often, look at the subject
line of the thread you are replying to. If it makes no sense, try
changing it! You'd be surprised at how much less confusing it makes
things!
Now, let's address Kat's question about whether the Cold War was worth
it. Gautam wrote a good response, I'll try to do it in a simpler way.
Imagine how the Allies might have dealt with Nazi Germany, if Nazi
Germany had nuclear weapons. They would have conquered and controlled
many countries. And of course they would influence many other
countries that they did not occupy directly. But we could not fight
them, because that would trigger a nuclear war, and the destruction of
civilization. How would you fight an enemy like that? One that you
had to fight or be enslaved, yet if you fought them you would be
destroyed?
The Western approach to the Soviet Union in similar circumstances was
containment. We could not fight them directly, but we would not allow
them to expand their empire. We could do nothing about the people
already under their rule, but we could make it too dangerous to attempt
to extend that rule. Always with the knowledge that a mis-step could
mean global annihilation.
The Soviet system was every bit as bad as Nazi Germany...crushing
tyranny, genocide, forced labor, torture. We resisted the Soviets and
eventually their country crumbled. But their country would not have
crumbled without that resistance. Yes, an invasion of America itself
was never seriously considered. But Soviet tanks were always ready to
roll into Europe, if conditions were ever ripe. Say, if a local
communist group seized control and invited them in. Fortunately, that
never happened.
But what if America's resolve was weaker? What if we never tried the
Berlin Airlift, and all of Berlin fell to the Soviets? What if we
refused to station troops overseas? What if we allowed Soviet-backed
groups to seize country after country? Every country taken over would
prop up the Soviet system that much longer, until only America was
left.
I know you don't really remember the 70s and 80s, but until that time
the Soviets were still expanding. Grenada was the first country that
endured a communist takeover to be liberated since WWII. Up until then
the Soviets had done nothing but expand, establishing client state
after client state. Yes, their economy was beginning to crumble, but
no one knew that and it wouldn't have mattered if the US had collapsed
first. After Nixon and Kissenger and the loss in Vietnam, America was
in sorry shape. You are too young to remember double-digit inflation,
wage and price controls, riots...all with the spectre of thousands of
Soviet nuclear missles pointed at us.
Yes, our victory in the Cold War seems a foregone conclusion NOW, after
we've won. But how would we have ended up here in 2001, without going
through what we went through then?
=====
Darryl
Think Galactically -- Act Terrestrially
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices
http://auctions.yahoo.com/
