The Soviet threat was bogus (huh?)

No flames please. I just presented the argument of why conservatives would now question the concept of a Cold War with the USSR, especially in its early post war years.

OK, no flame intended -- you're totally wrong about this.

First, if you'll read my post #7, you'll note that I did not attack this piece on the basis of the author's alleged liberalism -- my point was that he is one of those faux conservatives that desire attention and write Alice-in-Wonderland pieces to attract it.

Second, even if I accept your (rather incredible) allegations, what of it, if the CIA used ex-Nazis in the war against Soviet communism? On the basis of the "find-a-dog-to-eat-a-dog" school of global Realpolitick, such was a perfectly acceptable tactic in fighting the Soviet menace.

We don't need to "wonder" about either Soviet intentions or actions in the Cold War -- the open record speaks plainly enough. Of course they were worried about "encirclement" -- so was Hitler. That does not negate their global designs -- this author claims their territorial acquisitions were limited to a defensive perimeter. They were not -- the Soviets supported and encouraged guerilla movements around the world, from southeast Asia to the middle east to Africa to South America, in addition to their European adventures. If that's not a "global" design, I'd like to know what is.

The CIA, while not winning any awards for perfection, tried to cope with the Soviet threat as best it could, until leftist Congressmen nearly destroyed it in the Church hearings of the mid-70's (as an aside: Ever wonder why there's no adjective "Churchism" to complement the pejorative "McCarthyism"? You know why; liberal hacks in the media loved Frank Church. I believe him to be, if not an outright Soviet agent, at least the biggest fellow traveler and "useful idiot" the commies ever had in a high governmental position.)

Stop reading kook web sites and educate yourself on the real history of the Cold War. I suggest the following as a corrective to some of the crap you've been ingesting:

Victory : The Reagan Administration's Secret Strategy That Hastened the Collapse of the Soviet Union by Peter Schweizer

Architects Of Victory: Six Heroes of the Cold War by Joseph Shattan

From the Shadows : The Ultimate Insider's Story of Five Presidents and How They Won the Cold War by Robert Gates

You have your points and I am not in agreement with the authors latter assertion that the Cold War was a US only fantasy.

I do think that our leaders in America never had good intel on the USSR and this may have distorted our view of what was going on.

Some say (and I know of the thesis, not that I sunscribe to it but I am of open mind lately) that the CIA mis-read the intentions of Stalin caused the US to set off the Cold War (the war defined as a proxy war against a Soviet plot to win over the world via world wide socialist insurections) and that when the USSR was about to collapse the CIA was publishing reports on how strong its economy was and how the Soviet threat was as big as ever. I remember even reading some CIA reports that called Gorbies reforms deceptions.

I do not buy this article's thesis whole sale. The full extent of the USSR's threat to the world is still to be uncovered. There is a lot hidden within old Kremlin and Washington files that one day historians will have access to.

I do think that our leaders in America never had good intel on the USSR and this may have distorted our view of what was going on.

I don't necessarily disagree with this, but my point was that you did not need "good intelligence" to see what the Soviets were up to -- the open, agressive actions of their government spoke plainly enough.

If you don't believe me, ask the 50 million inhabitants of the Soviet slave-state satellites which side of the Cold War they wanted to win. While you're at it, ask that of most Russians.

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