Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. Whether real or imagined, Reagan’s vision for a strategic shield to protect the United States from nuclear attack was enough to convince Gorbachev he could not compete neither technologically nor financially buidling such a system. It was a brilliant move by Reagan, and ultimately ended the Cold War, even though the very idea was derided by the intelligentsia.
the very idea was derided by the intelligentsia.
Funny how that word has come to have an opposite meaning. These are now the dumbest andcmost foolish. Any plumber or auto mechanic would make better decisions than these University trained eggheads.
I disagree.
In 2022, a nuclear armed cruise missile can still defeat every anti-missile system in the world, at least sometimes.
In the 1990s, the USSR could have destroyed NATO in a couple hours with a cruise missile nuclear attack.
The USSR collapsed because Gorbachev made a conscious decision to NOT maintain Soviet control by force of arms.