[Paul Ross]

This Revisionist malarkey deserves a Barf Alert! This guy does not really understand what motivated Gorbachev. Glasnost was a last desperate rally attempt by communism to DEFLECT the siren-call of the West to the oppressed subjects (note we can't call them citizens) of the Soviets. He would have ignored the restiveness of the people if he hadn't been completely foiled by the Reagan buildup to continue the Soviets extortion rackets against the West...which did drain Moscow's coffers. All in a vain effort to keep up...and achieve a level of military superiority that would cow the West into more 'protection racket' deals.

Pure squandry by the disciples of Lenin. And they haven't gone away. Eventually they recognized their failure with a strong, united, and technologically superior West to feel threatened by the communist empire. When it failed, they executed a scheme to take covert charge of the 'popular revolution' and still are pulling strings today. The real engineers of the Fall, manipulated many things to make the fall look spontaneous, and 'natural' but the strings were a little too blatant. Reagan does deserve credit for defending us, getting SDI going under the bitter circumstances of an anti-defense Congress, and forcing the Soviets into this gambit. And for whatever freedoms the spin-off state's citizens now have. The Russians meanwhile are slowly but surely fastening the manacles back in place, as their Press is muzzled and controlled once again.

[mrustow]

Soviets extortion rackets against the West...

Huh?

Pure squandry by the disciples of Lenin. And they haven't gone away. Eventually they recognized their failure with a strong, united, and technologically superior West to feel threatened by the communist empire. When it failed, they executed a scheme to take covert charge of the 'popular revolution' and still are pulling strings today. The real engineers of the Fall, manipulated many things to make the fall look spontaneous, and 'natural' but the strings were a little too blatant.

"They"? "Strings"? "The real engineers of the fall"? Have you taken your meds today, buddy?