“It was not NATO that liberated Eastern Europe. Moscow did – by pulling out the Red Army after half a century.”
It was neither, you old fool. It was Ronald Reagan, Maggie Thatcher and Pope John Paul II and a supporting cast of millions of people demanding freedom.
Bravo and well said.
That’s why (some) Russians suffer from the greatest case of geopolitical penis-envy on the face of the planet . . . their vaunted military was chased out of E. Europe by protestors armed with candles.
Don’t forget Lech Walesa too. He and the Polish workers exposed the folly of the communist system. Unfortunately, Pat has glommed on to Putin as a hero and he ignores the real heroes. Pat’s a blow hard for dictators. It’s a sad fact of phenomena that Pat’s decided to waste his aging years puffing up and apologizing for every brutal dictator who hates America, especially if they share his animus for Jews.
Here is the thing that frustrates me about this invocation of Reagan in connection to our current Russia policy. Yes, in his first term Reagan confronted the Soviet gerontocrats and that was absolutely the right thing to do. But in his second term, after the emergence of Gorbachev, Reagan's policies were quite different. Reagan didn't treat Gorbachev as the enemy. Reagan talked to Gorbachev, he met him many times, he made treaties, he "trusted but verified," he was constantly slammed for that by the hard-line Cold warriors but he was vindicated. He managed to convince Russian leadership, Russian elite, and, most important, Russian people that the West wasn't the enemy.
That is how we should've treated the new Russia. That's the Reagan way. Do you realize that the current policy of constantly poking a stick into Russia's face was designed by CLINTON? Why do Republican feel so attached to it?
If we're going to name just a few names, I'd add Lech Wałęsa.
Bigger and clearer because it deserves it. Well said, pissant!