Posted on 11/07/2009 5:54:59 AM PST by califamily4W
Years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were sitting in a backyard near Stanford, where Shultz was teaching.
The two men discussed what they thought was the turning point in ending the Cold War.
Gorbachev said it was two leaders — he and President Ronald Reagan — sitting in a room together, talking.
Shultz said it was Reagan’s decision to show military might in 1983 by sending missiles to West Germany.
“The strength we put on display was never used,” Shultz said. “Strength works hand in hand with diplomacy.”
Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Shultz and other key figures in the end of the Cold War spoke Friday to a sold-out audience of about 900 at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum.
Hosted by former first lady Nancy Reagan, diplomats, world leaders and Reagan’s top advisers spoke throughout the day as part of “Ronald Reagan and the Fall of the Wall: Reflections From Yesterday, Lessons for Today.”
(Excerpt) Read more at vcstar.com ...
I miss you, Mr. President!
Obama on the other hand sent regrets that he would be unable to attend the ceremonies in Germany to mark this historical turning point.
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