Word: brezhnevs
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...well become more dangerous when the aging leaders of the Kremlin are succeeded by a new generation that has known only expanding power. At a private dinner celebrating his confirmation by the Senate as Secretary of State, Haig told friends, "Every night I pray that [Soviet President Leonid] Brezhnev stays healthy and alive for a good while to come-at least until we have caught up with the Soviet Union. Because if he goes suddenly, I believe that the young ones waiting in the wings will take over. They have never known war; to them, Stalingrad is the title...
Negotiations with the Soviets. The Administration was clearly caught off guard by Brezhnev's unexpected proposal for a summit conference with Reagan, and is uncertain how to respond. While no U.S. official is pressing for an early summit, Haig is receptive to the idea of some kind of talks aimed at defining a "code of conduct" that the superpowers should obey...
...consider that our initial response to Mr. Brezhnev's speech was devoid of positive elements. We found the speech extremely interesting. We noted that it had a number of innovative facets. We emphasized that talks between ourselves and the Soviet Union were an inherent aspect of the conduct of our East-West policy. We believe it is in the interest of international stability and the American people to avoid the tendency that we have experienced on occasions in the past to rush to summitry for summitry's sake and to bring about euphoric expectations ... and then to dash...
...world events constructively and assure access to raw materials. All these suggest to the American people that we need to modify our approach. So do the unchallenged seizure of American citizens, the murder of American diplomats and officials, kidnapings ... Soviet interventions around the world are an extension of the Brezhnev Doctrine outside the sphere of Soviet hegemony. We will tolerate such interventions in the future only at great risk to world peace...
Despite its high propaganda content, the Brezhnev initiative could not be ignored. Some skeptics felt that his soothing tone was aimed mainly at driving a wedge between the U.S. and its European allies. But most assessments concluded that the overture should be explored. As Kremlinologist Starr put it, "Brezhnev's proposal indicates a commendable willingness to talk-and, at the same time, a staggering blindness to the recent events that have made us reluctant to talk. Still, [in the balance] I take it as positive...