Word: gorbachevized
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...would with any other master politician, we should look at Gorbachev's deeds as well as his words. One example is Soviet military power. He still spends 20% of his gross national product on defense, compared with 6% in the U.S. He has modernized all three legs of the Soviet strategic nuclear triad. Soviet superiority in tanks, chemical weapons and combat aircraft has been maintained and in some cases increased. The Soviet Union's military might is greater now than when Gorbachev came to power. Even if he has been sounding to some hopeful ears like a dove, his bristling...
Should we help Gorbachev...
...leading foreign policy analyst concluded bluntly, "We should help those in the Soviet Union who are doing the right thing." But is Gorbachev really a convert to those ideals we consider the "right things" -- political pluralism, individual rights and a free-market economy? Whoever believes that will believe Santa Claus is bringing my grandchildren the $150 Nintendo sets I am buying them for Christmas...
...Gorbachev has changed, but it is a change of the head, not the heart. At a time when he is using his head, we should not lose ours. In providing help for Gorbachev, we should adhere to a fundamental principle. If his ultimate goal is to make life better for the Soviet people, we should help him. But we should not help him if his ultimate goal is to make life more difficult for the West by using Western subsidies to build an economically and militarily stronger Soviet Union with the same aggressive foreign policy...
What will work? Only policies the West takes for granted but that could weaken Gorbachev's grip on power -- lifting price controls, encouraging more entrepreneurism, decentralizing economic decision making...