Word: sovietism
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Francisco Secretary of State James Baker delivered the Administration's strongest endorsement to date of Gorbachev's efforts. "Any uncertainty about the fate of reform in the Soviet Union," said Baker, "is all the more reason, not less, for us to seize the present opportunity." President Bush likewise abandoned a timid U.S. attitude when he granted Hungary most-favored-nation trading status and declared, "We are privileged to participate in a very special moment in human history. We are witnessing an unprecedented transformation of Communist nations into pluralistic democracies with market economies...
...form of society. There must be no interference from outside, no matter what the pretext." What it all adds up to is that both in rhetoric and in reality, Gorbachev has done what Western leaders have been demanding for 21 years: repealed the "Brezhnev Doctrine," under which the Soviets claimed the right to provide "military aid to a fraternal country" (translation: invade it) whenever there was "a threat to the common interests of the camp of socialism" (translation: a threat to Soviet dominance...
Gorbachev is clearly motivated by his nation's desperate internal situation. Perestroika, which aims to radically restructure the Soviet economy, has so far succeeded only in disrupting the clanky old centralized-state system that at least belched forth a few second-rate consumer goods for the store shelves. Now those shelves are barer than they have been for 20 years, there are rumors of looming food riots this winter, and Gorbachev is not the hero at home that he is abroad. It is no wonder, then, that the Soviets, as former U.S. arms negotiator Paul Nitze says, "have turned inward...
Bush's conversion has not ended the deep schism within his Administration. National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft remains cautious about Gorbachev's ultimate aims, and his deputy Robert Gates is acidly skeptical about the Soviet leader's ability to prevail. In an unusual move, Baker last week forbade Gates to deliver a speech that was too pessimistic about Gorbachev's economic program. Vice President Dan Quayle directly challenged Baker in a Los Angeles speech by stressing "the darker side of Soviet foreign policy" and saying that instead of helping, the U.S. ought to "let them reform themselves...
Raising this skepticism is probably, to use Bush's favorite word, prudent. After all, what if Gorbachev is indeed merely pursuing by more subtle means the old Soviet goals of getting the U.S. to withdraw from Europe, dissolving NATO and neutralizing Germany? Even so, as Baker points out, it would still make sense for the U.S. to "lock in" gains by helping Soviet bloc nations become more independent and by securing agreements that make mutually beneficial arms reductions. In addition, the changes in Eastern Europe have progressed so far that a sudden reversal becomes less likely every...