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Most international relations experts in the West attribute the collapse of defense to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in early 1980 Arbatov though sees a significant shirt in the U.S. attitude towards the USSR as early as 1978. He points to the NATO decision to increase military budget annually for 15 years. Carter's "five-year plan" for arms spending, and the NATO move to build and deploy new medium-range American missiles in Europe as actions detrimental to détente All pre-dated Afghanistan...
What makes Arbatov's point all the more interesting is his analysis of why the United States began to return to a hard line. Arbatov believes that a feeling of impotence overtook American policy makers when the USSR reached military parity with the U.S. This feeling was exacerbated when the U.S. economy started to sour and events in Iran proved American night had become less effective in resolving conflicts. With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, Americans showed that they longed for the past, that "the mood of nostalgia for the 'American Century' was quite strong...
...Viewpoint ultimately suffers from Arbatov's allure to respect the partisan perceptions of the United States Arbatov's constant--albeit diplomatic--denunciations of U.S. policy are so grating that they reduce the effectiveness of the Soveit's arguments. The U.S. it seems, is always in the wrong, the USSR always in the right. As long as the discussion centers around the arms race and international affairs. Arbatov's line of argument is at least plausible. But when the authors turn to comparative human rights and the drawbacks of the Soviet social system, the Soviet balloon pops...
Most of Arbatov's discussion of human rights is pure rhetoric. When he states, for example, that the USSR has "a deep and long standing commitment to human rights" and adds that "it's for human rights that we made our revolution," the reader is tempted above all else to Laugh Rarely is there a defense of the utter lack of freedom of speech, movement and religious practice in the USSR. When such questions do arise. Arbatov either shifts the discussion to human rights "abuses" in the West or sidesteps the issue altogether. As for Oltmans he never sees...
When the authors turn to comparative human rights, the Soviet balloon pops. policy in the USSR And a disproportionately large number of people attempt to leave the Soviet Union each year to live in the West How many people can you think of who have given up the United States or Western Europe to live in Moscow...