@Advocate,
Advocate wrote:
Former communist leaders in the USSR to a man scoff at the notion that fear of Reagan brought down the country.
I don't blame them, Reagan's contribution to the demise of their regime wasn't inducing fear in anyone.
To a large extent, it was quite the opposite.
Having Reagan at the helm of the United States gave at least the impression to those in Soviet satellites who rose up to defy their communist masters, that if the worst came, the US would have their backs. Whether or not this was the actually the case, we'll never know as it didn't prove to be necessary.
Ultimately Soviet communists and Soviet communism were, of course, primarily responsible for their own fall, but people like Reagan, Pope John Paul II and Margaret Thatcher provided significant assists and determined the timing.
If we accept that the fall of the Soviet Union was a good thing for the people it dominated and the world at large, then the sooner the better and these three people (among others- we can throw George HW Bush into the mix too) are responsible for making it sooner, rather than later.
