Reagan and the Cold War?

travis m

Well, the US is still here, and the USSR isn't, so I guess it worked.

I'd take a cold war with no bloodshed any day over cargo planes full of bodybags..... I'd say mission accomplished, and congrats Mr. Reagan for brilliant execution

Cutedervish

I don't think he did anything to take down the Soviet Union at all. Soviet Union was a self-destructive system, that started to break down in the late 50's if not earlier for many internal reasons. Reagan's "stepping up" the arm race was the result of infinite desire to compete with the Soviet Union, which eventually did not pay off for neither sides. As for Soviet Union "not having enough money" - i doubt that could be true.

who farted?

The ultimate way to bankrupt the USSR without going to war.

centurion613

I agree with Chia Obama. He literately ran the Soviet union into the ground monetarily by making them try to develop defensive weapons against the "Star Wars" type offensive weapons we were coming up with.

oatmealpie

I applaud anyone for trying to end war.

jackson

It was not just Reagan. Remember it takes all sorts to make things happen. Military, political and various federal agencies.

Russia was already on the brink. The US outspent Russia and that is that.

I do think that those days of MAD were better. The Russians supported whatever group and we did as well. One on one. There was no room for muslim fundamentalists or whatever rebels.

Mark F

Largely hollow. It bought a lot of shiny guns but not the ammunition for them. It created a lot of new expensive bases (to spread them to as many congressional districts as possible) which became hugely expensive to maintain. It also persued policies that had no apparent basis in reality. For example, 20+ years on I still have not heard a rational basis for the "600 ship navy". 25 ships per time zone doesn't cut it.

ArmyChemo

It worked. That's all I have to say about that...

JScott

Reagan did nothing to end the Cold War...conservatives need to stop deluding themselves with that thought. By that point the Soviet Union was bound to collapse under its own weight. It was Gorbachev who implemented both glasnost and perestroika. It was also by Gorbachev's own reckoning that Reagan succeeded in extending the Cold War because Reagan's obsession with the arms buildup caused the Soviet hardliners to disallow Gorby from liberalizing more.

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