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Old 07-17-2014, 11:11 PM   #188
Dirtbag59
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Atlanta, Georgia From: Silver Spring, Maryland
Age: 39
Posts: 14,750
Re: The Obama Years- A GOP love story

Soviet Russia was already on the brink by the time Regan got into office. The best you could attribute to Regan was he may have sped up the collapse by a couple of years and even that seems generous.

I'd argue that the Chernobyl incident with it's tremendous cost and the animosity created by the subsequent cover up did more damage to Soviet Russia then Reagan could have ever hoped to take credit for. And even then with a $15 billion direct loss it was a small part of the eventual collapse.

The Soviets dedication to communism, as least in principle, is what did them in. I remember seeing documentaries about East Germany where a child recalled asking his teacher when the world would be rid of currency and the teacher something akin to likely by the turn of the century. Such was the mindset of the Soviets and the Warsaw Pact countries though it was no secret that the party members were living well.

Had they embraced the hybrid system that China did post-Mao they likely would still be a major world power.

Personally in regards to Russia I would prefer to stick with the international community and let Russia make a fool of itself. The end result of Russia messing up is likely to happen regardless. Military action at this point will likely only cost American lives and if anything serve as propaganda fodder for the Ultra Nationalist in Russia which could possibly lead to a more dangerous conflict. Plus keep in mind the Ukraine crisis is currently costing Russia a lot of money in direct cost (ie not including possible embargos and sanctions). This latest incident is going to make the situation worse for Russia across the board.

After all it doesn't matter what your intent is. When a child sees an American solider in his back yard it doesn't take much for an adult to convince them that they're evil imperialist hell bent on taking over the world. Also another thing to keep in mind is that many Putin supporters are ultra nationalist hoping for a chance to cry victim should America exceed its reach. Part of the reason Putin has been able to keep power up to this point is that he's convinced the Russian people that everyones out to get them, particularly the US, and only a "strong" leader such as himself can protect the people. You know someone like.....

For the lulz. By the way this wasn't a parody, it was a random song praising Putin that was embraced by Putin and his camp following the songs popularity in 2002.

In other words to give Regan credit for taking down the Soviet Union by employing a 'tough foreign policy' is akin to giving Clinton full credit for the tech boom in the mid to late 90's. The point being Presidents get way to much credit and blame for virtually everything that takes place when they're in office. Especially when there are billions of other factors in play for any given situation.
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Last edited by Dirtbag59; 07-17-2014 at 11:27 PM.
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