Off Topic — HabitableZone

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re: Both ways?
Art Martin — (archived)

Boy Bowser, I couldn't agree more. The Soviet Union died, not as a result of anything the US did, but in spite of it. Any country which continually tries to expand it's borders and influence in the world simply gains as many problems as they do resources. It also certainly helped that the bordering countries to the Russian empire were predominantly radical Muslim states. Afghanistan, Ubekistan, all of those Islamic hot spots must have been a huge strain on not only the Russian military complex but also on the collective nerve of the the Soviet public. Yeah, we added a bit of fuel to their fire by arming the Mujahdeen but I'm certain history will show in a few decades that we did more damage to ourselves.

Almost all of our policies against the Russians, by both liberal and conservative administrations, did little but add fuel to the fire of the hardliners there. They eventually fell because of their own incompetence and greed. Even Jimmy Carter blew a golden opportunity in my mind. His boycott of the Moscow Olympics must have sent a sigh of relief to the KGB. If anything we should've instead subsidized millions of Americans to make the trip there instead of walking out. The seeds of discontent were already apparent in the USSR and to have scores of Americans invading their country and showing off their wealth and confidence would've been a public relations nightmare to Moscow.

It's high time we begin thinking outside the box in regard to our foreign policy. Simply strutting our chests and bombing countrysides might win some short term gains but in the long run, creativity and an insight into human nature has a far greater chance for success.

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