"All I know is that if we had followed the leftist foreign policy prescriptions during the last part of the Cold War"

Yeah, FDR, Truman, Johnson and Kennedy followed that 'leftist' worldview. Okay. Whatever. And how is what they followed different from Nixon, Eisenhour and Reagan? And what democratic president actually took a 'let them go unchecked' policy? Carter?

Carter expanded the Nuclear strategy from civilian centers to civilian centers+hardened nuclear missile sites while at the same time nuclear hardeining domestic missile sites- which 'doubled down' the nuclear arms race in terms of technological sophistication and expense (smaller warheads packing a larger yield, better more expensive guidance systems, and mirv'd missiles). Also, the big 'stealth technology' push was initated under Carter. Carter may have been a sucky president in many ways- but he followed the communist containment policy and also the doctrine of over-whealming nuclear force.

This is silly.