Gorbachev Cuts Troops
The Gorbachev visit certainly was thoroughly and well covered in The Times, but one important thing was missing: the historical context.
It was as if nothing had happened before except the Reagan-Gorbachev summitry. Particularly, World War II cannot be left out in appraising the Soviet cut in military strength. Nor for that matter World War I. I wonder what level of military strength American cold warriors would demand if the U.S. had suffered two such terrible invasions as the Russians had.
It takes a while to sink in, but he is the hope of the world. My hope is that we have the leadership to take advantage of the opportunities. It seems strange that our leadership does not take Gorbachev’s proposals and run with them, make them our own, go him one better. Or are we afraid of peace? We seem so cautious, so comfortable with the cold war and the weapons race. What will we do without the Red Scare? I hope that we are not the helpless, pitiful giant we seem to be.
BILL KRAUSE
Glendale
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
