Cheney on Gorbachev

Cheney is a brave man (“Cheney Predicts Gorbachev Will Fail, Be Ousted,” Part I, April 29). He appears to be the only Cabinet officer willing to express openly the hidden agenda of the Bush Administration.

By predicting the failure of Gorbachev’s reform efforts, he attempts to justify U.S. resistance to Gorbachev’s many initiatives to relax the present U.S.-Soviet military confrontation. Cheney argues for continued pressure on the Soviets in the form of increased Western European defense spending plus alliance resistance to nuclear reductions.

His prediction of Gorbachev’s failure is a classic example of a self-fulfilling prophecy. Keep the pressure on as a means of bringing Gorbachev down and then point to the consequences and say, “I told you so.”

Why would anyone advocate a no-win strategy? Simple. If one wants to justify large military forces and promote a huge military budget, it helps to have a strong, threatening enemy. Hard-line Soviet leadership would satisfy the enemy role far better than the dovish Gorbachev who daily weakens the Soviet’s enemy image.

There is a genuine opportunity today for constructive agreements to reduce the level of conventional and nuclear armaments in Europe. It is irresponsible to pursue policies designed to block such reductions in a cynical attempt to perpetuate record levels of military spending.

EUGENE J. CARROLL

Deputy Director

Center for Defense Information

Washington, D.C.