[21stCenturyFreeThinker]

I wasn't pleased with the continuation of Detente either. This legitimized the Soviet Union with the assumption that we had to live with them.

I could go either way on this, but a strong case can be made for Detente. Pure Communism is a system that can't sustain itself for long. Even China has been moving to a market based economy. Letting time run its course helped it to implode economically from within. At the same time Nixon was splitting China away from the Soviets and forced them to think about their eastern border. Divide and conquer is a time honored strategy of war.

At any rate, Ford only had 2 unexpected years. I don't see what he could have done but continue most of Nixon's policies.

Of course we could have had Spiro Agnew as president. I suspect we may have been blessed in that respect.

[rhombus]

It's hard to say whether or not Detente helped during the Nixon/Ford years or only delayed the Soviet collapse. Still, no one now seems to think Reagan SHOULD have continued the policies of detente which were in place only a few short years before his election.