Let me explain a bit better....this story fascinates me. I’ve read everything I could on it. I believe it because as I understand it even Ted Kennedy’s people didn’t deny it.
Seems Gorbachov released a bunch of Soviet records in the early 90’s. The London guy went through them and found the memo from the KGB guy about the approach to him by Sorenson about setting up a meeting with Kennedy and Andropov. The idea was to teach Andropov how to talk to the American media with the ultimate goal of convincing the American people that Reagan was a nasty guy what with insisting on not agreeing to a nuclear freeze.
Ted’s intention was to try to bring Reagan down. It was a betrayal of our country, pure and simple. The memo even mentioned that either Walter Cronkite or Baba Walters to do the interview.
What I don’t understand is the Ruskies didn’t take Sorenson up on the offer. Which they didn’t because Andropov never appeared on Meet the Press much less other members of the Russian army.
This was some grand scheme Kennedy had, likely with help from Kerry, to bring down Reagan with a little lying from the media.
It didn’t work because first of all...the Ruskies didn’t take the offer. I wonder why.
Later they got away with a betrayal over Vietnam which cost the lives of millions and know that as you read this Teddy’s burning in hell.
This is one amazing story....as I understand the Ruskies have now closed those files up again so the chance for Bloggers and all to get at them has been lost.
Seems Gorbachov released a bunch of Soviet records in the early 90’s. The London guy went through them and found the memo from the KGB guy about the approach to him by Sorenson about setting up a meeting with Kennedy and Andropov. The idea was to teach Andropov how to talk to the American media with the ultimate goal of convincing the American people that Reagan was a nasty guy what with insisting on not agreeing to a nuclear freeze.
Ted’s intention was to try to bring Reagan down. It was a betrayal of our country, pure and simple. The memo even mentioned that either Walter Cronkite or Baba Walters to do the interview.
What I don’t understand is the Ruskies didn’t take Sorenson up on the offer. Which they didn’t because Andropov never appeared on Meet the Press much less other members of the Russian army.
This was some grand scheme Kennedy had, likely with help from Kerry, to bring down Reagan with a little lying from the media.
It didn’t work because first of all...the Ruskies didn’t take the offer. I wonder why.
Later they got away with a betrayal over Vietnam which cost the lives of millions and know that as you read this Teddy’s burning in hell.
This is one amazing story....as I understand the Ruskies have now closed those files up again so the chance for Bloggers and all to get at them has been lost.
Wow thank you Kennedy's traitorous actions knew no bounds Amazing he got away with it.
I grew up in the Soviet Union and can venture a guess.
The Soviet thinking was thoroughlly through the prism of the class structures. Since both Kennedy and Reagan were upper class, -- in fact, Kennedy more so than Reagan, -- the distinctions between them that we see as between the Democrats and the Republicans, the KGB did not consider important. The American system was viewed as rule of the very rich, the "capitalists", through the proxies of two political parties and illusion of democratic change.
They did not consider the American Left (other than the Communist Party USA and maybe another fringe group or two) as allies, or even trustworthy collaborators. They probably calculated that Kennedy's offer would come with a price of political openness inside the Soviet Union: release of political prisoners, freedom to emigrate, greater flow of information, that kind of thing.
Do not forget that the Soviet Rrgime depended on the continued Cold War in order to justify political repression at home and interventions abroad. They, perhaps, feared real confrontation or even being outspent on defense, -- hence, their interest in so-called detente, but they did not want the military standoff to go completely away.
In short, it is possible that they did not prefer Ted Kennedy to Reagan at that stage. To them, the ideal American president would be someone in the middle, neither a dove or a real hawk.