Debate Still Rages Over Who Won the Cold War

VOA ^ | 11/3/2009 | Mark Snowiss

[james500]

The 20th anniversary of the 1989 East European revolutions has re-opened contentious debate over who won the Cold War and what caused Soviet communism to disintegrate so rapidly in its final years. The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 was a symbolic milestone, heralding the break-up of the Soviet Union two years later. Looking back, many people directly involved are still asking: Was Soviet communism defeated? Was it overthrown? Or did it simply collapse from within?

The rapid succession of events which marked the end of the Cold War is not in dispute. Poland's historic roundtable talks between the banned Solidarity trade union and the ruling Communist Party took place in the spring of 1989.

...

...arguing that the U.S. military buildup and moral leadership under Mr. Reagan actually won the Cold War.

Helle Dale is a foreign affairs specialist at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

"The critical importance of American leadership … happened through military deterrence of the Soviet Union … and it also happened through the power of international broadcasting and public diplomacy from the United States that carried on the ideological fight behind the Iron Curtain," Dale said.

But [former high-ranking Clinton administration official] Nye tells VOA that while the power of U.S. ideas and its ability "to deter Soviet aggression" are essential to understanding the end of the Cold War, neither are root causes.

"The collapse of Soviet communism … was a process of erosion … I think to call it defeat creates too much of an impression that it was from the outside. I think a good deal of what happened was from the inside."

Twenty years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the debate continues. The definitive history of the Cold War's end clearly has yet to be written.

[bt_dooftlook]

Um, the debate ended in November, 2008 when the Communists won the Cold War...;)

[hinckley buzzard]

Don't forget Maggie Thatcher.

Right now, with Putin running a revived Russia and Obama running down a demoralized America, it looks a lot like the Russians won.

[Sudetenland]

No...not really. Putin may have been a commie, but he and Medvedev have both been warning the idiot in chief not to go down the road they travelled. They are more inclined to classic facism (collusion between corrupt economic powers and a government with absolute power). I don't think either of them wants a return to communism.

No, only we are stupid enough to elect a commie to power...BUT...the voters are already working to correct that mistake.

[ZULU]

If the Russians nearly had their freedom and lost it again, they didn’t win.

As for Putie, well, he may be a KGB man deep down in side, but I sure as hell wish he was an American born capitalist. He would have made a far better President than the fraudulent cipher sitting in the Oval Office and you can be assured HE would never apologize to ANYONE - EVER.

[onedoug]

My wife has a bag of plastic soldiers; “Good Ol’ USA vs Commies”, made in China.

[mylife]

Amazing.

[Thunder90]

We may have won the Cold War, but the Russians are winning Cold War II.

[Thunder90]

We know who won Cold War I, but the “Former” Soviet Union and its allies are winning Cold War II.

[Nevermore]

the Fall of the Soviet Reich was certainly the result of a concerted effort by a lot of courageous people; and Reagan was certainly, undeniably, the concert master. But the most important thing to note is who did not have anything to do with it, e.g.: Lyndon, Jack or Jimmuh (or any other Dem pol, for that matter),or Mikhail (unless you can call "surrender" "winning" - which is easy if you know Dem Newspeak).

[Thunder90]

The thing is that we had a chance to make MAJOR changes in Russia through our diplomatic and military prowess. The problem is that Clinton decided to dither on the issue and allowed Yeltsin to mess things up over there, thus allowing the former Soviet structures and personalities to reassert themselves. There should have been trials for high ranking Soviet officials, and permanent bars on those within the KGB and high ranking Soviet officials and military officers from political and military service.