The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy by David E. Hoffman

Author:David E. Hoffman
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9780307387844
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 2010-08-02T17:00:00+00:00

Akhromeyev.

Gorbachev called Chernyaev at home that evening. "We discredited the country, humiliated our people," Gorbachev said, according to Chernyaev's account. Gorbachev wondered if he should have resigned too. Then he added, "But fine, at least everyone here, and in the West, will know where power lies. It is in the hands of the political leadership, the Politburo. This will put an end to gossip about the military's opposition to Gorbachev, that he's afraid of them, and they are close to ousting him."34

On June 12, 1987, in Berlin, Reagan stood before the Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of Europe's division between East and West, and addressed Gorbachev directly.

"We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness," he said.

"Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West or to strengthen the Soviet state without changing it?

"General Secretary Gorbachev," Reagan declared, "if you seek peace--if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe--if you seek liberalization, come here, to this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"

The speech was classic Reagan, infused with his powerful faith in freedom and prosperity and the link between the two. Reagan recalled in his memoir that when he saw the wall, he spoke with genuine anger in his voice. Gorbachev still did not entirely understand Reagan, nor his rhetoric, and called Chernyaev a few days later. "He is trying to provoke us, to make us snap, which would help them get the Soviet threat back. If, like Reagan, I was giving interviews every week, I would say that he hasn't forgotten his previous occupation over these eight years."35

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