Aaahhh - the Cold War never gets old.

Although children huddling under their school desk in the 1960's probably would disagree, but from an academic standpoint it's as rich as the Urals.

Once again I was all set to pounce on this last line: "Reagan, Thatcher and the rest of the Western leadership didn't knock it down... they just stopped propping it up."

Believe me, I understand the quandary certain individuals put themselves in pretending that the USSR was a thriving, functioning state and Reagan came along & knocked down with a Rambo knife in his teeth and a machine gun under each arm. A "quandary" because those same people would declare communism and socialism systems doomed to fail on their own, unsustainable, unworkable. So yes, I agree the system was crumbling from within, and that's why there is no need to embellish Regan's resume' on the matter - he stood up to them when many believed they were at their most likely to strike. A cornered wolf (or in this case, bear) so to speak. That history is impressive enough with no need of fiction.

However, after your follow up post (in which you appropriately attributed Regan, et al) I would assume that you would amend your italicized statement above. To describe it as simply "withdrawing support" doesn't convey the strength in his resolution to end the empire, as you so aptly pointed out in your addendum. You can say the Soviets were reeling after Breshnev and during Afghanistan, then recognizing that, Reagan (+Thatcher, JP II & Kohl) sought to deliver the knock out punch at great risk, ok, I can live with that analysis. But that means they DID in fact "knock them down."

Hell - if a Russian aficionado, damn near Sovietologist like yourself that once thought Reagan was out of his mind (& league), that we "needed" the Soviets for proper geopolitical balance; and whom "post wall fall" assigned the lions share of credit to Gorbby (affectionately known as "Gorbasms"), can come around to a post like your last and assign Reagan his proper kudos then I think outside of Berkley and Cambridge history has properly recorded what happened to the USSR.

Oh, and I have a pack of those most wanted Iraqi cards, unopened, still sealed. Along with Iraqi currency from the Saddam regime, with his picture on it and everything. My little brother, the one that was at Ft. Hood, he brought it back for me from one of his tours over there. I had no idea the cards were worth something now. Doesn't matter, I ain't selling ...