Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!afit-ab!wbralick
From: wbralick@afit-ab.arpa (William A. Bralick)
Newsgroups: comp.misc
Subject: Re: Soviet Access to Usenet
Message-ID: <777@afit-ab.arpa>
Date: 14 Dec 88 18:47:05 GMT
References: <7649@well.UUCP> <8081@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU> <17651@gatech.edu> <5048@brspyr1.BRS.Com> <594@acorn.co.uk>
Reply-To: wbralick@blackbird.afit.af.mil (William A. Bralick)
Distribution: na
Organization: Air Force Institute of Technology; WPAFB, OH
Lines: 67

In article <594@acorn.co.uk> abray@acorn.co.uk (Andy Bray) writes:
>
> [loadsa stuff deleted]
>
>Now I realise this is no longer totally appropriate for comp.misc, but to some
>of us here in Europe, the distinction between Gorby's Russia and Ronnies USA
>seems to be getting a bit blurred.
>

This is perhaps a lack of clarity of vision on the part of the viewer.
I am sure that you were only trying to stimulate our thoughts.  I am
sure that you can draw a distinction between a free society and an
unfree society.

>It seems to me that there is a very good argument for us here in the West to
>offer various degrees of support for the changes being made in the USSR,
>whether by a news feed or rather more concrete economic support

When the Soviet Union adopts a defensive force structure and doctrine, and
when Mr. Gorbachev can bring himself to even slow down the production of 
offensive weapons, then his protestations of peaceful intentions will
carry more weight with those who bear the major cost of defending 
Western Europe from Soviet agression.  Perhaps that's why you cannot
discern the difference between the US and the USSR -- you don't need to,
yet.

The notion of Western democracies funding the continued expansion of the 
Soviet military (funds for OMGs needn't be cut to underwrite perestroika
the West will fund perestroika and we can still have our OMGs!).  Not
only will the capitalist sell you the rope to hang him with, he'll
lend you the money to buy it with!

> [material deleted]
>Of course this can cut both ways, but in the light of some of the bigotry that
>has been expressed here on this subject, I suspect there are possibly more
>American hackers in need of enlightenment than Russians. I know who I'm more
>frightened of.

I am truly sorry to hear this.  Let me try to help.  The United States
is your ally.  We share a common heritage.  We are both western
democracies.  The Soviet Union is a Marxist-Leninist totalitarian
state.  The Leninist part of that means that it is the Soviet Union's
responsibility to export their totalitarianism.  Gorbachev has not
repudiated Leninist Doctrine, nor even the Brezhnev Doctrine.  

Many Americans become extremely distraught when they hear Europeans
putting them in the same category as the Soviets.  These distraught
Americans then hearken back to Washington's (George, that is) 
exhortation to avoid foreign entanglements, especially when faced
with the omnipresent budget deficit (which, by the way, equals the
money spent to defend Western Europe and the Far East).  This leads
many Americans to an obvious conclusion about how to eliminate the
budget deficit.  

The argument that Western Europe is vital to the national security 
of the United States is increasingly questioned in the United
States.  I dare say that _perceived_ ingratitude doesn't help.

Oh, you can count me as an anti-Soviet_connecting_to_USENET vote.

>Andy Bray.


-- 
Will Bralick : wbralick@afit-ab.arpa  |  If we desire to defeat the enemy,
Air Force Institute of Technology,    |  we must proportion our efforts to 
                                      |  his powers of resistance.
with disclaimer;  use disclaimer;     |               - Carl von Clauswitz