News Clips: End of Cold War: U.S. Strategy(1990)

Foreign Policy News Clips: Institute of International Studies, University of California, Berkeley

Foreign Policy News Clips: 1979-1990, edited by Harry Kreisler

1/19/90: The End of the Cold War and the Search for a U.S. Strategy

II. Political Parties.

"We knew, we just knew, all America, that this day would come,' said President Bush on November 13 about the amazing events in Berlin. It's nice of him to include us all , but I certainly didn't know it would come. And if he knew, he kept it a surprise.

"Conservative doctrine in America had been that it would never come. The mainstream conservative goal -- shared by mainstream liberals, with arguments about ways and means -- has been containment of communism. The extreme right position has been to roll back communism through military, but the conservative view (unlike that of the father of containment George Kennan) has never been that contained communism would collapse of its own internal contradictions.

"Quite the opposite. The conservative view has been that communism would always rise above the contradictions."

Michael Kinsley, Times of London, 12/2/89, p. 12

"Conservatives have done what they were asked to do in 1980: break inflation and restore Western power. Their job is done.

"There is another turn ahead. Democrats will do everything in their power to blow it, but one new and idea and the '90s belong to them"

Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post, 11/24/89, p. A23

"As a teen-ager, I shared the shock most Americans felt when the British voters dumped Winston Churchill just as World War II was ending. It seemed -- and probably was--ranked ingratitude, but the British felt that they could dispense with their great leader...

"In the mid-term election of 1946, just 15 months after the Japanese surrender, our voters ended 14 years of Democratic control and elected a Republican Congress...

"But consider what contributed to the postwar political upheavals and the parallels become significant...

"One cause was exhaustion -- the public's recognition that politically and intellectually the people in power had run out of gas. They had expended so much of their energy in figuring how to wage war that they just didn't have fresh resources to meet new challenges."

David Broder, Los Angeles Times, 11/22/89, p. B7

"As the communist world rushes to mimic the American system of government, there is growing concern that the American system no longer works at home."

Walter Robinson Boston Globe,11/20/89, p. P1

"From the White House to Capitol Hill, the critical weakness of American politics and government is becoming woefully apparent -- a frightening inability to define and debate America's emerging problems. For the moment, our political culture appears to be brain-dead".

Kevin Phillips, Washington Post,10-01-89, p. D1

"Let's not forget, too, that there are many Americans who are convinced that Gorbachev's move to glasnost was prompted by the big Reagan buildup in the US military. They believe that Gorbachev decided that the Soviets simply couldn't keep up with the arms race and at the same time , deal with growing economic problems in Russia.

"So, while the voters may be beguiled by the softer line of the Democrats on dealing with the Soviets, they may well end up by giving their votes to George Bush in 1992."

Godfrey Sperling Jr. Christian Science Monitor,12/5/89

"Is there a dividend for the Democrats? Potentially, they could seize the 'swords' into plowshares' issues, could lead in statesmanlike sacrifice of Pentagon pork."

Mary McGory San Francisco Examiner,12/7/89, p. A29

"The impending end to the Cold War will help George Bush politically in the short run. But the epochal event may damage the Republican Party in the long run, says The Wall Street Journal's panel of political experts."

James M. Perry Wall Street Journal,11/17/89, p. A16

"For more than four decades, anti-communism has been the glue that held the conservative movement together. But the breathtaking collapse of the enemy is provoking a bitter fight among victors on the political right."

Robert S. Greenberger, Wall Street Journal,11/16/89, p. A16

"But at least the Republicans have a purpose in world affairs. At least they have a policy. The last word ventured by the Democrats on grand matters of state came from an M-1 tank being driven in a circle by the party's 1988 presidential candidate."

Chris Matthews, Los Angeles Times,12/7/89, p. B7

"To sell big ambitions, Democrats need to reclaim the symbols of nationalism. Americans will buy big government only if it is linked to great national purpose --economic revival or securing the future of democracy. If Democrats make the case for a new nationalism, Republicans will be reduced to complaining that big ambitions cost big money.

"But Democrats have a problem with nationalism. The party is controlled by educated, upper-middle liberals. Blatant appeals to nationalism make liberals squirm. Economic nationalism sounds like protectionism. Military nationalism sounds like 'gunboat diplomacy' . Liberals want to talk about a 'new world order,' not the resurgence of U.S. power."

William Schneider, Los Angeles Times,12/31/89, p. M8

"Now, Cuomo said, things can be different. Since the late 1940's, 'we couldn't do any better than containment,' the policy of challenging the Soviets throughout the world, Now, Cuomo said, we can."

Chris Mathews, San Francisco Examiner,12/10/89, p. A27

" The country shows some of the mood of a veteran linebacker suddenly consigned to the bench.... Such a player is edgy, and tends to grumble at the coach. It is mood which could turn into a sulky isolationism."

Anthony Harris Financial Times,11/20/89, p. 25