Soviet error or desire for freedom? -- the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War
FacebookTwitter
By Toby Westerman
November 12, 2009

The celebrations are now over. Leaders from 28 nations — President Obama sent Hillary Clinton — commemorated the fall of the Berlin wall, which initiated the collapse of the Soviet Union. The fall of the wall was the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the dawn of a new freedom for all humanity — or was it?

If we understand the fall of the wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union as the product of error rather than as an expression of the human desire for freedom, then the years following the end of the USSR take on a radically different significance.

Twenty years after the destruction of the Berlin wall Russia is in the early stages of a re-sovietization, communist governments are strengthening their hold on their populations, communist guerrilla movements remain determined to force their way to power, and the crimes of the Soviet Union are beginning to fade from memory.

The collapse of Soviet power is not even an embarrassment for today's communists, nor is it an impediment for former Soviet officials in Russia. No trials for Soviet crimes against humanity were held in Russia after the USSR ingloriously evaporated on December 25, 1991.

Not long ago, Vladimir Putin, now Prime Minister but then President of the Russian Federation, boldly declared that the end of the USSR was the "worst geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century."

Putin's dramatic sense of tragic loss certainly shows no fundamental remorse for a government which systematically killed tens of millions of its own people beginning with the first days of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917.

In a tantalizing comment on the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba's Fidel Castro has stated that the demise of the USSR was "naïve and inadvertent."

Castro's remark does not point to a "capitalist victory," but, rather, the incompetence Soviet leadership. During the celebrations commemorating the fall of Berlin the wall, German Chancellor Angela Merkel praised Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, for not interfering in the popular uprising which brought down the Berlin wall, and later led to the undermining of Soviet authority throughout Eastern Europe.

While Merkel was right about Gorbachev's lack of action, but It would appear that inadequacy rather than virtue accounts for the end of what U.S. President Ronald Reagan called the "evil empire."

Moscow's deep cover espionage against the U.S. continued without any difficulty, China's tremendous military build-up was possible in its early stages only with Russian assistance, and every nation hostile to the U.S., including North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran, found a support in Moscow.

The years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the increasing sovietization of the "new" Russia and its tangle of anti-American allies — all but ignored in the general media — is examined with extensive notation in Lies, Terror, and the Rise of the Neo-Communist Empire: Origins and Direction, available at this website or at various online book sellers — locate by title.

WHAT REVIEWERS SAY: "FAST-PACED AND HIGHLY READABLE"; "PROVIDES A BROAD, ENCOMPASSING PANORAMA..."; "IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HOW WE GOT TO THE POINT WE ARE TODAY...THIS IS THE BOOK YOU MUST READ."

LIES, TERROR, AND THE RISE OF THE NEO-COMMUNIST EMPIRE: ORIGINS AND DIRECTION,

By Toby Westerman.

The author reveals the origins and direction of the terror alliance between militant Islam, resurgent neo-communist nations and revolutionary groups. This work focuses on questions the media dare not ask, including:
Who controls Russia? Did the Cold War really end? Is it possible to negotiate with radical Islam? How does radical Islam work with neo-communist nations and rebel groups? What does history teach us? Westerman's book is essential reading for these times.

[TO ORDER, EITHER CLICK TITLE, OR SEND YOUR CHECK FOR $29.95 TO:
INTERNATIONAL NEWS ANALYSIS
2364 JACKSON ST. #171
STOUGHTON, WI 53589]


© Toby Westerman

 

The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
(See RenewAmerica's publishing standards.)


Toby Westerman

Mr. Toby Westerman is editor and publisher of International News Analysis Today (www.inatoday.com). Since 1996, Westerman has used English and foreign language materials to bring to public attention general trends and specific events that pose dangers to the American public but are either ignored or superficially treated by the centralized media... (more)

Subscribe

Receive future articles by Toby Westerman: Click here

More by this author

 

Stephen Stone
HAPPY EASTER: A message to all who love our country and want to help save it

Stephen Stone
The most egregious lies Evan McMullin and the media have told about Sen. Mike Lee

Siena Hoefling
Protect the Children: Update with VIDEO

Stephen Stone
FLASHBACK to 2020: Dems' fake claim that Trump and Utah congressional hopeful Burgess Owens want 'renewed nuclear testing' blows up when examined

Cliff Kincaid
Trump’s life is in grave danger

Randy Engel
A documentary: Opus Dei and the Knights of Columbus – The anatomy of a takeover bid, Part VII

Jerry Newcombe
Why 'Bad Faith' is a bad movie

Paul Cameron
Is the U.S. under a gay dictatorship?

Curtis Dahlgren
'HAY,' it's June Dairy month!

Stone Washington
The marvels of modern watchmaking: How three brands preserved quality timekeeping

Bonnie Chernin
Why Donald Trump was convicted

Pete Riehm
But, but, but Trump is a convicted felon!

Linda Goudsmit
CHAPTER 21: Montessori and Drag Queen Story Hour

Tom DeWeese
Thinking globally, acting locally: How sustainable rule took over your city

Marsha West
Taylor Swift may be causing her fans to stumble into witchcraft

Armand C. Hale
We are next
  More columns

Cartoons


Click for full cartoon
More cartoons

Columnists

Matt C. Abbott
Chris Adamo
Russ J. Alan
Bonnie Alba
Chuck Baldwin
Kevin J. Banet
J. Matt Barber
Fr. Tom Bartolomeo
. . .
[See more]

Sister sites