Another Reagan Victory over the Soviet

RMNIXON · 02-10-2007, 07:42 PM

Opponents of Poland's former communist regime reportedly want to pay a posthumous homage to US President Ronald Reagan by erecting his statue in the place of a Soviet-era monument.

In an open letter to the mayor of the southwestern city of Katowice, the former anti-regime activists said that the staunchly anti-communist Reagan had been a "symbol of liberty," the Polish news agency PAP reported.
As a result, they said, he deserved to become the centrepiece of the city's Freedom Square, replacing a monument to the Soviet troops who drove out the occupying Nazis in 1945.

They also said that they wanted the site to be rebaptised "Ronald Reagan Freedom Square."

City hall spokesman Waldemar Bojarun said that Katowice's councillors would consider the issue.

Bojarun said that he had "enormous respect" for Reagan.

However, he said, the proposal could cost an estimated 500,000 zlotys (128,000 euros, 168,000 dollars) and the city had "other pressing needs."

There are already separate plans to erect a statue in memory of Reagan in the centre of the Polish capital, Warsaw, which would be paid-for from private funds.

Reagan, who dubbed the Soviet Union an "evil empire," is widely credited by Poles with having driven communism to the wall.

The conservative Republican made fighting communism the cornerstone of his 1980-1988 presidency, and backed Poland's Solidarity trade union after it went underground when the regime declared martial law in 1981.
Reagan died in June 2004 at the age of 93.

Opponents of Poland's former communist regime reportedly want to pay a posthumous homage to US President Ronald Reagan seen here in 1988, by erecting his statue in the place of a Soviet-era monument.

© 2007 AFP - Mike Sargent

http://www.france24.com/france24Publ...cjrf8&cat=null

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We have plenty of grateful friends all over the world!

imind · 02-10-2007, 10:54 PM

i will never, ever understand peoples attachment to that man.

Thorgrim · 02-10-2007, 11:13 PM

Strangely enough, Nixon said Reagan had little to do with it, only the stupid masses believe an empire already collapsing was changed by a few speeches and already extravegent competitive spending

6SpeedTA95 · 02-10-2007, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

Strangely enough, Nixon said Reagan had little to do with it, only the stupid masses believe an empire already collapsing was changed by a few speeches and already extravegent competitive spending

There's no doubt the USSR was beginning to crumble and Reagan sped that up tremendously. Thats not really even debatable.

Thorgrim · 02-10-2007, 11:53 PM

Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95

There's no doubt the USSR was beginning to crumble and Reagan sped that up tremendously. Thats not really even debatable.

No offense but I believe Richard Nixon over you

Thorgrim · 02-11-2007, 12:06 AM

Reagan was "probably the least well-informed on the details of running the government of any president I knew," Ford said. In a separate interview, he said Reagan "was just a poor manager, and you can't be president and do a good job unless you manage."

Ford contended his own negotiation of the Helsinki accords on human rights did more to win the Cold War than Reagan's military buildup. Other key factors were the Marshall Plan that helped rebuild Europe after World War II and the establishment of NATO, he said.

"When you put peace, prosperity and human rights against poverty, a massive unsuccessful military program and a lack of human rights, communism was bound to collapse," he said. "No president, no Democrat or Republican, can claim credit for those programs. I'll tell you who deserves the credit — the American people."

Ford called Carter a 'disaster' - Gerald R. Ford - MSNBC.com

Nixon said Reagan's economic policies were unduly harsh and cautioned against giving him too much credit for winning the Cold War. "Communism would have collapsed anyway," he told Monica Crowley, a Nixon aide in his last years, according to her 1996 book, "Nixon Off the Record."
CNN.com - Nixon on Reagan: Not 'pleasant to be around' - Dec. 10, 2003

That's what pops up on google first, be he has more comments about how over-rated Reagan was in fighting communism...pretty much everyone agrees except those who can make money off of Reagan's name through politics or books

RMNIXON · 02-11-2007, 05:38 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

No offense but I believe Richard Nixon over you

So what great liberal thinkers and academics predicted the end of the Soviet Union? Because I sure never heard it! I can recall clearly how we had to live with this system on the same planet far into the future. How we need a Nuclear Freeze if they want it. How Reagan is just making trouble by "Evil Empire" remarks and playing cowboy. Reagan was the President who said "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall." He didn't wait for the analysis afterward. Seems to me like Reagan was rather smart to push an end to what was just a different political outlook to so many "smart" people!

Thorgrim · 02-11-2007, 06:13 PM

Originally Posted by RMNIXON

So what great liberal thinkers and academics predicted the end of the Soviet Union? Because I sure never heard it! I can recall clearly how we had to live with this system on the same planet far into the future. How we need a Nuclear Freeze if they want it. How Reagan is just making trouble by "Evil Empire" remarks and playing cowboy. Reagan was the President who said "Mr. Gorbachev, Tear down this wall." He didn't wait for the analysis afterward. Seems to me like Reagan was rather smart to push an end to what was just a different political outlook to so many "smart" people!

Do you study Nixon...at all? There are lots of times, besides what is mentioned, for instance Reagan's "advice" to him on Taiwan, where Nixon thought it was like talking to a child

Nixon was an intellectual, Ford was a strong moderate Republican, they both thought very little of Reagan

It's all constructed because the radical right needs a figurehead, and all Republicans from 1932-1980 were moderates if they were of any importance, Goldwater would be the example you'd pick, but the religious right can't stand his libertarian positions on social issues you'd think a liberal would have said

Many liberal "academics" didn't have access to national intelligence reports or the inner workings of the KGB, heck the CIA, even its conservative elements, didn't predict the fall of the Soviet Union

You really think the Soviet economy/military went "oh my god, he just called us...an evil empire...oh wait we've been saying that about them as "imperialists" for years who gives a fuck" or when he went "tear down this wall" that was some dart...the soviet economy and military was about to come to life, but then they heard that speech and everything collapsed...

It's 2007, and we have basically normalized nations with Vietnam, a communist country who killed tens of thousands of young Americans...so yes we did have to embrace the reality that communism is not going to disappear right now

Communist China basically owns us financially, not to mention victories of former communists all over south america

The world is looking more and more like it is going to form a defensive pact of communist/radical countries around the world, this time NATO will be isolated, heck it may even dissolve, and the US will stand completely alone

That's the legacy Reagan-Bush II are leaving us

Diamond Cross · 02-11-2007, 06:18 PM

Yet most leading historians and experts give Reagan the credit for ending the Soviet threat.

Your liberal bias is showing again.

RMNIXON · 02-12-2007, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by Thorgrim

You really think the Soviet economy/military went "oh my god, he just called us...an evil empire...oh wait we've been saying that about them as "imperialists" for years who gives a fuck" or when he went "tear down this wall" that was some dart...the soviet economy and military was about to come to life, but then they heard that speech and everything collapsed...

No, that would be very silly. What was done was a major buildup of our armed forces and our intelligence community from the dismal state it was in durring post Vietnam 1970's. The Soviets could not keep up with our pace economically. Even SDI was in part a bluff to get the Soveits to agree to nuclear weapons reductions not just a Nuclear Freeze that would give them advantages. I am not so naive to think Reagan was the mastermind behind this. But he put his name and signiture to it and was not afraid of tough talk in public.

Diamond Cross · 02-12-2007, 05:20 PM

Reagan did know enough to beat the Soviets, and that strategy was to outspend them and drive them to bankruptcy. It worked.

RMNIXON · 02-12-2007, 05:35 PM

Originally Posted by Diamond Cross

Reagan did know enough to beat the Societs, and that strategy was to outspend them and drive them to bankruptcy. It worked.

True. Even without nukes a conventional war in Europe would have been an awful bloody mess. The Soviets spent a large portion of their GNP on a huge standing army and ground support all lined up in Eastern Europe!