The Cold War ended most unexpectedly in 1989-1990 with a U.S. victory. Many in the U.S.- including an overwhelming majority of the American people- give Ronald Reagan the credit for the
outcome. His strong attacks on the Russians made them realize, it is said, that this time they weren't dealing with a U.S. President who- like Carter- they could push around. Realizing this, they caved. As a British writer put it, "Ronald Reagan was successful in his dealings because he was right all along--- He believed that if the United States put forth its strength- military, material,
& moral- the Soviet Union could not live with it. And he was right."* Others give the credit to
Mikhail Gorbachev & the changes he ushered in to the U.S.S.R. & the Soviet bloc. Although I per-
sonally am in the latter camp, I nonetheless here ask-
Did Reagan(& his tactics)win the Cold War for the U.S.?
*- Godfrey Hodgson, THE WORLD TURNED RIGHT SIDE UP, p. 270 of the 1996, paperback edition.