Integrating the Soviet Union Into the Community of Nations

The "revolution" in the USSR has apparently run its full course after the forces of inertia of a long obsolete system uttered a desperate but fruitless last gasp. The path is now clear for this gigantic empire and its peoples to become full-fledged members of the global economy.We Europeans are surely not the only ones puzzled by criticism levied against President Bush, especially since this criticism comes from the US media and is directed at his obviously successful, long-term strategic policy: the reintegration of the territorially largest country in the world into the community of free nations and its more efficient economic system. This US policy has long been clear, but the decisive and historic step in this direction was only recently made by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev in Moscow as they signed the START disarmament pact. The economy of the resource-rich Soviet Union must be empowered quickly not only so that the standard of living in its own country can be greatly increased, but also so that the economically weaker regions can be given more aid. From this perspective, it is difficult to discern the reason for the media barrage against the policies of these two statesmen. Certainly no one is surprised that such a fundamental, sweeping reform process brings with it many frictions. That is why the international news media must behave responsibly in their reports and comments. And they must make their specific contribution to the forward progress that has begun. Kurt H. Muller, Wuppertal, Germany

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