Back in 2015, Charles Krauthammer wrote this:There’s an old Cold War joke – pre-pantyhose – that to defeat communism we should empty our B-52 bombers of nuclear weapons and, instead, drop nylons over the Soviet Union. Flood the Russians with the soft consumer culture of capitalism, seduce them with Western contact and commerce, love bomb them into freedom.
We did win the Cold War, but differently. We contained, constrained, squeezed and, eventually, exhausted the Soviets into giving up. The dissidents inside subsequently told us how much they were sustained by our support for them and our implacable pressure on their oppressors.
The logic behind President Obama’s Cuba normalization, assuming there is one, is the nylon strategy. We tried 50 years of containment and that didn’t bring democracy. So let’s try inundating them with American goods, visitors, culture, contact, commerce
We know how that “inundating them with American goods, visitors, culture, contact, commerce” turned out. The regime is still there.
We remember the great Charles Krauthammer, one of the best political commentators. He was born on this day in New York City in 1950.
It was Dr. Krauthammer who coined the phrase “Bush derangement syndrome” in 2003. He was reacting to the irrational behavior of so many Democrats. We also enjoyed his commentaries on the “Fox Report”.
Last, but not least, Dr. Krauthammer published a best seller a couple of years before his death in 2018.
P.S. Check out my blog for posts, podcasts and videos. If you like our posts, please look for ”Donate” on the right column of the blog page.
