Mikhail Gorbachov quiso reformar el comunismo y lo hundió. Quiso fortalecer la Unión Soviética y la desintegró. Fue un aprendiz de brujo que desencadenó unas fuerzas que no pudo controlar y que lo arrollaron. Pero -y ahí reside su grandeza- no opuso resistencia. No usó la violencia para frenar unos cambios que no apuntaban a la reforma del sistema soviético que él quería sino a la democracia y la libertad occidentales. Esa aceptación, que algunos rusos llaman cobardía o traición, es lo que le confiere a Gorbachov su grandeza y su dignidad de héroe perdedor.
Gorbachov tenía enfrente a un presidente de los EEUU, Ronald Reagan, ridiculizado y demonizado por la izquierda como ahora pasa con Trump, que había llamado a la URSS el 'imperio del mal' y que se había lanzado, con gran escándalo de intelectuales, socialdemócratas e izquierdistas, a desarrollar lo que se dio en llamar 'la guerra de las galaxias'. Es decir, un escudo antimisiles que permitiese interceptar y destruir los misiles nucleares intercontinentales soviéticos mucho antes de alcanzar los EEUU. Reagan sabía que la economía soviética estaba en la ruina y que no podría afrontar ese nuevo reto de modernizar sus arsenales para mantener el 'equilibrio del terror'. Y Gorbachov cedió. Y aceptó negociar, por primera vez, un programa de reducción de los arsenales nucleares.
Reagan, el actor de películas de la serie B, y Gorbachov, un líder comunista que ya no tenía nada que ver con la vieja guardia roja, cambiaron el mundo. Ciertamente, Trump no es Reagan y Putin no es Gorbachov, pero una buena relación entre los dos mandatarios puede resultar, por paradójico que parezca, positiva. Sobre todo porque podrían revertir la tensión que en los últimos meses ha acelerado Obama -y aquí tenemos otra paradoja- al concentrar enormes contingentes militares en la misma frontera con Rusia. Una concentración militar que preocupa enormemente al primer y último presidente de la extinta Unión Soviética, Mikhail Gorbachov, en una reciente entrevista a la revista TIME:
The world today is overwhelmed with problems. Policymakers seem to be confused and at a loss.
But no problem is more urgent today than the militarization of politics and the new arms race. Stopping and reversing this ruinous race must be our top priority.
The current situation is too dangerous.
More troops, tanks and armored personnel carriers are being brought to Europe. NATO and Russian forces and weapons that used to be deployed at a distance are now placed closer to each other, as if to shoot point-blank.
While state budgets are struggling to fund people’s essential social needs, military spending is growing. Money is easily found for sophisticated weapons whose destructive power is comparable to that of the weapons of mass destruction; for submarines whose single salvo is capable of devastating half a continent; for missile defense systems that undermine strategic stability.
Politicians and military leaders sound increasingly belligerent and defense doctrines more dangerous. Commentators and TV personalities are joining the bellicose chorus. It all looks as if the world is preparing for war.
(...)
I urge the members of the U.N. Security Council — the body that bears primary responsibility for international peace and security — to take the first step. Specifically, I propose that a Security Council meeting at the level of heads of state adopt a resolution stating that nuclear war is unacceptable and must never be fought.
I think the initiative to adopt such a resolution should come from Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin — the Presidents of two nations that hold over 90% of the world’s nuclear arsenals and therefore bear a special responsibility.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said that one of the main freedoms is freedom from fear. Today, the burden of fear and the stress of bearing it is felt by millions of people, and the main reason for it is militarism, armed conflicts, the arms race, and the nuclear Sword of Damocles. Ridding the world of this fear means making people freer. This should become a common goal. Many other problems would then be easier to resolve.The time to decide and act is now. | Mikhail Gorbachov
...Senators should focus their energies on ISIS, illegal immigration and border security instead of always looking to start World War III.— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 29 de enero de 2017
Declaración de Donald Trump sobre el decreto de 'investigación extremada' de personas provenientes de 7 estados musulmanes.
“America is a proud nation of immigrants and we will continue to show compassion to those fleeing oppression, but we will do so while protecting our own citizens and border. America has always been the land of the free and home of the brave.
We will keep it free and keep it safe, as the media knows, but refuses to say. My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months.
The seven countries named in the Executive Order are the same countries previously identified by the Obama administration as sources of terror. To be clear, this is not a Muslim ban, as the media is falsely reporting.
This is not about religion - this is about terror and keeping our country safe. There are over 40 different countries worldwide that are majority Muslim that are not affected by this order. We will again be issuing visas to all countries once we are sure we have reviewed and implemented the most secure policies over the next 90 days.
I have tremendous feeling for the people involved in this horrific humanitarian crisis in Syria. My first priority will always be to protect and serve our country, but as President I will find ways to help all those who are suffering.”
