In November came NATO exercise Able Archer. Unlike previous exercises, senior NATO leaders took part, a "realism" not missed by the KGB. The Soviets, whose own war plans included the option of starting war under cover of an exercise, were at heightened readiness. In East Germany, tactical nuclear weapons were loaded onto attack aircraft. We'll never know if an off course flight or an accidental explosion could have motivated a local commander to release weapons, but the Warsaw Pact was ready for war. The really scary thing is that nobody in the West had a clue.
From that crisis, even Reagan began to sense the danger. Three years later, he met Soviet Premier Gorbachev in Iceland. It seems "The Gipper" actually wanted to do something about nuclear weapons, but he shared a tragic flaw with our own George W. Bush. He let his neocon staff lead him around by the nose. It was Richard Perle who convinced Reagan that holding on to his "Star Wars" dream was more important than reaching a stunning agreement with Gorbachev to eliminate all offensive ballistic missiles. It could have happened.
We are sleep-walking through a minefield nobody wants to talk about. It's only a matter of time before our foot, or theirs, hits a mine. After that, it won't be a world you want to live in.
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