How the Cold War Was Won

Hint: Gorbachev didn't help:

A central factor in how Ronald Reagan won the Cold War, and did so with greater support along the way than the current president, was his ability to find means to undermine the enemy without losing thousands of American lives. An intriguing example, one that has eluded history, is the Farewell Dossier.

This top-secret effort was part of the devastating strategy of economic warfare pursued by Reagan and a handful of intimate advisers—a strategy so sensitive that those involved publicly denied that a campaign was underway. A central architect of that effort, National Security Adviser Bill Clark, was confronted on the covert strategy by Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin, who whispered to him at a diplomatic function, “You have declared war on us, economic war.” Clark could only answer Dobrynin two decades later, once the Soviet Union imploded: “Yes, we had.”

Former president Gerald R. Ford, left, lends his support to fellow Republican and presidential candidate Ronald Reagan and running mate George Bush, seen here on the final day of campaigning in Peoria, Ill., in this Nov. 3, 1980, file photo. Ronald Reagan gets more credit than he deserves for winning the Cold War, former President Gerald Ford told his hometown newspaper before his death. The best president of his lifetime, Ford said, was a more moderate Republican: Dwight D. Eisenhower. Ford commented on fellow presidents of the second half of the 20th century during a series of interviews with the Grand Rapids newspaper over more than 25 years, on condition that his remarks be withheld until after his death. (AP Photo, file) The Farewell Dossier became part of this campaign.

Ahh, for the days when the CIA actually fought on America's side....