soviet union to change. instead, shows gorbachev how much he to gain from an relationship with america, reagan persuaded if was safe to open up the communist bloc which bolster the our interests as well. i think the second lesson is related to the first and that is that patience is a virtue. it took reagan five years to find a partner moscow with whom he could negotiate, and it too another three years to actually reach an arms control agreement with gorbachev. in other words, it took his entire presidency, essentially, to reach any agreement with the u.s.s.r. to slow the arms race and that came after four decades of american policy during the cold war during which american presidents mix the resolve and diplomacy to defend u.s. 2re69s and in the case of ber layne city deep in its opponents sphere of influence without ever provoking an actual shooting war wir the soviet union pand even cold wars take time to win. that's worth keeping in mind as the u.s. and its allies try to obtain ambitions of countries like

the conference with delegates selected by the soviet union, and there were a handful of such delegates, could expect only to serve the cause of propaganda. devastateing the the opponents accused conference organizers wittingly or not playing into the hands of the soviets. a handful of the 600 sponsors encouraged the organizers to make space for critics of the soviet union, but the organizers were committed to a conference that would knost -- not castigate either side. its intent was to bring together people who would discuss the possibilities of peaceful coexistence that had a clear international flavor to fit. that's the line that hellman took and the line that thereafter condemned her as a stalinist. it was out of that conference that anti-intellectual, anti-communism large ri grew. largely grew. so i'm going to read you just one more short piece, although there could be many more. and this comes towards the end of her life, an incident that some of you may know about. hellman after she stops writing plays starts to write memoirs, publishes one in '69, publishes one in 1973, and then

>> in the end of the soviet union. there is a widespread view that the soviet economy collapsed, and therefore the soviet union collapsed. it isn't so. you can't find a professional economist of any repute who takes that view. there was an economic crisis in the soviet union in 1990, '91, but it wasn't a crisis of production. . it was a krecrisis of distribut. both gorbachev and yeltsin withheld produce from the market. most people ate their primary meal of the day at their workplace. this was true of students. this was people at work. the black market was nourishing. about 35% of the population lived on the land where they grew their own food. most urban dwellers had a garden of their own where they went on the weekends and we all saw it. so this is just one of those canards that make those of us who are capitalists. it was just a big mess. gorbachev was trying to repair it. it was a sis thystem in transit. it remains an open question. the chinese did it very successfully. gorbachev tried to do it while he was democrat

ambassador to the soviet union from march 1987 to august 1991. he's also served as special assistant to the president and senior director of soviet affairs on the national security council. in his various capacities, he participated in all of the u.s./soviet summit meetings from '72 to 1991, except for the carter/brezhnev meeting in vienna in 1979. his books include "reagan and gorbachev, how the cold war ended" and he's a professor at columbia. i would like to welcome back leslie staal, our moderator. prior to joining "60 minutes," she served as cbs news white house correspondent and was a moderator on "face the nation" and co-anchor of "america tonight." i would also like to recognize our blogger this evening, another inspired idea from harrold newman, david andleman and thank him for joining us. before we begin, please make sure that anything electronic that might make a noise is switched off. and please joining me in welcoming our guests. thank you. [ applause ] >> hello, everyone. if you want to know about the cold war, this is the panel to t

as the purpose of the declaration was to try to find a medellin's of competencies between new soviet union and russia as its constituent republic. those who think the declaration was strictly bout independence and not actually read it. they don't realize that its key point was to establish the russian soviet federative socialist republic as a legal state within the soviet union. what should. go and indivisible state doesn't that hilton's go liberate the us and was aiming to prevent a split up of russia certainly the declaration was a bundle of contradictions or rather compromises upon my initiative edited out at birth vision that would extend to soviet autonomy says the same right of sovereignty that russia had several years after that i was the worst enemy for the autonomy's having deprived them of state sovereignty but mind you i wasn't due in iraq or tour for the amendment but the reports you're permanently now instead a comment was reserved in this issue for serbia but were yeltsin back my motion at the time and the provision was removed where it was so you literally preserved russia w

and some of the most bitter fighting during the one nine hundred forty one nazi invasion of the soviet union. brest fortress today it's on the territory of the sovereign republic of belarus formerly the soviet republic of belarus the fortress was once the western most outpost of the soviet empire each day schoolchildren in the town of brest take part in a ceremony by a local monument to commemorate what happened there. on june twenty second one hundred forty one german fascist forces invaded the soviet union without a declaration of war the defenders of the breast fortress found themselves in a dead end situation it is here that the myth about the invincibility of the german army was broken after the end of the war and the rest fortress as a name became synonymous to perseverance courage and belief in victory for years to come. the early hours of june twenty second nineteen forty one german artillery unleashes a massive barrage from the breast garrisoned. german warplanes some ultimately dropped hundreds of bombs on the fortress soon after infantry assault groups launched the initial ground

we were on different issues regarding the soviet union. i felt that we, that is to say the president of the united states and the leader of the soviet union did not have the same goals and the same aspirations which is what the secretary of state believed was the case. and that there were we had to be tougher and more responsive to their sense of dynamism and self-confidence and secondly how to deal with the iranian issue. he was more patient and eventually freed the hostages. iflt that the protracted steal mate was doing us enormous damage and that at some point we ought to force the issue. but those were two different views and the ultimate decision maker was the president. >> did it ever get personal between you and vance? >> no. contrary to what was said publicly, never. we had a good relationship. we played tennis from time to time. and we had a congenial relationship. we had meetings several times a week. and when there was some dissatisfaction with him at one point in the press but also in the white house, i went to the president an

under an agreement with britain and the united states the soviet union declared war on japan in exchange for the annexation of those territories. long. shortly after japan surrendered soviet army servicemen on the could else were joined by new inhabitants of the island most of them had come from siberia today there are some nine hundred thousand permanent residents on the islands of the could all change. many of the spectators and participants in the parade a grandchildren of those first settlers. this time it's been decided not to show off military hardware instead the procession features off road vehicles provided by a club of cross-country racing fans it's the first ever parade on commissioner art and involving civilians as well as the military. thank you. all for those vehicles have been the main means of transportation around can the shia ever since the arrival of the first settlers the elongated island extends for one hundred twenty three kilometers from east to west there were no roads back then for that reason it would take several days to get from one point on the island to the

he was the man who was willing to call the soviet union an eve's empire. willing to predict that the west would leave leninism on the back sheet of history and demanded that mikhail gosh shauv tear down the berlin wall. indeed, tens of thousands it of speeches throughout his career from the time until college until the end of his presidency. tear down this wall in my view has become the defining statement of reagan's career. if you visit the reagan library in simi valley, as many of you have i'm sure, you know, the connection between reagan and berlin is everywhere. everywhere you look. there's a giant slab of the wall there that was bought and installed in the early '90s. can you watch clips of reagan's speech played on endless loop. and this connection between reagan and the fall of the berlin wall persists even in the fact that the statue of reagan recently unveiled in the rotunda in congress actually contains chunks of the wall in its pedestal. so the connection and the -- the bond between reagan and berlin in the minds of people is extremely strong. b

on june twenty second one nine hundred forty one german fashion forces invaded the soviet union without a declaration of war the defenders of the breast fortress found themselves in a dead end situation it is here that the myth about the invincibility of the german army was broken after the end of the war and the rest fortress as a name became synonymous to perseverance courage and belief in victory for years to come. the early hours of june twenty second nineteen forty one german artillery unleashes a massive barrage from the breast garrisoned. german warplanes some ultimately dropped hundreds of bombs on the fortress soon after infantry assault groups launched the initial ground attack. is one of the officers in charge of the fortress defenses. is dodger i.e.c. often visits the monument to her father on the outskirts of rest. shows what he look like me at the even today i guess nervous when i come here what's family if i see those events in my mind's eye as if they were yesterday. today children play war in the old case me but in the first days of the real war the unit under the comma

it's not the soviet union anymore. i know that in your books, steve, you say that yeltsin is the one that really smothered the democracy that gorbachev tried to establish. but we do have putin. and putin seems, at least to us watching from here, to have brought the soviet union back at least in terms of government to the kremlin days where other parties are smothered, the press is smothered. now we see what's going on in the middle east. all these protests. you're in moscow. people have been turning television on there and seeing in the middle east protesters in the streets against their corrupt governments with that same kind of dictatorial powers. what are the people in russia thinking when they see what's going on in the middle east about their own situation? and i'd like you all to comment after steve does. >> well, i can only report what my wife, katrina, and i saw and heard in moscow. everybody was talking about it. it was being shown on the television. but there are 150 million russians, thereabout. and they rea

he knew that the relationship with the then soviet union would be solid. that's why we brought george herbert walker bush with us. there is a great photo, i'm sure you have in your archives, it's the only time i was ever allowed to play advance man in the white house. when we went to governor's island in new york harbor, since i came from new york city, from brooklyn, new york, the backdrop of governor's island is the statue of liberty. what symbolized that lunch was gorbachev flanked by reagan and bush which appeared in all the newspapers, all the front pages, ""time"" magazine when it was a thick magazine and "newsweek." that became the symbol. he had no qualms about george herbert walker bush. he knew what his values were, and he knew where he would take the country in the aftermath of eight years of reagan. it is now public from somebody, but president reagan, usually every president leaves their successor a note, a piece of advice. ronald reagan could not help but leave george herbert walker bush two pieces of advice. one downstairs and one upstairs i

it must have made a deep impression on the soviet union. they must have said to themselves, apparently this man really does care about human rights. it's not just a political gadget of some kind. and also they must have said to him, you can deal with this guy because he keeps his word even when it must be tremendously tempting to crow. he didn't. he kept his word. but anyway, the point that i'm trying to make sure and you see in it these letters is this intense feeling for the human being. ronald reagan was known and is known for his strength of purpose and i think the letters show very clearly that the strength of purpose comes from a depth of thinking. if you have thought about an issue carefully and you understand the inner dynamics and you have come to a conclusion about it, then you're likely to stand firm and not compromise. because you understand where you're coming from. it comes from the inside out. it always seems to me and comes through so strongly in the letters that the strength of purpose came from a depth of thinking from the

it was the cold war, and then the soviet union collapsed. communism -- soviet union imploded. communism collapsed. the wall came down, and we were in a unipolar world. the united states was the only superpower out there, and everybody wanted to get close to uncle whiskers, and i was secretary of state at the time. my job was a hell of a lot easier because everybody wanted to get close to the only remaining superpower. and so we got a lot of things done. what did we do? we were able to preside over a peaceful end to the cold war. the cold war didn't have to end peacefully. it could have ended with a bang instead of a whimper. we had the first gulf war where we kicked iraq out of kuwait with really minimal casualties, and by the way, we got other countries to pay for it. we had the madrid peace conference where israel and all of her arab neighbors sat down face-to-face to talk peace for the first time. we had the unification of germany and a lot of things happened. you asked me what the toughest challenge was. trying to figure out -- i really believe this, trying to figure out w

no more soviet union, there is a much weaker country called russia. we have not significantly scaled back and again, we need to be able to protect people. we should be present in the middle east. we have to worry about lunatics, maligned lunatics with nuclear weapons in north korea or iran and we try to stop it. but we have not sufficiently scaled back. here's the problem. the nazis are gone. we helped defeat them. the communists are gone. we outlasted them. we pressured them. now we have the terrorists. you have the terrorists are terrible people, vicious murderers and i want us to go after them but let us not elevate them to the level of the threat of the soviet union or the nazis. they do not threaten our existence. they threaten the lives of some of us. we need to fight them. but the kind of weaponry and mobilization you need to defeat those people is not the same as you needed to fight a thermonuclear war. i wish nuclear submarines would defeat terrorism because we have them, they don't. we would win. it's a subtler but less expensive effort and

we have a lot of business to do with the leaders in the soviet union.dy in my administration sticking it in their eye. >> gorbachev resigned december 25th, 1991, and the soviet union dissolved the following day. >> had president bush not handled the cold war the way he did he would vended with a bang not by whimper. >> by the grace of god america won the cold war. >> the bush reelection campaign was based in part of the benefit of the peaceful end of the cold war. >> people will do great things if only you set them free. if we can change the world, we can change america. >> free market, a compassionate government and service were key components for the 41st president's agenda. bush clearly believed this emphasis couwould encourage rea change. >> service to others is a rich story of meeting in line. >> georgianed i have seen communities gather around parents with a gravely ill child helping them take care of the other children. >> president bush began his bid for reelection with approval ratings reaching 89 percent. >> who do you trust in elections candi

with the end of the boer war and the going away of the soviet union many people thought that nuclear weapons disappeared. the risk is not zero that something might be going off by mistake especially of sounds of the nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert. us of a difference to use it as a threat all as an actual bit but you know if you keep spending a trillion dollars a year on weapons of venture you're going to blow everybody up you you know people are dying from these weapons but until we actually see it people don't wake up to nuclear weapons or a bill. that represents all the firepower of the second world war and this second sound is the equivalent firepower of the world's nuclear arsenal today. lisa. least so. to sleep. period it. party's top stories creeping contagion in the euro zone champion germany endorsed ratings downgrade and fears the crisis is heading the monetary union biggest economy. military maneuvering with russia plans closer ties with china while america promises to move most of its warships to the asia pacific in the coming years. and protest peacefully or pay a

the soviet union with its massive capabilities, no longer exists. the deterrents calculus that has been with us, maybe as long as pointless are some of the art periods were exited in those days, no longer applies or it shouldn't. we don't have that massive capability of the soviet union and the ideology that was to dominate us. if people argue that exists, they're wrong. we need to convince them it's not the same. so 21st century determines in my mind has much to do with our conventional capabcapabilities, emerging technologies and a russia that is bound with us. in a carefully negotiated treaty to reduce and verify these weapons. and i remember when we were concerned with new start ratification, that my growing concern and that of many of my fellow retired, my grandson says retarded, general officers, flag officers, was the period of time that we no longer had very capable inspectors on the ground in russia was extended, that the ability to gather data was extended, was being extended to the point where it didn't make sense. this process of arms co

as dog good the elder brother by the time the soviet union collapsed these sentiments were long gone for decades on a state visit to beijing suggested that the two countries may not feel like a family just yet but have definitely moved much closer to each other. see reporting from beijing in china there is always plenty more on our website r t dot com here's what's online right now and ungodly scandal files season the police raid that the former head of the vatican bank allegedly exposed misdeeds inside one of the world's most secretive organizations plus. some ali islam is militants wanted in the u.s. with a thirty three million dollar bounty on their heads come up with a counterproposal offering ten camels for president barack obama before story at r.t. dot com. dealt with egypt's former president hosni mubarak is reportedly teary orating he's now in a cairo prison hospital said to be slipping in and out of consciousness thousands gathered in tahrir square this week angry at the verdict in mubarak's recent trial they're calling for the death sentence for his role in the killing of

with the end of the boer war and the going away of the soviet union many people thought that nuclear weapons disappeared. the risk is not zero love something might be going off by mistake especially a lot of the nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert. focus of a difference to using a desert through it all as an actual weapon you know if you keep spinning a trillion dollars a year on weapons of benchley you're going to blow everybody up you you know people are dying from these weapons but until we actually see it people don't wake up to know through weapons or build the new. that represents all the firepower of the second world war and this second sound is the equivalent firepower of the world's nuclear arsenal today. there hasn't been anything good on t.v. . it is to get the maximum political impact possible. before the source material is what helps keep journalism on the real world. we want to present. something else.

we have no peer competitor like the old soviet union. russia is not the soviet union. >> mitt romney says there -- >> i disagree. i don't think they are. do they get silly and say things that are troublesome? vladimir putin does it all the time. [talking over each other] >> i said vladimir putin. [laughter] [talking over each other] >> see what happens when you work with these guys? >> wasn't sure who was speaking. in a moment we will take some questions from the audience. i want to ask you seriously if you got your calls returned and if you were in the discussion these days two quick questions. what would your key message the about? syria and iran? >> it is an extremely difficult situation. i have met with president us awed --assad. he lies constantly. you can't trust him on anything but he is in solid control even with all of the trouble he is facing and he is of a minority group, his father went through something like this and killed 80,000 people. these are brutal folks who are not going to give up power easily and even if they were

with the end of the boer war and the going away of the soviet union many people thought that nuclear weapons disappeared. the risk is not zero that something might be going off by mistake especially when it sounds a nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert. purpose of a difference to use it as a threat all as an actual weapon you know if you keep spending a trillion dollars a year on weapons of eventually you're going to blow everybody up you you know people are dying from these weapons but until we actually see it people don't wake up to know through weapons or build the new. that represents all the firepower of the second world war and this second sound is the equivalent firepower of the world's nuclear arsenal today. please please. america closes the net around. the f.b.i. now harassing his contacts and parents attempt to gather dirt on the world's most famous with. eastern union putin is looking for some of china's economic fortune cookies moscow and beijing continue to read from the same page when it comes to world politics. and egypt's muslim brotherhood sides with groups from pro

with the end of the war and going the way of the soviet union many people thought that nuclear weapons disappeared from the risk is not zero that something might be going off by mistake especially of nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert. but most of the victims to use it as a threat all as an extra bit but you know if you keep spending a trillion dollars a year on weapons of eventually you're going to blow everybody up you you know people are dying from these weapons but until we actually see it people don't wake up to get nuclear weapons or a bill. that represents all of the firepower of the second world war and this second sound is the equivalent firepower of the world's nuclear arsenal today. there hasn't been anything yet on t.v. . it is to get the maximum political impact. the full source material is what helps keep journalism honest we. we want to present. something else. to. olympic gold gold. gold. her mother. could speak. to. her. wish. close all of the bomb explode good luck. just see the money and. come out of my mind i'm a little. closer. and. erica type is the noose aroun

by the time the soviet union collapsed the sentiments were long gone two decades first ever state visit to beijing suggested that the two countries may not feel like a family just yet but have definitely moved much closer to each other. see reporting from beijing in china. well still to come this hour here in our team sorry for the slaughter a nato chief in afghanistan personally apologized for the airstrike that killed eighteen civilians more than half of which were women and children. plus the court appearances began for america's most famous army whistleblower but it's the u.s. government that's got something to hide as we are with for it shortly. spain's become the fourth largest country to ask your of to rescue its teetering banking system it will request a bailout of up to one hundred billion euros and follows an urgent meeting with euro zone ministers the international monetary fund carried out stress tests on spain's debt laden banks and concluded they need a bigger a buffer against any severe financial shocks earlier the fitch ratings agency slashed spain's credit score by thre

so if i was going to meet with this committee staff. >> and do what in the soviet union? >> i was leading a government industry trade group cutting a ribbon at a trade fair and then the faa was going to be negotiating, we hoped, with the soviets a contract to upgrade their air traffic control system. >> at that point you're the administrator of the faa? >> yes, yes. >> and not an unimportant trip? >> no. not an unimportant trip. and i had been at the faa for four months from when i left the white house. so i met with these people and had been interrogate add number of times before. we all had. >> were you worried about the tapes coming out? >> no. not terrible. the only thing that hadn't come out from the your testimony which preceded mine by about three weeks i thought a lot about the tapes. i said, there they are. i know about them. only seven people knew. maybe eight. i guess four secret service guys and haulldeman and higbee and myself and my secretary only knew partially about the tapes. about the cabinet. so, no. but i thought i would be called, as i usually was, to

with the end of the boer war and the going away of the soviet union many people thought that nuclear weapons disappeared. the risk is not zero that something might be going off by mistake especially the fall of the nuclear weapons on hair trigger alert. upis of a difference to use it either as a threat or as. but you know if you keep spending a trillion dollars a year on weapons of eventually you're going to blow everybody up you you know people are dying from these weapons but until we actually see it people don't wake up to get nuclear weapons or a bill. that represents all of the firepower of the second world war this. is the equivalent fire power of the world's nuclear arsenal today. if your follow up online. are sort of a throwback and archaic part of our long. and it goes back to a time when people would light out on their horses in the wild west and pick up these future dates important into the sheriff for prosecution no longer like opening mail telling people. when they go out there to stop weapons. and you have to hope that nothing bad. will it. but we're chasing killers and