Gorbachev's Sermon on the Mount

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." That biblical quotation certainly applies to Mikhail Gorbachev, a man not honored enough for the example he set and whose past practices and recent cautions about Afghanistan should be heeded by Barack Obama. Or, on a secular note, if the Sermon on the Mount doesn't cut it for you, take German Chancellor Angela Merkel's praise for the former Soviet leader at the ceremony marking the fall of the Berlin Wall, which he helped destroy: "You courageously allowed things to happen, and that was much more than we could have expected."

The hero's reception granted Gorbachev when he accompanied the German leader across the Bornholmer Street bridge to mark the 20th anniversary of the end of the city's division was credit long overdue. As The New York Times reported: "More than 1,000 people lined the bridge Monday night under gray skies and a steady drizzle to hear the chancellor speak, but their loudest cheers came when she thanked Mr. Gorbachev for the reforming attitude he brought to the Soviet leadership that helped make the events of that historic night possible." The crowd, chanting "Gorby, Gorby, Gorby," understood that he had done something unique for a world leader: He admitted the error of his system's ways and radically reversed its course.

The surrender of immense political power, personal as well as international in scope, is something we never expect from leaders, but Gorbachev set a model of self-sacrifice for a larger purpose that one wishes others would follow. How rare in history for a leader of such great standing to surrender his position, along with its abundance of personal perquisites, for the larger common good. How unexpected for the leader of a military colossus to turn swords into plowshares.

That is what Gorbachev did, beginning with his bold outreach to Western leaders including Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, prompting the latter to say, "I like Mr. Gorbachev; we can do business together." The British prime minister influenced President Reagan to take a similarly open stance, and when Gorbachev reciprocated, the Cold War effectively came to an end. Gorbachev's words were followed by actions, beginning with suspension of the scheduled deployment of intermediate-range nuclear weapons. That was followed with an even bolder proposal to cut both the Soviet and U.S. nuclear arsenals by half and then act to eliminate them altogether. Most important for the current moment was Gorbachev's decisive moves to reduce the Soviet troop presence in Afghanistan, followed by his 1988 announcement of the full withdrawal of troops from that country.

Gorbachev drew on his experience in a CNN interview Sunday during which he again played the part of peacemaker, urging Obama to pull troops out of Afghanistan. "I think that our experience deserves attention," the former Soviet president said. He recommended that the U.S., in the hope of bringing an end to "the long suffering of the [Afghan] people," focus on "dialogue" and that "withdrawal from Afghanistan should be the goal."

Unfortunately, it seems from media leaks that President Obama is moving in the opposite direction. The speculation now is that he will increase U.S. forces by a number slightly less than the 40,000 that Gen. Stanley McChrystal has requested, a decision that would make no sense at all. If the goal is, as McChrystal's report defined it, to rebuild Afghan civil society from the ground up, something on the order of the half-million troops that were dispatched to Vietnam will be required. But that cannot be done without a draft, and we all know that outcome would not be politically acceptable to either the Democratic or Republican party.

Nor is such nation-building advisable, even if the American public and the treasury would support it. Our war in Afghanistan is no more warranted than the one the Soviets waged. Ironically, they were opposing Muslim fanatics we supplied with Stinger rockets and whose descendants we now blame for terrorism. In the name of fighting Soviet imperialism, our CIA recruited the worst of the worst and called them freedom fighters until we renamed them terrorists. We got it terribly wrong then, and yet we still insist that we know what we are doing in that country.

When Gorbachev came to power he, like Obama, inherited a war that was not in the interest of his nation. If the response of a Soviet dictator was to end it, might we not be justified in expecting the enlightened president of a democratic society to do the same?

 

Comments

[lightningbolt]

Just like Gorbachev is lauded today for choosing peace, so will Obama in a few years if he chooses peace. If Obama chooses more war, our economy will collapse.

[mjc]

You mention one of the most frustrating things about Obama's policy proposals. He seems to understand the need for a new direction, talks clearly about that direction and then only does "half the job" in bringing those proposals to fruition. Health care is a good example. We could be talking about single-payer, universal health coverage in this nation and yet he seems focused only on the "almost" loaf, the public option. As you mentioned, we are going to put more troops in Afghanistan but not enough to do the job everyone thought might be necessary. The pundits are saying that he cannot abandon Afghanistan or he'll risk not getting re-elected. It does seem as if in the end all policy decisions are primarily public relations criteria. Gorbachev of course had a lot more to worry about when he made decisions than Obama because the Soviet Union was/is still run by coup and control of the military, now the only difference between our two nations being that the US has a substantial military influence on the politicians and their future as well.

[plumnelly]

Excellent article. You can't win culture wars miltarily. I hope Obama listens to more people than generals, they have always had too much of a vested interest in fighting wars. Wars are their bidness, and hopefully, Obama won't continue to make our young men and women do war bidness.

Some people believe the bible literally and I think generals only believe in military solutions. We need a more humane and comprehensive approach. War is kill or be killed, why would anyone think our young deserve to continue this depraved policy for any kind of civilized solution. To prop up corrupt governments and see their buddies or innocent bystanders be killed is causing untold suicides in our troops. They deserve better and so does our country, Obama bring them home, it's SO TIME!

[faith]

I certainly hope that someone in the White House administration has read this article by Mr. Scheer. Excellent post. I encourage everyone to write President Obama at White House.gov and communicate your feelings about the war and increasing the troop levels there. I am in Mr. Scheer's camp. We don't need to be there and we need to bring our troops home.

Thank you Mr Scheer for such a well written article. As always, you get the point across very clearly.

[Abe34]

Good article Robert. Good writing too! I will keep you in my list of journalists to follow.

[Poboy]

'When Gorbachev came to power he, like Obama, inherited a war that was not in the interest of his nation. If the response of a Soviet dictator was to end it, might we not be justified in expecting the enlightened president of a democratic society to do the same?'

...especially one who just won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Unitron, if we reduce our war expenditures by 80% and redirect the remaining 20% to health, education and welfare programs, the U.S. could help rebuild Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

It just wouldn't be beneficial to the imperialist and war merchants.

[unitron]

If we leave Afghanistan the suffering of the people won't come to an end, it'll only be just beginning.

[Arrech]

That is the dilemma of freedom.

It took western civilization several centuries to arrive to the individual freedoms we enjoy today. The United States is about 100 to 200 years behind, compared to Europe. The Muslim countries are about 500 years behind. Imposed freedom is an oxymoron. They will have to learn by themselves, with all the growing pains that this causes.

The sooner the United States population understand this, the better. The idea of imposing democratic freedom in other countries is just a propaganda tool promoted by the corporations and their expansionist imperialism, with the military as their tool.

Gorbachev is not only a man of peace; but also an individual with a deep spirituality.

[lightningbolt]

If we don't leave Afghanistan the suffering of the American people won't come to an end, it'll only be just beginning.