[Plain Old Jane]

You are probably right about the real economic status in the USSR, but the phenomenon of the country viewed as divine from the exterior and hellish on the interior is real and certainly helps. But thats not really my point. My point is not so much the economic status of communist countries, but the after effects of ANY war, they are long lasting and the last effect of our clandestine war with russia was the empowering of Osama bin laden, and the empowering of Saddam/Iraq to get at the other middle eastern countries before they turned their guns on us. Unless we want to keep creating these conflicts that madmen rise from, we'd better be more careful in our military dealings and maybe develop other diplomatic policys.

btw, lol at the jewish civil war (although its more like jewish, catholic, and gypsy civil war in germany.)