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From: orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER)
Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics
Subject: Re: Soviet Union invading Europe
Message-ID: <292@whuxl.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 18-Oct-84 08:57:34 EDT
Article-I.D.: whuxl.292
Posted: Thu Oct 18 08:57:34 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 21-Oct-84 09:06:05 EDT
References: <1717@sdccs6.UUCP>, <479@tty3b.UUCP> <803@eisx.UUCP>
Organization: Bell Labs
Lines: 32

> So the amateur strategists never say why the SU would want West Europe,
> do they?  Ok, here is an amateur strategist (among other appelations).
> 
> Western Europe is an embarrasment to the SU.  There is always some
> social incorrigible voting with his feet and trying to leave the SU or
> East Europe.  He'll probably get shot or blown up but it's worth it.
> How many people want to emigrate to the SU?
> 
> The presence of an open society so close to the SU is a continuous problem.
> 	Steve Rojak, So Plainfield, NJ

It is remotely possible that the Soviet Union would wish to invade Western
Europe but I think it extremely unlikely.  People who are always crying
wolf about the Soviet Union invading Western Europe forget that they have
had an independent country closeby since the end of World War 2-namely
Yugoslavia.  While Yugoslavia is ruled by Tito's Communist Party, they
have always pursued a policy independent of the Soviet Union.  They have
also engaged in interesting experiments in workers democracy and freeing up
the rigid Communist bureaucratic system.  If the Soviet Union doesn't wish
to take the risk of invading a small country like Yugoslavia why should
they want to challenge the region that led to the loss of 15 million Soviet
lives in the last European War? While I am not about to claim that the
Soviet Union will not take advantage of opportunities for expansion, I
also think their foreign policy since WW II has been essentially cautious
and defensive in character. I think that they are very much afraid of a
re-united Germany with renewed military strength.  But the West was afraid
of the same prospect--which is one reason the West (Britain, France, the US)
were not overly upset when Germany was divided.
If the Soviet Union is so keen on expansion why haven't they invaded
Yugoslavia to install Soviet puppets there?
Tim Sevener
whuxl!orb