But it is possible to negotiate with Russia. Just do it in two stages: Make a show of force first, and only then have dialogue. The negotiations between President Ronald Reagan and the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that helped to end the Cold War could not have taken place had Reagan not first exploited the weaknesses of the U.S.S.R. by exerting heavy military and economic pressure, including by supporting groups and countries that were challenging the Soviets all over the world, like the Polish Solidarity movement and the Afghan ​​​mujahedeen. This two-stage approach did the trick: When the Kremlin elite realized that they were too weak to break Reagan’s determination they began to negotiate.

I can't believe anyone here read and understood this paragraph and then celebrates this. You guys do know what the mujahedeen went on to do, right? Right? Not even talking about instrumentalising tens of thousands of young humans to organise terror in a foreign country. Just the blowback should be enough to deter anyone from repeating that shit. That fucker just said: "yeah fuck the women in Afghanistan, at least in the 70s we showed the commies who's boss"

And don't come at me with the "Just do the game-theory zero sum game without the externalities then."

e: typo