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I would definately question Reagan's name on that list. First off, champion of freedom? Not when dictatorships were convenient, like Nicaragua or Iraq. People seem a little too willing to forget that the adversaries in our two most recent wars, Saddam Hussein and the Taliban, benefited immensely from money and weapons given to them by the Reagan administration.

As far as "important," the reason most people think of Reagan is important is because he is given undue credit for the Soviet collapse. What about men more directly responsible, like Lech Walesa or Vaclav Havel? What about Jimmy Carter, who inspired those men by framing the Cold War as a humanitarian struggle? Havel himself credits Carter, not Reagan, as the foreign leader most important to the eventual collapse of Communism.

To be fair, Reagan was important in the sense that he is largely responsible for our current insurmountable national debt and the drastic increase of the gap between rich and poor in this country over the last 30 years.

"Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall," wasn't just a sound bite. It was one of the most significant statements of the Cold War. It represented a moral imperative that resonated throughout Eastern Europe.

Reagan's arming of the mujuhadeen was instrumental in draining the Soviet military. Unfortunately, it ultimately resulted in other unforeseen negative consequences.

Sorry, Carter doesn't stack up as a very important president in my view.

You may have noticed that it wasn't Mr. Gorbachev who teared down the wall. It was the citizens of Germany. If the people who led the movements that ended Communism in eastern Europe credit Carter, why is this country so slow to do so? Now, they do appreciate Reagan as well, don't get me wrong. The Camp David Accords were huge too. Israel was involved in four full-scale wars in the 30 years before the accords and have been in none the almost 30 years since. The Middle East is bad now, but think how bad it would be if Egypt were still demanding the destruction of Irael. To be honest, I wouldn't put Carter on my list of the three most important leaders of the second half of the 20th Century, but I think there's a better case form him than Reagan.

And arming the mujahadeen is not all we did. We spread propoganda supporting the idea that Muslims have the religious duty to expell foreigners from their lands in order to encourage other Muslims to go to Afghanistan and fight. The growth of extreme Islamist terrorism to what it is today is due to Reagan as much as anyone.

Dinner conversations must be interesting when Andrew comes home to visit. I'd like to be a fly on the wall there.

I admit I'm intellectually overmatched. I have to let Kenny deal with him.

Rusty, we'll have to invite you over next time for an entirely different perspective. It would be refreshing.

Doug,

I NEVER turn down a free meal. :)

"And arming the mujahadeen is not all we did. We spread propoganda supporting the idea that Muslims have the religious duty to expell foreigners from their lands in order to encourage other Muslims to go to Afghanistan and fight."

Andrew, would you care to offer some hard facts on this or are you mearly speculating?