Potemkin is alive and well and living in Washington, D.C.
I have come to this conclusion after reading David Evans` column, ”Ill-fed strangers without maps-the Soviet military,” in which he points out glaring deficiencies in training, tactics and equipment that would reduce the 10-foot-tall Soviet soldiers, as portrayed by Reagan and Weinberger, to a 5-foot, 6-inch size easily contained by NATO forces in a conventional war.
Sadly, if Mr. Evans were a presidential candidate he would be labeled
”soft” on communism. I would point out to all the candidates, none of whom has proposed reduced defense spending, that there is a historical precedent for ineptness in the Soviet military.
In 1939, the Soviet Union invaded tiny Finland. Bolstered by a 10 to 1 numerical advantage in men, planes and tanks, Stalin`s generals promised him victory in four weeks. Four months later both sides called it quits. Finland`s casualties, 127,000; Russia`s, an estimated 1 million.
In his memoirs, Khrushchev quotes Stalin on why he embarked on such a foolish invasion, given the sad state of his army. ”I was fooled by parades and training films.”
