As thousands of Soviet dissenters march against Mikhail Gorbachev's rule, the West's message reflects a studied neutrality: do what you must, internally, but continue your cooperative and nonthreatening foreign policy. "We have privately told Gorbachev that what he is doing at home is a mistake," says a senior Bush Administration official, "but our own national interest demands only that he continue his new thinking abroad."
There is little to argue with here. Railing against something you can do nothing about may be morally satisfying, but it can be strategically foolish.
What happens, though, if the forces that have combined to steer...
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