This is coolbert: One thing I think is clear when discussing the Cold War and the Soviet Union vis-a-vis the U.S. The Soviets did have all those ICBM's, submarines, long-range bombers, tanks, etc. They were definitely a threat to the U.S. militarily. When it came to a societal threat, much less so. It was thought during the fifites and sixties, from what I recall, that yes, the populace of the Soviet Union did not have the luxuries that the American populace had, but they were not that far behind us in many aspects, were gaining constantly to a degree of parity, and in some areas, such as education and medical care, were not only equal, but were ahead. In retrospect, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, this has almost all been seen to be not true. The Soviet society was a weak society. Mostly across the board. Now, taking this into account, the Soviets posed a threat during the Cold War, but not even hardly as great as was assumed. The nuclear standoff seems to have precluded a war between the U.S. and the Soviets. Now, it is said that Eisenhower is the only President that really understood military strength. Military strength is gauged by the overall strength of your society. Weaponry, education, industrial base, health, motivation, leadership, etc. These all must be taken into account when evaluating military strength. By this accounting, the Soviets were equipment rich, but poor in the societal sense.

coolbert.