When the USSR was perceived as a real threat the USA it curbed the
worst
excesses of US foreign policy (and vice versa). Now that counterweight
the
US is free to throw around its considerable military and economic might
on
the world stage. Would the USSR have done the same if it had 'won'
the cold
war? Probably to a much greater extent. Perhaps I am being naive in
holding
the USA to higher standards than its predecessors as world's most
powerful
nation. However the US does have an enlightened constitution, largely
based
on freedom for the individual. Is it too much to ask that these basic
principals be extended to non-Americans?
Actually, both sides were much more willing to support corrupt and cruel
regimes, just so long as they agreed to be allies rather than
adversaries; now that the contest is over, more humanistically ethical
and less UTism concerns can begin to take precedence.
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