chenj@cmcl2.NYU.EDU (James Chen) (05/25/89)
From: chenj@cmcl2.NYU.EDU (James Chen) I also read Andrew Cockburn's The Threat: Inside the Soviet Military Machine. As others mentioned, he has a pro-Soviet slant. (Always grated me.) I didn't believe his claim that the lord-vassal system in the Soviet military weakens them. Physicist John Wheeler once commented in a lecture he gave at Washington University that Soviet science is structured along feudal lines with institutes replacing the ancient fiefs. That Soviet armies are also feudal in structure doesn't surprise me. It just means that they are not as open as they can be, it doesn't mean they can't fight when they are called to. All this is incidental. My main question is to all of you who have read Cockburn's book and have the background to evaluate what he says. In the main, is his book true? Are his facts correct? When I read it, everything sounded plausible, but I don't really know. To those who really know, nevermind his politics, does Cockburn know of what he speaks? -Jimmy Chen (chenj@cmcl2.nyu.edu)