[speaker001:] that's that's a timely kind of a question isn't it
[speaker002:] well it was yes what do you think about the uh former Soviet Union
[speaker001:] I really don't think that I would consider them a threat any longer and I suppose that's primarily because their economy really won't allow them to uh expend a lot of resources on on war um if that were their primary concern
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and it'll be a while before they're an economic threat for sure
[speaker002:] it seems that way sometimes you wonder if um an economic threat isn't gonna drive people to do things that would be more drastic than if uh they were a little bit more peaceful you know
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] but I think it would probably not be a a threat to the United States if that was the case but probably to Europe other other areas of Europe there
[speaker001:] do you think that if their economy were in a better condition that they would be a threat uh that given their political changes they would still be a threat or
[speaker002:] well that's what it seemed like even before they uh dissolved the Union was that it was becoming less and less of a of a threat to the United States uh more and more of an attempted
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] uh you know relating on more or less normal bases
[speaker001:] right
[speaker002:] are you involved in
[speaker001:] there there've been such drastic changes in their political orientation that it's hard to predict what it will look like in fifty years but certainly so far what we've seen is a turn around from where things were fifty years ago
[speaker002:] oh that's right that's for sure are you involved in any kind of uh political analysis or anything
[speaker001:] no no and yourself
[speaker002:] no not really we're involved in some of our company work in the Soviet Union in different places but not in
[speaker001:] really
[speaker002:] uh any area of uh endeavor that would be of any interest to you know militarily or anything like that
[speaker001:] uh-huh personal interests or business
[speaker002:] uh linguistics primarily
[speaker001:] uh-huh
[speaker002:] and so it's interesting to see uh how things are going there and and their the people that are there are facing the same kind of uh economic deprivation that uh you know the Russian citizens are but not it doesn't relate to much to the military uh situation
[speaker001:] yes yes yeah their problems are definitely at this point economic it it seems that the whole infrastructure is focused on you know organizational um skimming off the top you know especially the government but um it's gonna be awhile before the people adopt the philosophy that
[speaker002:] yes
[speaker001:] if you work harder you can also benefit personally and that
[speaker002:] yeah I read an interesting an article in a recent uh Wall Street Journal uh interview with a family there and you know we think of uh how great it is to go to a you know free market uh sort of thing and and they're saying facing uh something that most people are not even aware you know familiar with they wouldn't they don't know how to deal with it and uh how do you
[speaker001:] um-hum um-hum
[speaker002:] how do you compete when you you're whole you know life has been built on uh working for the state and everything you know things like that
[speaker001:] and and almost um the philosophy has been put in as little as you can because you know that the same results will will be there at the end so why spend the extra energy
[speaker002:] yeah right you face the same uh uh bureaucratic uh headaches whether you work or don't work so and so now they've you know so really it must be uh really traumatic time for the people as well as the uh
[speaker001:] uh-huh yeah
[speaker002:] lack of supplies or anything like that adjusting to the new way of thinking about things
[speaker001:] I wonder too if their thinking hasn't been so influenced over the years that the Western way is bad that
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] it would it's hard for them to look at some of the Western market place strategies as being good because they've been
[speaker002:] yeah right taught to understand that's right yeah
[speaker001:] propagandized the other direction for so long
[speaker002:] well perhaps the uh if we give aid of some sort you know maybe it'll turn them around if it's done done correctly you know economically
[speaker001:] I think that they're one economy that I feel that that's worth the investment you know there are some um places in the world where I'm not sure that the money that the United States is putting in is really getting the kind of return that that's gonna benefit both parties but um it seems that there's such an effort to make it work there that what they really do need is is the loans and the uh strategic assistance from other countries I'll I'll be curious to see what happens in this elections because it doesn't seem as though that's forth coming right now um
[speaker002:] sure
[speaker001:] that
[speaker002:] you mean in in our country or in
[speaker001:] yeah I think well I was watching something the other day a news program that that indicated um the concern on Bush's part is that if he puts great interest in that area now he's gonna be accused of not spending enough time on the domestic issues you know certainly foreign issues are his strength so it's a catch twenty two
[speaker002:] sure yeah you can't that's right and well I hope you know just hope we don't wait too long and and uh you know