In 1979, the political cooperation between the United States and China was rooted largely in our shared rivalry with the Soviet Union.

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Back in the days of the Soviet Union, our intelligence agencies employed Team A and Team B to provide alternate calculations of Soviet military might.

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Like phone books, we used to have immutable facts all compiled in Encyclopedia Britannica: 9 planets in our solar system, the Soviet Union, and avoid alcohol.

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It is ironic, in retrospect, that there were certain advantages to our Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union.

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"Clearly, there needs to be a prolonged period of reassessment -- both with respect to the future direction of the Soviet Union and the ability of our allies to enforce existing export controls, " said Jennifer J.

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But the most important thing about that story, which is not often told, is that as a result after the Cuban missile crisis, immediate steps were taken to correct our inability to collect on the movement of nuclear material out of the Soviet Union to other places.

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The British and French were less than enthusiastic -- for understandable historical reasons -- but Kohl's decisive, persuasive ways won over the U.S. With our backing (and the reluctant support of Britain and France), Kohl cut a brilliant deal with the Soviet Union, making it possible to unite the two Germanys within 12 months of the Wall's collapse.

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