>And again:
>
>Hastening an End to the Cold War
>
>The global competition between the United States and the Soviet Union, which consumed both nations for 46 years, cost hundreds of billions of dollars and led to building of the most destructive weapons ever known, reached a peak during Reagan's White House days and then expired only a few years after he left office.
>
>The reasons for this extraordinary turn of events are larger than Reagan and span events far beyond his presidency. The roots can be found in the stagnation of the Soviet system in the late 1970s and early 1980s and perhaps most importantly in the ascension of Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who opened the floodgates of change.
>
>Yet the denouement might not have happened but for outside pressures, and this is where Reagan's legacy lies...

And that I can totally agree with. Take your own quote

>Yet the denouement might not have happened but for outside pressures, and this is where Reagan's legacy lies...

You're making my point.