I don't recall in this discussion that a distinction was made between choice and necessity. It doesn't matter. If they chose due to US pressure, or felt it was necessary due to US pressure, it's all the same.

>Ohh, insults..... You'll have to do better than that Dan. The arms race was a drain on the russian economy, in so far you're right. However, the choice of keeping up with the arms race against the US was a choice, not a neccesity to the ongoing existance of the USSR. By then the USSR already did know that the cold war would not heat up. It was their decision to start the war in afghanistan. It knew that nuclear threat was enough to keep the status quo. IOW the enormous expenses they did, was their choice, not the one of the US. You simply cannot bring an empire down by threats (or phychological pressure) alone.