|
Moscow 4 Apr 2009: A new biography that draws on
recently declassified documents discloses a secret
exchange between the two leaders that left at least one
official present convinced that Reagan had tried to
persuade his counterpart of God's existence.
The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan, by the former Los
Angeles Times reporter James Mann, provides fresh
insight into the former US president's religious
convictions and the role they played in foreign policy.
Reagan had apparently reached a conviction, which has
since become well documented, that Mr Gorbachev was a
"closet Christian" after hearing the Soviet leader use
the expression "God bless".
Advisers told Reagan not to read too much into the
expression. Colin Powell, the national security adviser,
told the president: "Don't see this as an expression of
religious faith. It's almost idiomatic. He's not ready
to get down on his knees for you.”
But during their final summit meeting in Moscow in May,
1988, Reagan opened what appeared to be a pre-planned
discussion about God. Reagan took the opportunity he
sought when Mr Gorbachev disclosed that he had been
baptised into the Russian Orthodox faith by his mother
but now had no religious belief. He started by telling
Mr Gorbachev a tale about a wounded Russian soldier
during the Second World War who turned to God just
before he died even though he had been raised an
atheist.
Reagan later disclosed that his son was also an
unbeliever. "The president concluded that there was one
thing he had long yearned to do for his atheist son. He
wanted to serve his son the perfect gourmet dinner, to
have him enjoy the meal, and then to ask him if he
believed there was a cook.”
Aware of how sensitive and potentially politically
embarrassing the conversation was, Reagan swore the two
American note-takers at the meeting to secrecy. One of
the men recording the conversation, Rudolf Perina, the
director of Soviet Affairs at the National Security
Council, was convinced that Reagan had tried to convert
his host. But the second, Thomas Simons, a deputy
assistant secretary of state, reckoned that Reagan was
trying to deflect Mr Gorbachev from discussion on other
issues.
Mr Gorbachev's attitude to religion has been more
difficult to discern. His mother and his deceased wife,
Raisa, were believers. "I have deep respect for
believers," he said. "But I am personally an atheist.”
|
