And it became the American tradition - most of US presidents believed soviet leaders. But for the communists the main goal and doctrine is the global revolution and for that goal it is acceptable to lie, cheat, steal and kill - the end justifies the means.
Winston Churchill knew what they were up to - and so did Ronadl Reagan and Margaret Thatcher - but those were just few.
I think that was the case up to Brezhnev, or at least toward the end of his reign, but then came Andropov who would have returned to much of Stalinism if he could; certainly the world socialism part. Honestly I think Andropov scared the hell out of everyone. The weird part was Andropov asked to have Gorbachev succeed him; and we know Gorbachev took the country in a completely different direction. After Andropov the Soviet Union finally came to the realization that their quest for world socialism was unsustainable, and they had to deal with their own internal issues. Problem was, by that time it was too late.
