National Security Adviser Colin Powell , in a speech to the National Press Club Thursday , credited Mikhail Gorbachev for pushing economic reform and acknowledging the problems the Soviet system faced , but added it remains to be seen whether it can be fixed as long as it remains a communist , one - party state . He said that resistance movements against communism and totalitarians have made great strides in Afghanistan , Angola , and Cambodia . He added , " .... a principle lesson to be learned from the various regional conflicts is that American foreign policy has failed to intervene in instances in which U.S. support was needed , " ; e.g. , Afghanistan .
National Security Adviser Colin Powell, in a speech to the National Press Club Thursday, credited Mikhail Gorbachev for pushing economic reform and acknowledging the problems the Soviet system faces, but added it remains to be seen whether it can be fixed as long as it remains a communist, one-party system. He said that resistance forces fighting communism and totalitarians have made great strides in Afghanistan, Angola, and Cambodia. He added, "....a principle lesson to be learned from the various regional conflicts is that American foreign policy has tended to succeed in instances in which U.S. support was unquestioned,"; e.g., Afghanistan.