Budapest, Hungary -- While I write this, President Bush is having breakfast in the best hotel in Budapest. I am invited for the lunch he is going to be having in the gigantic Hungarian Parliament building, full of Hungarian politicians and celebrities. I have to pass on the lunch, I am afraid, because, due to safety measures, our city is practically paralyzed by police forces. Otherwise, I would absolutely be there -- a writer never knows when he may need the description of such an event for a novel.
In 1989, I was also interested in the first visit of an American President to Hungary when Bush, the Father, showed up. The whole country believed that he brought with him an important financial support plan. But Senior Bush didn't give us more than speeches.
The US spent zillions for the fight against communism. Why didn't it spend a few billion helping East European countries' shift from democracy and capitalism? The US simply waited until the Berlin Wall and socialism had collapsed. Its behavior was the same in 1956.
Hungary was encouraged by the enthusiastic statements of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Foster Dulles. The President of the US said: "Budapest is no longer merely the name of a city. Henceforth, it is a new and shining symbol of man's yearning to be free." But when the Russian Red Army crushed the Hungarian Revolution, the President and its government were quiet.
I am not claiming that the US should have started a local war here. Still, there are many means and solutions to help a nation fighting for its freedom. You can send a lot of things: money, merchandise, and yes, brave and clear (public) messages. You can (publicly) negotiate with the other superpower. You can give up some other fronts or bridgeheads in other parts of the world as an exchange.
Yes, the cold war could have ended 50 years earlier, if... Unfortunately, history and its analysis doesn't tolerate the word "if". We must use "when" instead of "if." "When" will the politicians of the US understand that between the two extremes -- fighting wars or simply waiting for something -- there are a great number of good and realistic steps?
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