Ex-Soviet leader presents new book.

MOSCOW, March 20 (Itar-Tass) - Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev has
expressed his concern with "cold war" recurrences. In his speech at the
Gorbachev Foundation on Friday the ex-Soviet president presented his book
titled "Responding to the Challenges of Time" in which he had collected
numerous evidence and documents about the foreign policy in the times of
"perestroika" that put an end to confrontation between the two superpowers.
"We ended the 'cold war' but we keep making the same mistake,"
Gorbachev said, commenting on the U.S. military doctrine and attempts to
re-divide the world by "missiles and bases".
For the first time ever the book includes Gorbachev's conversations
and talks with the leaders of the world's leading powers and records of
discussions at the Political Bureau on results of Gorbachev's meetings
with foreign leaders. They give an idea about what prompted Gorbachev and
the Political Bureau to decide in favour of a new course in international
affairs.
The book contains many unknown facts and episodes, which, according to
Gorbachev, will shed the light on many events. "Let everybody see how we
were 'selling' the country," Gorbachev joked.
Particularly valuable are materials related to the most dramatic
events of that time: the war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of Soviet
troops from that country, the Persian Gulf war (Operation Desert Storm)
and the events in Eastern Europe in the last days of the Soviet Union.
The more than 900-page collection of texts and documents has name
indexes and references.
Gorbachev's speech at the presentation turned into long reminiscences
of the events of those years. But he believes that his book can explain
a lot.