There is some truth in it, though I wouldn't put it in such harsh terms.
I tend to agree.
There is some truth to what Gorbachev said. I think the 1990s in many ways was a wasted decade. Kind of like the 1920s.
Just as the 1930s were the bill we paid for the 1920s, the problems of the current decade are to some extent the result of the fact that we neglected a lot of developing problems in the previous decade.
Still, I don't accept Gorbachev's implication that any country is more responsible for helping others than they are for helping themselves. Most chronic problems are, on some level, self-inflicted, and it's unrealistic to expect other people to sacrifice to deal with the self-inflicted problems of others.
I'd be interested to hear if Gorbachev has any specific suggestions as to what might have been done differently. He could be turning into just another bitter old Jimmy Carter type -- time has passed him by, history judges him a failure in many respects, so he feels the need to lash out at the first available target in a vain attempt to burnish his own reputation.
I wouldn't put Gorbachev in the same category as Carter. In many eastern European countries, and Germany as well, Gorbachev is seen as a hero. In Russia it's a different story of course, where many people hold him personally responsible for the break-up of the Soviet Union and the subsequent economic malaise in Russia, but to be fair that was more or less inevitable and might even have occured earlier had it not been for Perestroika. The USSR was bound to collapse at some point in the 80s or 90s because its economic infrastructure was simply unsustainable, and Gorbachev has to be given credit for recognising the need for reform.
But I'm digressing. Point being, Gorbachev wasn't the failure Carter was, and it would be wrong to judge him as such. And I think he does have a point simply on the grounds that the US is the most influential nation in the world and right now (and certainly during the 90s) is/was probably the only country with the economic and diplomatic muscle to bring about positive change.
