That’s the claim made in The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World by John O’Sullivan. Published in 2006, I’ve had it in my to-read stack for too long and I overlooked it too often. Its a delightful read. Sullivan is an excellent writer, clear, to-the-point, and with a wealth of inside ancedotes. Born in Britain, but with extensive experience as a journalist in both the US and the UK, O’Sullivan served for a time as a special advisor to Prime Minister Thatcher.

The startling paragraph on Kennedy comes on page 197:

“Six months after becoming general secretary of the CPSU [early 1983], Yuri Andropov received a highly confidential letter from his successor as KGB chief, Viktor Chebrikov. It was classified “Top Secret – Of Special Importance,” and reported an approach to the Soviets made through the good offices of former senator John Tunney of California. The senior American politican making the apporach was Senator Edward Kennedy. He was requesting a personal interview with Andropov because “in the interest of world peace it would be useful and timely to take a few extra steps to counteract the militaristic policies of Ronald Reagan.” (Chebrikov is summarizing Kennedy here rather than quoting him directly.)

. . . Kennedy made several subsequent attempts to advise the Soviets on the best way to outwit Reagan.”

This report is particularly odious, because Andropov was the immediate successor to Brezhnev. He had been the Soviet ambassador to Hungary in 1956 and played a key role in the brutal soviet suppression of the Hungarian revolt. He was also the architect of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

And this is the man that Senator Kennedy sought to conspire with in order to thwart Reagan.

Pardon me if I do not join in the encominiums to the Senator from Chappaquidick as the greatest legislator of the past 100 years.

– Rob Shearer