Gorbachev uses student''s query to chide U.S.

     Clay Ramsey never thought he would get the chance to use the Russian language he studied for 20 years to talk to an actual Soviet leader.
     But on Monday, at the University of Dallas, the Fort Worth native did just that.
     During a visit to the university by Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union,      Ramsey posed his question - does Russia still fear military aggression from the West, even with Russia's dominance in the oil and gas industry?
     Speaking through a translator, Gorbachev said he believes that it's the U.S. that fears other countries.
     «Why are you afraid of everyone?» he said. «Why don't you recognize every nation is sovereign?
     «Instead, we see 120 U.S. military bases throughout the world», he said. «We respect the American people. ... We want to be your friends, your partners and if necessary, your allies».
     Gorbachev noted that the U.S. has pulled out of treaties, including those on missiles and on nuclear testing.
     «Russia will not dance to anyone's tune - to America's jazz music», he said. «Russia can look after our interests but wants to be friends with others».
     Gorbachev spoke to a crowd of about 600 at the university, talking about how his country has never wanted to go to war.
     In town for the University of Dallas' Eugene McDermott Lectureship, he also spoke to a group at the Belo Mansion in Dallas on Monday evening.
     But he said he especially enjoyed speaking with students. It was, after all, at Moscow University where he met the woman who became his wife, Raisa.
     Ramsey, an MBA student at the university, said he was delighted to be one of the three students who asked a question of Gorbachev.
     «I was standing eight feet from him, kind of getting scolded», said Ramsey, 36. «It was thrilling».
Gorbachev touched on everything from marriage to his political career. He was the last president of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its breakup in 1991, which followed his policies of openness and comparative liberalization after years of tight control.
     In recent weeks Gorbachev has criticized the United States for its approach to the war on terror, toured New Orleans neighborhoods devastated by Hurricane Katrina and has said that the U.S. is finally taking the threat of global warming seriously.

     He touched on other topics Monday, including:
     His career: He said he made mistakes, but «if we were to put on scales the pluses and minuses, the pluses outweigh minuses. Some people think otherwise, and they are entitled to their opinion».
     Similarities between Americans and Russians: «I have a lot of affection for American people - their openness and freedom, the fact they feel equal to people they talk to. Russians are very open, very loyal in friendship. But for many centuries, Russian people were subservient ... and only now are abandoning that legacy».