And yet, such borrowing by Moscow almost certainly will cost Western taxpayers dearly, either directly or indirectly, in the forms of subsidized, below-market credits, bad debts ultimately written off, and higher defense spending to counter the harmful consequences of perpetuating the militarized Soviet economy.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | Read The President??s Lips: ??No U.S. Taxpayer Aid To Gorbachev??

But bankers say the rule of thumb is that only about 15% of restructured loans eventually become bad debts (and even they need not be entirely written off).

ECONOMIST: Indian banks