Berlin Wall:  Looking Back to Find a Way Forward:   

We're coming up on the 25th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down.  Its lessons still reverberate today.  For example, we have a template to work from should North Korea suddenly collapse and the Korean peninsula is reunited once again.  Also, consider that Russian President Vladimir Putin was once a Soviet Secret Agent with the KGB who was based in East Berlin.  Tap into this knowledge and you undoubtedly can tap into his thinking.

I took this picture from my perch in West Berlin during the summer of 1981.  It shows the Berlin Wall while looking into East Berlin.  West Berliners could walk right up to The Wall.  Hence, the graffiti.  But those in the east couldn't get close because of that "death strip" you see there.  The white sticks you see lined up in a row in the background are tank traps, anti-tank fortifications set up by the East Germans.

25 years after The Wall was breached and easter european communism collapsed we can still learn a lot from what happened.  I'm convinced the Marshall Plan saved Western Europe World War II and that a lack of such a plan for Iraq has led to what we have there now, a failed state.

This brings up leadership issues and how we will move forward to instill peace and prosperity in the world.  Berlin, from where I reported from up until last year, is now the capital of the most powerful country in the European Union and the seat of government for one of the most vibrant democracies on the planet.

I'll be updating this blog and the Ah! Channel over the coming weeks to show you what it's like in Berlin now and talk about some of the lessons we've learned over the years.  Please be sure to check back.