de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception
In
1987, Mathias Rust, a German aviator, decided to relieve the tension
created by the Cold War. He wanted to create a "bridge" to the east. In
this case, "the east" was Russia. In May 1987, Rust, an amateur pilot,
took off in Finland and flew his plane to Red Square in Moscow.
He was tracked by Soviet Air Defense during his flight, but they never
received permission to shoot him down. The Soviet air defense system was
supposedly impregnable. Rust openly disproved this, and his flight's
success led to the firing of a number of Soviet senior officers.
This breach of security helped Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev
implement reforms that helped bring about an end to the Cold War. So
perhaps Rust's mission was successful?
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