"He [Gorbachev] did initially oppose the absorption of a united Germany into NATO; and even after conceding the point in principle* continued to insist that NATO troops not be allowed to move 300 kilometers east to the Polish border--something US Secretary of State James Baker actually promised to his Soviet counterpart in February 1990. But when that promise was later broken Gorbachev was helpless to intervene." *There is some evidence that Gorbachev conceded this crucial point inadvertently, when he acceded in May 1990 to President Bush's suggestion that Germany's right of self-determination should include the freedom to 'choose its alliances'."