v1 Background: Where/How Should the War Start in Europe?

[Adm.Lee]

I'm currently reading "When the world seemed new: George H W Bush and the end of the Cold War", and I'm just past the chapter on German reunification, 1989-90. No one knew how a war might start in East Germany, but everyone seemed aware that it was a possibility.

I wonder if we put together some violence breaking out (East German civilians vs a Soviet Army or KGB post, shooting starts... ) and cooler heads than Bush and Gorbachev present, and stuff goes downhill quickly. You'd still need a stronger USSR than the RL one in 1989, and a war that drags on for years, but not all the way until 2000.