A New Foreign Policy
Throughout the Carter administration, the United States had withdrawn significantly from world affairs. Under the Brezhnev Doctrine, the Soviet Union and its allies had been working to overthrow non-Communist governments and suppress revolts against Communist governments. This was evident in El Salvador, Angola, Ethiopia, Cambodia, and Poland. In order to combat Soviet expansionism, Reagan increased military spending to match that of the Soviets.
¨As the foundation of my foreign policy, I decided that we weren't going to stand by anymore while they armed and financed terrorists and subverted democratic governments. Our policy was to be one based on strength and realism. I wanted peace through strength, not peace through a piece of paper.¨ -Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 43 page 267.
¨As the foundation of my foreign policy, I decided that we weren't going to stand by anymore while they armed and financed terrorists and subverted democratic governments. Our policy was to be one based on strength and realism. I wanted peace through strength, not peace through a piece of paper.¨ -Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 43 page 267.
As For The Enemies Of Freedom, Those Who Are Potential Adversaries, They Will Be Reminded That Peace Is The Highest Aspiration Of The American People. We Will Negotiate For It, Sacrifice For It; We Will Not Surrender For It--Now Or Ever.
-Ronald Reagan 1981, Inaugural Address
U.S. Soviet Treaties & Doctrine
START I - The Strategic Arms Reduction Talks were a continuation of SALT 1 and 2. Reagan's strategy in START I was not merely to limit existing arsenals, but to dramatically reduce strategic weapons. The Soviet Union abandoned the talks in 1983, but they resumed in 1985.
SDI- The Strategic Defense Initiative was introduced by President Reagan in 1983. It focused on strategic defense rather than the strategic offense doctrine of MAD ( Mutual Assured Destruction). SDI was not very popular with the media as they saw it as impossible. SDI would also put talks on hold between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev during the Reykjavik Summit.
INF-Treaty: Signed during the Washington Summit in December 1987. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges.
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
SDI- The Strategic Defense Initiative was introduced by President Reagan in 1983. It focused on strategic defense rather than the strategic offense doctrine of MAD ( Mutual Assured Destruction). SDI was not very popular with the media as they saw it as impossible. SDI would also put talks on hold between President Reagan and General Secretary Gorbachev during the Reykjavik Summit.
INF-Treaty: Signed during the Washington Summit in December 1987. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty eliminated nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with intermediate ranges.
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
''Trust But Verify''
-Russian Proverb
The Iran-Contra Scandal
In 1985, President Reagan's senior administration officials secretly sold arms to Iran, which was a part of an arms embargo. The intention of the sale was to secure the release of U.S. hostages, and the military would use the money from the sales to back the Contras in Nicaragua, an anti-communist rebel force. What many people didn't realize was that the Boland Amendment made it illegal for the U.S. to give money to rebels that intended to overthrow the government in Nicaragua. This is where the scandal began.
The Iran Contra Scandal was a two-year ordeal. Ronald Reagan talked about when he learned of the severity of the situation,
''Ed Meese and Don Regan brought me a bombshell: Over the weekend, one of Ed's assistants had discovered a memorandum indicating that Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, while working with the Iranians to arrange the release of the hostages, had diverted part of the money the Iranians paid for the weapons to support the freedom fighters in Nicaragua.
My first reaction was that Poindexter and North wouldn’t do anything like that without telling me- that there had to be a mistake. But Ed said he was sure, there hadn’t been a mistake, the memorandum made it clear what had happened.
After an initial reaction of surprise, shock and disbelief to what Ed Meese had found, I told the cabinet and the White House staff that we were going to do everything we could to get to the bottom of the matter, immediately make public the discovery, and hide nothing. The worst thing we could do was try to cover it up. Early the next morning, I met with the leadership of the Congress- both houses, both parties, in one meeting- to tell them what Ed had found. Then I announced it to the press. Ed took their questions for an hour and we leveled with them, the whole truth. John Poindexter submitted his resignation as national security advisor and Oliver North was relieved of his duties on the NSC staff. Then I went on television to inform the American people what we had discovered. I asked ex-Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former White House National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft to make a full and independent investigation to determine exactly what had happened. I also asked for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to look into the matter and determine if any laws had been violated.''
-Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 68 Page 530-531.
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
The Iran Contra Scandal was a two-year ordeal. Ronald Reagan talked about when he learned of the severity of the situation,
''Ed Meese and Don Regan brought me a bombshell: Over the weekend, one of Ed's assistants had discovered a memorandum indicating that Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, while working with the Iranians to arrange the release of the hostages, had diverted part of the money the Iranians paid for the weapons to support the freedom fighters in Nicaragua.
My first reaction was that Poindexter and North wouldn’t do anything like that without telling me- that there had to be a mistake. But Ed said he was sure, there hadn’t been a mistake, the memorandum made it clear what had happened.
After an initial reaction of surprise, shock and disbelief to what Ed Meese had found, I told the cabinet and the White House staff that we were going to do everything we could to get to the bottom of the matter, immediately make public the discovery, and hide nothing. The worst thing we could do was try to cover it up. Early the next morning, I met with the leadership of the Congress- both houses, both parties, in one meeting- to tell them what Ed had found. Then I announced it to the press. Ed took their questions for an hour and we leveled with them, the whole truth. John Poindexter submitted his resignation as national security advisor and Oliver North was relieved of his duties on the NSC staff. Then I went on television to inform the American people what we had discovered. I asked ex-Senator John Tower, former Secretary of State Edmund Muskie, and former White House National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft to make a full and independent investigation to determine exactly what had happened. I also asked for the appointment of an independent prosecutor to look into the matter and determine if any laws had been violated.''
-Ronald Reagan, An American Life Chapter 68 Page 530-531.
(Photo: Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
The Reykjavik Summit: The 48 Hours That Ended the Cold War
The Reykjavik Summit is considered to be the turning point in American-Soviet relations. It was at Reykjavik that "the Great Communicator" was able to put his great diplomatic skills to use.
Coming into the talks, the Soviet economy was in disarray and could not hope to keep up with the U.S. in an arms race for much longer. The elimination of half of all U.S. and Soviet long range missiles and bombers was discussed as well as the elimination of missiles from Europe. At one point, a complete end to all U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons was also discussed. However, Gorbachev, hoping to level the playing field, demanded that the U.S. restrain S.D.I. research to the laboratory. Reagan refused, knowing that this concession would end any hopes of seeing S.D.I. come to fruition, and would give away a huge U.S. advantage in future arms talks.
With this refusal, the talks ended in a stalemate, and as Reagan left, he told Gorbachev he still thought they could make a deal. The talks were initially considered a failure due to the lack of an immediate agreement, but when Gorbachev was later asked about what he felt was the turning point in American-Soviet relations, Gorbachev without hesitation said Reykjavik. His reason was that for the first time, the two leaders talked directly over an extended period in real conversation, about key issues.
(Photo:Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
Coming into the talks, the Soviet economy was in disarray and could not hope to keep up with the U.S. in an arms race for much longer. The elimination of half of all U.S. and Soviet long range missiles and bombers was discussed as well as the elimination of missiles from Europe. At one point, a complete end to all U.S. and Soviet nuclear weapons was also discussed. However, Gorbachev, hoping to level the playing field, demanded that the U.S. restrain S.D.I. research to the laboratory. Reagan refused, knowing that this concession would end any hopes of seeing S.D.I. come to fruition, and would give away a huge U.S. advantage in future arms talks.
With this refusal, the talks ended in a stalemate, and as Reagan left, he told Gorbachev he still thought they could make a deal. The talks were initially considered a failure due to the lack of an immediate agreement, but when Gorbachev was later asked about what he felt was the turning point in American-Soviet relations, Gorbachev without hesitation said Reykjavik. His reason was that for the first time, the two leaders talked directly over an extended period in real conversation, about key issues.
(Photo:Reagan.UTexas.Edu)
We Seek The Total Elimination One Day Of Nuclear Weapons From The Face of
The Earth
-Ronald Reagan 1985 Inaugural Address
"Tear Down This Wall!"
In June 1987, Ronald Reagan traveled to West Berlin to celebrate the 750th Anniversary of the cities birth. During his stay, Reagan gave the speech of The Cold War. Peter Robinson, the author of the speech, explains how he got the idea for this famous speech,
“I was given a ride in a helicopter over the city and there you could see what laid ahead on the other side. It was a killing zone.When I returned back to the U.S. Embassy I told my advisors what I wanted to write the speech about. They told me, ¨Don’t make Ronald Reagan sound like an anti-Communist cowboy. Don’t mention much about the wall, they’ve gotten used to it by now.¨
I went to dinner later that night with a West German couple and I asked them, 'Have you gotten used to the wall?' One of them responded and pointed towards the wall, and said, 'I haven’t seen my sister in over twenty years! How do you think I feel about the wall?'
When I wrote the speech and turned it in, The State Department rejected the speech and the National Security Council rejected it. They said, 'it was cheap, melodrama, why should the president say such a thing?' It didn’t matter because President Reagan loved the speech!¨
-Peter Robinson, Hoover Institution
(Photo: The Guardian)
“I was given a ride in a helicopter over the city and there you could see what laid ahead on the other side. It was a killing zone.When I returned back to the U.S. Embassy I told my advisors what I wanted to write the speech about. They told me, ¨Don’t make Ronald Reagan sound like an anti-Communist cowboy. Don’t mention much about the wall, they’ve gotten used to it by now.¨
I went to dinner later that night with a West German couple and I asked them, 'Have you gotten used to the wall?' One of them responded and pointed towards the wall, and said, 'I haven’t seen my sister in over twenty years! How do you think I feel about the wall?'
When I wrote the speech and turned it in, The State Department rejected the speech and the National Security Council rejected it. They said, 'it was cheap, melodrama, why should the president say such a thing?' It didn’t matter because President Reagan loved the speech!¨
-Peter Robinson, Hoover Institution
(Photo: The Guardian)
Reagan Had A Sense That This Was The Time To Really Deliver The Crushing Blow To The Soviet Union.