Ronald Reagan: His Doctrine for U.S. Diplomacy During the Cold War in Central America

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Ronald Reagan: His Doctrine for U.S. Diplomacy during the Cold War in Central America Strayer University International Problems PHI 300 Professor Lorna Maloney 5 August 2012 Ronald Reagan: His Doctrine for U.S. Diplomacy during the Cold War in Central America On April 27, 1983 , in his address before a joint session of the congress on Central America, President Ronald Reagan made a powerful statement on his view of the things that were occur south of the American border. How statement was: “If Central America were to fall, what would the consequences be for our position in Asia, Europe, and for alliances such as NATO? If the United States cannot respond to a threat near our own borders, why should Europeans or Asians believe that we're seriously concerned about threats to them? If the Soviets can assume that nothing short of an actual attack on the United States will provoke an American response, which ally, which friend will trust us then? (Reagan, 2012). This statement had to do with his concern over the events that were happening in Central America, which during this time had the Pro Soviet Sandinista government running Nicaragua which in had just ridded itself a previous dictatorship in 1979. This was also problematic because in 1981, Sandinista-supported Marxist guerrillas launched an offensive against the government of El Salvador, which was pro-American (Russell, 2010). The President Reagan did not want to see the Soviet Union’s communist influence grow more than it already had, which propelled him into action. What came from this fear of the spread of communism is what we now know as the “Reagan Doctrine”. According to the Historian’s Office at the U.S. Department of State, The “Reagan Doctrine” was the policy of supporting anti-Communist insurgents wherever
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