Essay On Ronald Reagan's Foreign Policy

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When Reagan became President he had only one well-defined foreign policy goal: containing the Soviet Union or the "evil empire" as he once referred to it (Reagan 1983). He primarily wanted to stop the USSR from growing larger and to keep other non-Communist countries from becoming Communist. He disliked the decade-long Détente begun by President Nixon and continued by President Ford. Détente is defined as a relaxation of strained relations or tensions between nations, in this case the two nations being the United States and the Soviet Union. Reagan firmly believed that the USSR was using Détente and the SALT talks to take advantage of the United States. I believe that Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy helped bring down Communism in Europe. The "window of vulnerability" was fast…show more content…
True, Reagan did increase the size of the military, spent billions on national defense, and fought Communists in Latin America. Yet, more cordial relations with the USSR, arms reductions, and a shift away from anti-Soviet policies characterized Reagan's second term in office. There’s no question that former president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policy ended Communism in Europe. I have come to this conclusion after watching both his “Evil Empire” Speech and his “Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall” Speech. I also studied Reagan’s several meetings with Gorbachev in both the United States and in Moscow. I believe that the crucial role of leadership in any war, including a cold one, is demonstrated by our 40th president, Ronald Reagan. Even ex-dictator Saddam Hussein felt a tad nostalgic for the former leader after his death in 2004. While in jail, Hussein told one of his American guards, “I wish things were like when Ronald Reagan was still president” (McCarthy

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