Word
Gems
What is a
man but the sum of his thoughts?
President
Ronald Reagan:
Foreign
Policy: The End of the Evil Empire
from the website: godblessronaldreagan.com
"... the march of freedom and democracy ... will leave
Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history as it has left other tyrannies which stifle
the freedom and muzzle the self-expression of the people."
-Ronald Reagan
Challenging the Soviet Bear
Similar to the economic state of the early 1980's and late 70's, many American
have long since forgotten the precarious state of world affairs. The Soviet Union
had a superior armed services, including an advantage over the west in terms of missile
strength. The USSR was panning out across the globe in a hegemonic attempt to bring more
and more nations under the control of Moscow. America's military had been hollowed out and
Jimmy Carter's humanitarian-based foreign policy had led to the proliferation of
anti-American despotisms.
Reagan took the initiative to reenact funding for a military that desperately
needed it. In addition, while others were calling for a halt in the arms race,
Reagan realized that this would allow the USSR to maintain a missile gap in their favor.
Instead Reagan challenged the Soviets to agree to bilateral reduction in arms. Even when
the USSR threatened to withdraw from arms control negotiations if the the US deployed
intermediate-range missiles in Europe, Reagan stood firm and let them walk. This had been
the first time that the West had not yielded to Soviet threats and held its ground.
Finally, Reagan began challenging the Brezhnev doctrine that once a nation turned red it
remained communist. Instead, Reagan challenged the Soviet supported governments across the
world and helped roll back the Soviet sphere of influence. The Reagan presidency marked
the first true challenge to the Soviet Union.
Fighting and Winning the Cold War
Often Gorbachev is considered the man most responsible for ending the Cold War.
He is seen as a man who unilaterally enacted democratic reform and made peace possible.
Little could be further from the truth. Gorbachev was a Soviet dictator like his
predecessors. He was firmly committed to Marx-Leninism and hoped to be the Soviet FDR
(saving a failing economic system). Gorbachev had every intention to win the Cold War and
spread the ideals of international Communism.
Gorbachev's hopes to reform and rebuild the Soviet Union was not, however, to
be realized. President Reagan understood the evil and immorality of the USSR and
sought to finally put an end to the totalitarian regime. Just as President Reagan refused
to halt the arms race while leaving a missile gap in favor of the Soviet Union, he also
was willing to take the necessary steps to force the USSR to agree to bilateral
disarmament. Reagan's proposal to build a missile defense system (SDI) to protect America
in case of nuclear attack is probably one of the proposals that he was most derided for.
Ironically, however, it was one of the most definitive proposals of his administration.
While American liberals (even a number of conservatives) were having a good laugh over
what they considered to be an impractical proposal (one that, oddly enough, a Democratic
president is now endorsing), the Soviet's were far more somber over this threat to their
nuclear supremacy. Why would the Soviets be frightened of a purely defensive initiative?
The reason is that the USSR had nearly bankrupted itself by outspending the US on military
expenditures. With this defense system, the Soviet nuclear stockpile would be rendered
nearly ineffective against the US. This new threat to Soviet strength, coupled with a
stronger US foreign policy proved to be effective in weakening the Russian resolve. At a
summit after Reagan made the proposal, Gorbachev made one last attempt to try to salvage
the current state of Soviet power by agreeing to much of what Reagan was requesting in
terms of nuclear arms reduction, provided Reagan would cancel SDI. Despite the criticism
he knew that was imminent upon his return, Reagan refused to grant such a concession to
the Soviet leader. Reagan was criticized for this decision, however, in the end his
decision was proven judicious. Gorbachev was now forced to realize that Soviet Union could
not out maneuver the United States and would have to begin serious negotiations over arms
reductions. It was the beginning of the end for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Soon the US and the USSR agreed to reduce their stockpiles of medium range weapons. The
first arms reduction of the Cold War.
Reagan realized that the Soviet military was not the only threat to freedom and
democracy. Soviet supported revolutions and governments were proliferating across
the globe when Reagan took office. The Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated once a nation
turned communist it remained communist, was accurately describing the condition in Asia
and South America. Reagan's foreign policy directly challenged this doctrine and reversed
the post war trend of nations moving towards communist rule. One of Reagan's most
controversial foreign policy endeavors was to liberate the tiny nation of Grenada. Most
likely, this was one of the most difficult decisions of his entire tenure as president.
Grenada was seen as a fairly benign Marxist state that posed no threat to the Western
world. This may have been true under the original Marxist dictator, Maurice Bishop, who
illegally seized control of the government through a coup. Bishop, however, had been
murdered by members of his party, who felt Bishop had become "counter
revolutionary". The new government could hardly be considered benign, in fact, it was
a tremendous threat to the region. Cuba and the USSR were using this island for military
construction. For this reason Eugenia Charles requested the US to intervene and put an end
to this communist threat. The US did so and was victorious. Of course, the liberals at
home and internationally complained that the US was being a bully and had no business
intervening in Grenadan affairs. A subsequent investigation proved that Grenada was not as
innocuous as the liberals claimed. In fact, documents found on the island proved that the
Marxist regime had signed pacts with other communist nations and had a large stockpile of
weapons. This was the first time since Vietnam that the US had committed ground forces and
won. More than that, the Brezhnev doctrine was no longer valid. It was the beginning of
the end of red hegemony.
Grenada was not the only nation to turn towards democracy and away from
totalitarianism.
Almost as controversial as intervention in Grenada was the US' intervention in
Nicaragua. Before Reagan had entered office, the Sandinistas had taken control of
the government. They had broken their pledge to hold free elections and forged close ties
to the Soviet Union. Additionally, they built a massive military force, seized private
property, censored the press, and curtailed the freedom of religion. In order to try to
force the Sandinista government to permit free elections, the Reagan administration sought
to arm the Contras, an opposition army. The Western left, however, was very sympathetic to
the Sandinistas, and the Democrats in Congress feared that aid to the Contras would be a
precursor to war in Nicaragua. While the left was busy defending the Sandinistas (rather
erroneously) and cutting funding to the Contras, the Reagan administration sought
alternate methods of funding (sometime going too far). The constant harassment of the
totalitarian regime was a success. A year after Reagan left office, free elections were
held. Despite the fact that the Sandinista's controlled the media and were expected to
win, Ortega's opponent, described as a "yankee dupe", was victorious, and
Nicaragua returned to democracy.
While the most direct examples of Reagan's support for anti-Communist forces
were in Nicaragua and Grenada, Reagan also lent support to pro-democracy forces in Angola,
Afghanistan, Cambodia, and several nations with rightist governments. Through US
aid and CIA training, Reagan was able to prepare armies in opposition to the communist
governments of their respective nations. Afghanistan became the USSR's
"Vietnam", forcing the Soviets to withdraw. Just as communist governments were
tumbling, other dictatorships were crumbling across the world. In 1987, South Korea held
its first elections. Haiti, Argentina, Brazil, Pakistan, Honduras, and others also turned
towards democracy. In fact, Reagan was instrumental in convincing both Chilean leader,
Pinochet, and Philippine ruler, Marcos to hold free elections. Both men lost and stepped
down from power. The world had shifted from despotism and totalitarianism to free
governments and free markets.
Iran-Contra
The nadir of the Reagan administration was a scandal that rocked America's
faith in Reagan's leadership. The Iran-Contra scandal occurred innocently enough.
Members of the administration, most notably Col. Oliver North sought to aid the Contras
through foreign and private investment (since Congress had suspended public funding).
That's where the trouble began. President Reagan, who had staunchly opposed the Iranian
regime, had backed away from his ardent disapproval of the government, in order to sell
arms for hostages. The reason Reagan did this was due to his sympathy for the hostages not
for any illicit purposes. This was a serious lapse in judgment and his later denial did
not help matters. Regardless, this event would have been nothing more than a minor blunder
and inconsistency in policy had it not been for the deflection of funds to the Contras.
THIS was illegal. Reagan, however, was not responsible for the deflection of funds, as
special prosecutor, Lawrence Walsh later concluded. In the end, Reagan regained his
popularity and the deflected funds helped the Contras bring an end to the the totalitarian
government of Nicaragua.
Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall
Henry Kissinger described Reagan's role in the Cold War in the following
manner: "...he combined hard-headed realism with Wilsonian idealism that hastened
victory in the Cold War." When Reagan entered office, America was still
reeling from its loss in Vietnam. The Soviet Union was facing economic difficulties,
however, it was still encouraging worldwide expansion. Reagan took advantage of this
weakness and began challenging the Soviet Union in a costly arms race, complimented by his
hard-line defense of America's interests, and on several fronts worldwide. Gorbachev may
have been less stubborn than other Soviet leaders may have been. Nonetheless, he initially
did all in his power to see the US' policy undermined while trying to revive the USSR.
Gorbachev turned out to be the loser and soon after Reagan left office, Eastern European
nations began moving towards independence. To Gorbachev's credit he refused to use force.
There is no mistaking, however, that Reagan's message of democracy and freedom, best
expressed in his speech at the Berlin Wall, and his role in weakening the Soviet's
strength was one of the factors most responsible for this occurrence. Soon after nations
began slipping out of the Soviet's sphere of influence, the economic and militarily ruined
USSR voted to dissolve itself. The USSR did not bury the West as Kruschev had predicted,
instead, it had been buried. As Margaret Thatcher, so aptly put it, "Ronald Reagan
[had] won the Cold War without firing a shot."
Note: All evidence and facts supporting what is stated on this page may
be found in Ronald Reagan's autobiography: An American Life, Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy,
and Dinesh D'Souza's, Ronald Reagan: How an Ordinary Man Became an Extraordinary Leader
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