Reagan and Bush: The Battle against Communism

BY: JACOB PETERSEN

AND NICK LARSON

Renewing Tensions and Military build up.

Ronald Reagan came into office in 1981 and won in a landslide against Jimmy Carter, and the early years of his presidency increased the tensions of the cold war.

During his run for president, Reagan had called Communism insanity that goes against human nature.

In a speech to parliament in 1982, Reagan said that he planned to put Marxism on the “ash heap of history”

When he finally called for the “Star Wars” defense system, this tested the peace and stability which led to Reagan’s presidency to be called the new cold war.

With the test to stability, Reagan began to put more money in the U.S. defense budget.

Lebanon, Israel, and the PLO

When Reagan came into office Israel locked in battle with Palestinians.

In 1982, with the approval of the U.S., Israel invaded south Lebanon to prevent an invasion of Israel by the Palestinian Liberation Organization, or PLO.

The U.S. then started to find a safe haven for the PLO and to provide peace keeping forces in Lebanon.

When the U.S. suffered 63 casualties from suicide Arab bombers and 241 from Arab bombers driving bombs into the U.S. barracks, the U.S. pulled out of Lebanon with little to show for the Caualties.

The Palestinian-Israel conflict didn’t end until 1988.

El Salvador, and Grenada

El Salvador was in severe civil war when he came into office, and Reagan pursued an increase in aid from congress to go towards El Salvador.

The U.S. invaded Grenada in 1983 with Operation Urgent Fury when Communist leader Bernard Coard came into office. The invasion was short and was caused due to

questionable acts from Coard, such as a 10,000 foot airstrip.

This was claimed to have been built for commercial jets, but was suspected to be used as a landing site for weapons from Cuba.

Nicaragua and the Iran-Contra Affair

In Nicaragua, Reagan wanted to fund the Contras in fighting the Cuban backed Sandinistas for control on the island, but when the Democratic Congress passed the Boland Amendment in 1984,Support was made almost impossible. This was where the Iran-Contra controversy arose.

In 1985 Iran made a secret request for arms when they were at war with Iraq. Reagan agreed to the trade, even though it went against the embargo on Iran and his campaign promise, for the release of seven U.S. hostages. The problem was that, of the money from the arms sold, 12 million went to the U.S. while the rest was diverted to the Contras.

Address to the Nation on the Iran Arms and Contra Aid ControversyNovember 13, 1986

“The charge has been made that the United States has shipped weapons to Iran as ransom payment for the release of American hostages in Lebanon, that the United States undercut its allies and secretly violated American policy against trafficking with terrorists. Those charges are utterly false. The United States has not made concessions to those who hold our people captive in Lebanon. And we will not. The United States has not swapped boatloads or planeloads of American weapons for the return of American hostages. And we will not. Other reports have surfaced alleging U.S. involvement: reports of a sealift to Iran using Danish ships to carry American arms; of vessels in Spanish ports being employed in secret U.S. arms shipments; of Italian ports being used; of the U.S. sending spare parts and weapons for combat aircraft. All these reports are quite exciting, but as far as we're concerned, not one of them is true.”

Historical context: The U.S. at the time was in a battle with Communism and was blocked by congress to support countries fighting it.

Improved relations with the Soviet Relations

The 1980’s were years of great military build up from both the United Stats and Russia, both trying to prove who had the bigger military, that is until Mikhail Gorbachev came into power.

Gorbachev put into power two reforms: 1) glasnost: openness in the Russian government to end repression and 2) perestroika: the restructuring of the economy by introducing some free market practices.

With the reforms, Gorbachev also slowed down the arms race With the INF treaty which destroyed all intermediate-ranged missiles for both countries.

Gorbachev also decreased tensions by pulling Russian troops out of Afghanistan, which they had been trying to turn into a communist country for many years.

Collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe

The collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe culminated with the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989.

The wall was a physical representation of the Iron Curtain that the Soviet Union had created.

The fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized the end of the Cold War because the Soviet Union lost its control and influence over Eastern Europe when the division of Germany ended.

Soviet Union Start I and II Treaties

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War Bush and Gorbachev met to sign the START I Treaty on July 32, 1991

-This treaty limited the number of nuclear warheads a country could possess and later would also ban long distance missiles.

The START II treaty was signed by Bush and Yeltsin on September 26, 1997. This treaty extended what the START I had stated and also limited the different types of nuclear missiles that a country could have.

Historical Context: This document shows the sheer number of missiles the two powerhouses had at the time and why tensions were so high during this time period.

Invasion of Panama

Throughout all of the turmoil taking place in Europe, the United was also busy protecting its territory of the Panama Canal.

In 1989 Panama saw rise to a new militaristic dictator known as Noriega.

As the country plunged into chaos President Bush was labeled a wimp for not helping the people of Panama.

Whether or not it was the United States’ job to aid Panama during this time amidst the critics Bush launched an invasion of Panama on December 20, 1989.

The result of the invasion ended in the capturing of Noriega and end to the conflict.

The underlying reason for the invasion was to remove the dictator, but alternative motives led the invasion to be called Operation “Just Cause”.

President Bush and China Relations

President Bush had a very conservative view to foreign affairs and policies. One example of this is the Tiananmen Square massacre by the Chinese government. Even though heavily advised by Congress to impose heavy repercussions for the incident Bush only set limited sanctions against China.

Bush’s goal was to keep relatively good relations with China due to both countries being economically reliant on each other.

Intended Audience: Amidst a struggle for pro Democracy within China this article is aimed towards the believers in freedom and an end to Communism.

Works cited

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"Iran-Contra Affair." Iran-Contra Affair. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"The Cold War Museum." Cold War Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Treaty Between The United States Of America And The Union Of Soviet Socialist Republics On The Elimination Of Their Intermediate-Range And Shorter-Range Missiles (INF Treaty)." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of State, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Soviet-Afghan War." Soviet-Afghan War. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, National Archives and Records Administration." Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, National Archives and Records Administration. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.