Transcript Reagan and Bush: The Battle against Communism

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 IranContra 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
Controversy
November 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

"Publications." Ashbrook. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"Modern History." HSC Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2015.

"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.