Ronald Reagan's First Term 1981-1984
- Created by: rachel247
- Created on: 14-05-15 10:00
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- Ronald Reagan - First Term - 1981-1984
- Increasing Nuclear armaments and Spending
- deployed **-20 nuclear missiles in Eastern Europe
- 13% increase in 1982
- Over 8% in the following 2 years
- CIA budget increased rapidly
- Developed the Stealth Bomber
- Costing $1.5 trillion
- Also developed the Trident Submarine
- Reagan was horrified by nuclear weapons
- He believed the way to deal with Moscow was to build up American nuclear superiority and combat Soviet interventions in the third world
- SDI 'Star Wars' March 1983
- it's the development of an anti-ballistic missile system
- Deploys weapons in outer space as a 'shield' to destroy enemy missiles in flight
- It threatened to violate US-Soviet agreements
- Limited Test Ban Treaty 1963
- ABM Treaty 1972
- It was destabilising mutual deterrence and accelerated the arms race
- It's intention was to regain military supremacy over the Soviet Union
- Although there's no evidence that Soviet defence spending increased significantly in response
- Gaddis argues that the reaction in the Kremlin 'Approached panic'
- SDI was the centre of arms talks during the whole Reagan administation
- it's the development of an anti-ballistic missile system
- The 'Reagan Doctrine'
- The aim was to send assistance to anti-communist insurgents and governments
- Nicragua
- Military aid supplied to the Contras - a right-wing guerrilla organisation fighting the communist government
- El Salvador
- Support for right-wing government faced with popular left-wing revolt
- Phillipines
- Support for the anti-Communist Marcos government
- Afghanistan
- Stinger anti-aircraft missiles were supplied to the Mujahideen fighting soviet forces
- Poland
- When Solidarity was banned, US loans and bank credits cut off and tariffs placed on Polish exports to the USA
- US actions in Grenada, Nicaragua and El Salvador demonstrated the willingness of the US to intervene in the internal policies of other countries
- This was strongly supported by Reagans secretary of Defence Caspar Weinberger
- These actions were criticised by liberals and socialists as a threat to people to choose their own desitiny
- Increasing Nuclear armaments and Spending
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