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How Did The Cold War End

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How did the Cold War end? The Cold War was an impactful event between the United States and the Soviet Union. The administration of Ronald Reagan influenced how and when this war ended. Using the sources provided and my knowledge of US history, the Reagan administration went to great extent to end the Cold War and contain communism. The first method of preventing the spread of communism was implementing US policy. This strategy included external resistance to Soviet imperialism and competing in the international arena. As a nation, we did not want the USSR to feel superior in any area. In order to do so, the US needed to modernize its military, conventionally and nuclear, so the USSR would not underestimate our country. This also intimidated …show more content…

This treaty was signed in Washington on December 8, 1987, and entered into force on June 1, 1988. The agreement was guided by the objective of strengthening strategic ability, reducing the risk of the outbreak of war, and securing peace. Both the United States and Soviet Union were conscious that nuclear war would have devastating consequences for all mankind. This conclusion caused them to come to a compromise concerning military weapons. They decided that both countries will eliminate their intermediate-range and short-range missiles. The treaty states (source B), “all activity related to production, flight-testing, training, repair, storage, or deployment of such missiles and launchers has ceased there.” This statement goes further into detail about the Protocol on Elimination. The treaty also called for the termination of missile operating bases and military support facilities. Both countries would need to eradicate all the listed items within six months of the treaty. Overall, the USSR and US wanted to ensure that no nuclear war outbreak would …show more content…

Ronald Reagan expresses his views by saying, “For the first time in history, the language of ‘arms control’ was replaced by ‘arms reduction’”. President Reagan goes on to declare that the complete elimination of nuclear missiles took conventional wisdom, patience, determination, and commitment. Reagan was thankful for the treaty, and he believed that this treaty would create a working relationship between the Soviets and the United States. He wanted this relationship to take on other urgent issues such as, strategic offensive nuclear weapons, the balance of conventional forces in Europe, the destructive regional conflicts of the world, and the respect for the human and natural rights granted by God to all people. Similarly, General Secretary Gorbachev’s opinion of the treaty was equivalent to Reagan’s. He claimed, “We can be proud of planting this sapling, which may one day grow into a tree of peace.” Gorbachev felt that this treaty was the birth of a relationship between the US and Soviet Union. He thought that they had reached a breakthrough in the Cold War. The General Secretary also states, “...move together toward a nuclear-free world, which holds out for our children and grandchildren and for their children and grandchildren the promise of a fulfilling and

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