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The Role Ronald Reagan Had in ending the Cold War Essay

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The purpose of this investigation is to determine the role Ronald Reagan had in ending the Cold War. This topic is important because now that it is becoming accepted that Reagan had a goal in mind of ending communism when he became president, it is time to determine the way he accomplished the task of ending the Cold War. The research will focus primarily on deciding whether or not it was through exploiting Soviet vulnerabilities, negotiations, or a military build-up. In answering the inquiry question, the main sources that will be used will be a book and National Security Decision Directive 75 (NSDD 75). The book, a biography of Reagan written by Paul Kengor, titled The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism, views Reagan’s …show more content…

 In January 1981 during a meeting with the National Security Planning Group, CIA director Bill Casey shared his opinions of how the US should take down the USSR and “Reagan agreed with Casey that the administration should launch a concerted effort to play on Soviet vulnerabilities” and started creating a plan on how to do just that (The Crusader).
 Reagan wanted to show the world all the Soviet Union’s vulnerabilities that could be used to take it down. Using their vulnerabilities to our advantage by doing actions such as “covert financial and intelligence support to the Solidarity union in Poland and other opposition groups within the Soviet empire; financial and military support to the Afghan resistance; cooperative efforts with Saudi Arabia to drive down the price of oil, and limiting Soviet natural gas exports to the West, thereby reducing Soviet hard currency earnings; a campaign to limit Soviet access to Western high technology; a technological disinformation effort to help disrupt the Soviet economy; a massive U.S. defense buildup, including the SDI program, to put more pressure on Soviet economic resources; and financial, military and logistical support for anti-communist forces in several Third World countries” (Reagan and End of the Cold War).
 “There are a number of important weaknesses and vulnerabilities within the Soviet empire which the U.S. should exploit. U.S. policies should seek wherever possible to encourage Soviet allies to distance

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