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The Ronald Reagan Doctrine

Decent Essays

Ronald Reagan Doctrine
Simon C. Martlock
Strayer University
Course: POL 300 / International Problems
Instructor:
05 February 2016

The purpose of the Reagan Doctrine was to “sponsor anticommunist guerrillas who are trying to overthrow pro-Soviet regimes” (Roskin, 2010). It was implemented in the mid-1980’s by President Reagan within his 1985 State of the Union Address and lasted less than a decade around the end of the Cold War in 1991. In this assignment, I will discuss the doctrine that President Reagan followed for his doctrine and what situation that caused the need for the doctrine. What were the effects of this diplomatic effort for the United States and countries it might have effected.

To begin we must understand the …show more content…

In addition, he inherited a military that was still struggling to overcome the damage inflicted by the Vietnam War. In spite of these obstacles, Reagan had a vision for America. He said; “It was time for something different” (Tygiel, 2006). He felt that previous administrations such as Nixon, Ford, and Carter had all done a poor job in growing the economy, and building a strong military defense, and he wanted to rectify the problem. He argued that fifty years of misguided policies had shattered the free market of much of its natural vitality by burdening it with too many government taxes, too much government spending, and too much government regulations. He promised to restore prosperity by getting the government off the backs of the American people, and strengthening our defense system. His faith in the free-market principles proved to be contagious, helping to restore confidence in the future of the American economy known as Reaganomics. In addition to igniting the economy, Reagan was focused on the Soviet Union, believing that only by building up American armed forces strong enough to defeat the Soviet Union could the United States deter the Communists from instigating World War …show more content…

Similar to other countries President Reagan was helping fight the Soviets by providing the guerrillas with an extensive amount of military assistance in their fight against the invading Soviets. In part due to the financial, weapons and military training support from America the Afghan rebels were able to eventually defeat the Soviet Union’s military. Some critics are criticizing President Reagans doctrine and claim that in no way did it help the situation in Afghanistan, many of them claim that it was an epic failure. Others believe the doctrine was instrumental in helping bring an end to communism. One specific advantage that has been credited to the doctrine was “the lack of direct involvement of American troops, which allowed the United States to confront Soviet allies without sustaining casualties” (Reagan Doctrine, 2014). In addition it has been argued that it was President Reagan’s pursuit of the Strategic Defense Initiative that bankrupted the Kremlin leadership, prompting a liberalization of the Soviet political economy that brought down the entire

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