In Reagan’s March 8, 1983 speech before the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, he refereed to the U.S.S.R as the ‘evil empire.’ He castigated the nuclear power ambitions of the Soviet Union. He also justified the NATO deployment of nuclear-tipped missiles in Western Europe as response to the Soviet deployment of its own nuclear-tipped missiles in Eastern Europe. Not too long after, the NATO missiles were used as bargaining power in the arms talks between Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev where both agreed to work towards freezing nuclear weapons and reducing nuclear arsenals. Thus, intermediate-range and shorter-range nuclear missiles were eliminated.
Reagan’s foreign policy clearly opposed the Soviet Union, then the biggest Communist threat to the United States. He stressed on “peace through strength.” He said that America would negotiate with the Soviet Union ‘only from a position of power and superiority.’
Reagan was always clear about anti-Soviet sentiments. He refused to hold any summits with the U.S.S.R. He supported the Afghan rebels who were fighting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and avoided any arms-control negotiations with the Soviets. There were no confrontations with Communist powers, though. Instead, he funded the Nicaraguan Contra rebels who were battling Communism in Central America.
But Reagan met U.S.S.R.’s Mikhail Gorbachev who would soon carry out his perestroika and glasnost reforms. Gorbachev charmed Reagan who turned more conciliatory. The Soviet Union was also changing its foreign policy and easing its grip on Communist Eastern Europe.
Gorbachev called for the easing of tensions between the U.S.S.R. and the USA, as well as the West. He advocated for the slowing down of the global arms race that depleted Soviet funds. Reagan and Gorbachev held a series of summits that led to the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Both the US and the Soviet Union made significant progress in arms control. In 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) during a summit in Washington D.C. The treaty led to the destruction of more than 2,500 intermediate-range nuclear missiles. The INF treaty formalized the easing of tensions between the USA and the U.S.S.R. The Cold War was about to end. The ‘evil empire’ was no more, in Reagan’s mind.
Reagan stated that he didn’t want to contribute to stereotypes. This sentiment may be common to all US presidents battling US enemies. Communism is no longer US’ biggest enemy these days. Radical Islamism has already become the biggest threat to democracy. The stereotypes still remain, though. And the US still negotiates ‘only from a position of power and superiority.’
Via hbci
