President Reagan’s Win on the Cold War

Running head: REAGAN’S STRATEGY DURING COLD WAR
President Reagan’s Win on the Cold War
Name
Professor
Course
Date

REAGAN’S STRATEGY DURING COLD WAR 1
How President Ronald Reagan Concluded the Cold War
After the WWII (World War II), a cold war developed between the US and the USSR
(union of soviet socialist republic) as well as their allies. This cold war involved using
propaganda, political and economic, fronts with limited use of weapons. The war shaped foreign
policy and domestic affairs in the U.S. It lasted for about forty-five years and it led to massive
loss of lives and properties even though it did not involve military wars1. However, in 1989, the
Berlin wall fell and the East Berlin’s communist party spokesman announced that there were
changes in how US related with western nations and thus citizens had the freedom of crossing
the borders. In this paper therefore, we discuss how the US president during the time Ronald
Reagan outdid the others in cold war through his anti-communist policies and military expansion
in the 1980’s2.
During his reign as president, Ronald Reagan directed American soldiers to attack
Grenada to set the island free from its Marxist dictator and ruler. The liberation was a historic
event as it was an indication of that the Brezhnev doctrine could end and thus ushering in a series
of occurrences that led to the fall of the empire of Soviet. This doctrine was a daunting reality
when Reagan was elected president in 19803. In essence, the doctrine confirmed that countries
that became communists would remain that way. However, that changed after Grenada
liberation.
President Reagan had sophisticated knowledge of communism. He supported the anti-
communist forces in Angola, Afghanistan and Cambodia. He predicted that people would
1 Rowland, Robert C., and John M. Jones. Reagan at Westminster: Foreshadowing the end of the
Cold War. Texas A&M University Press, 2010, p. 57.
2 Mann, Jim. The Rebellion of Ronald Reagan: A History of the End of the Cold War. Penguin,
2009, p. 3-6.
3 Saltoun-Ebin, Jason. The Reagan Files: The Untold Story of Reagan's Top-Secret Efforts to
Win the Cold War. The Reagan Files, 2012, p. 31.

REAGAN’S STRATEGY DURING COLD WAR 2
experience some democracy and freedom if the western alliances remained strong. His critics
however dismissed this as rhetoric questioning how he knew the soviet communism was facing
an impending collapse. To him, the USSR was struggling and he wondered when it was
collapsing not whether it would collapse. He supported anti-communist technique to better deal
with these soviets4. USSR was not in a good situation as Reagan was assuming office. They had
managed to advance rapidly in Africa, South America, and Asia after invading Afghanistan.
However, besides Reagan’s acting to these serious issues, he formulated a counter offensive
technique which was broad.
Reagan began a $1.5 trillion development of his military which was the biggest across the
American history5. The initiative was meant to draw the USSR into a race of armies it was not
anywhere near winning. Reagan had also the determination of leading the alliances from western
side to deploy cruise missiles in Europe. He suggested reduction of nuclear stockpiles by the two
superpowers. Additionally, he also had a policy concerning material and military help to the
resisting movements who were in the struggle of overthrowing tyrannical leaders supported by
the USSR. The doctrine was cost-effective and was one of the politically successful doctrines in
the cold war’s history. However, the doves and the USSR were opposed to Reagan’s
counteroffensive strategies. The USSR however was stunned by the pace made by Reagan and
scale of his military buildup. Actually, since President Reagan became a leaders, no other
territory had been captured by Moscow6.
4 Hoffman, David. The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its
Dangerous Legacy. Anchor, 2009, p. 47.
5 Wilson, James. The triumph of improvisation: Gorbachev's adaptability, Reagan's engagement,
and the end of the Cold War. Cornell University Press, 2014, p. 79.
6 Marlo, Francis H. Planning Reagan's war: conservative strategists and America's Cold War
victory. Potomac Books, Inc., 2012, p. 39.