Heimler's History: End of the Cold War

Objective

Speeches:
- Reagan's global speeches aimed to depict the Soviet Union as on the brink of collapse.
- Significant speeches include the 1982 British Parliament where he proclaimed that Marxism-Leninism would be left on the "ash heap of history."
- 1983: Labeled Soviet Union as an "evil empire."
Diplomatic Efforts:
- Initial détente under Nixon's era, disrupted during Carter's presidency.
- Gorbachev's reforms:
  - Glasnost: Political freedoms.
  - Perestroika: Limited free market practices.
- INF Agreement: Destruction of intermediate-range missiles.
- Withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
Limited Military Interventions:
- Reagan Doctrine: Support for any anti-communist regimes, regardless of their governance style.
- Nicaragua:
  - U.S. backed the Contras against the communist Sandinistas.
  - Congress stopped support due to Contras' human rights abuses.
- Iran-Contra Affair:
  - Sale of weapons to Iranian Contras to fund the Nicaraguan Contras.
  - Illegal as Congress held budgetary authority.
  - Reagan's administration found aloof, but Reagan himself not directly implicated.
Military Buildup:
- Increased U.S. military spending and innovation.
- Development of B-1 bomber, MX missile, and expansion of Navy.
- Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), dubbed "Star Wars," aimed at missile defense through space-based lasers.

Reagan left office before the Cold War ended; successor George H.W. Bush oversaw its conclusion.
Soviet Influence Diminishes:
- Gorbachev reduced Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
- 1989: Non-communist leader elected in Poland, followed by changes in other Eastern European nations.
- Fall of the Berlin Wall.
- 1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union.

START Treaties:
- Reduction of nuclear warheads.
- START I: Reduced warheads to 10,000 each.
- START II: Further reduction to 3,000 and U.S. offered economic aid to Russia.

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