His foreign policy labeled President Reagan as the Great Communicator.

The Foreign policy of the Reagan Administration was the foreign policy of the United States from 1981 to 1989 under President of the United States Ronald Reagan during his Administration. It was characterized by a bold Cold War confrontation of the Soviet Union followed by a warming of relations once the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev rose to power and a peaceful end to the Cold War. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (594x750, 49 KB) Official Portrait of President Reagan, 1981. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (594x750, 49 KB) Official Portrait of President Reagan, 1981. ... A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... President Reagan, with his Cabinet and staff, in the Oval Office (February 4, 1981) Headed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989, the Reagan Administration was conservative, steadfastly anti-Communist and in favor of tax cuts and smaller government. ... The Cold War was the period of protracted conflict and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the late 1940s until the late 1980s. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov ( , IPA: , commonly written as Mikhail Gorbachev; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. ...

Foreign Policy and the Cold War

Reagan forcefully confronted the Soviet Union, marking a sharp departure from the policy of détente by his predecessors Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. Sensing that planned economies could not compete against market economies in a renewed arms race, he made the Cold War economically and rhetorically hot. Détente is a French term, meaning a relaxing or easing; the term has been used in international politics since the early 1970s. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. ... James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ... An Arms Race is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy. ... The Cold War was the period of protracted conflict and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the late 1940s until the late 1980s. ...

Speaking in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to go further with his reforms and "tear down this wall."

Reagan's Defense Secretary, Caspar Weinberger, oversaw the massive military buildup, in an aggressive military posture, that represented his policy of "Peace Through Strength." The administration revived the B-1 bomber program canceled by the Carter administration and began production of the MX "Peacekeeper" missile. In response to Soviet deployment of the SS-20, Reagan oversaw NATO's deployment of the Pershing II missile in West Germany despite widespread protests. Speaking in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. ... Speaking in front of the Berlin Wall on June 12, 1987 Ronald Reagan challenged reformist Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down this wall. ... East German construction workers building the Berlin Wall, 20 November 1961. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (164th in leap years), with 202 days remaining. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The United States Secretary of Defense is the head of the United States Department of Defense (DoD), concerned with the armed services and The role of the Secretary of Defense is to be the principal defense policy advisor to the President and is responsible for the formulation of general defense... Caspar Willard Cap Weinberger, GBE (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006), was an American politician and Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from January 21, 1981, until November 23, 1987, making him the third longest-serving defense secretary to date, after Robert McNamara and Donald Rumsfeld. ... The Boeing (formerly Rockwell) B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). ... James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ... Test launch of Peacekeeper ICBM from Vandenberg AFB, CA (USAF) The LG-118A Peacekeeper is a land-based ICBM deployed by the United States starting in 1986. ... The RT-21M Pioneer was a medium-range ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead deployed by the Soviet Union from 1976 to 1988. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... The Pershing II Missile during a test flight The MGM-31 Pershing was a solid-fueled two-stage inertially guided medium range ballistic missile used by the U.S. Armys Missile Command. ...

One of Reagan's more controversial proposals was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a program of state-subsidies for private industry, under the cover of a defense project, which he portrayed would make the U.S. invulnerable to nuclear missile attack by the Soviet Union. By stationing these defenses in outer space the U.S. could circumvent the ABM treaty, but this proposal soon led opponents to dub SDI "Star Wars." The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), commonly called Star Wars after the popular science fiction movies of the time, was proposed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983[1] to use ground-based and space-based systems to protect the United States from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic... The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (or ABM treaty) was a treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the limitation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) systems used in defending areas against missile-delivered nuclear weapons. ...

Critics of SDI argued that the technological objective was unattainable in practical terms, and that the attempt would be likely to accelerate the arms race, as well as increasing the instability of future international crises. Other critics saw the extraordinary expenditures involved in the multiple distinct SDI programs as a military-industrial boondoggle. Supporters responded that SDI gave Reagan a stronger bargaining position, as Soviet leaders were genuinely concerned. An Arms Race is a competition between two or more countries for military supremacy. ... Boondoggle is a North American term referring to the performance of useless or trivial tasks whilst appearing to be doing something important. ...

Reagan's militant rhetoric inspired dissidents in the Soviet Empire, but also startled allies and alarmed critics. In a famous address on June 8, 1982, he called the Soviet Union an "evil empire" that would be consigned to the "ash heap of history." After Soviet fighters downed Korean Airlines Flight 007 on September 1, 1983, he labeled the act an "act of barbarism... [of] inhuman brutality." June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The term evil empire was applied to the former Soviet Union (USSR) by U.S. President Ronald Reagan, American conservatives, and other Americans, particularly hawks. ... Korean Air Flight 7 (KAL007, KE007) was the flight number of a civilian airliner shot down by Soviet fighters on September 1, 1983, over Soviet territorial waters just west of Sakhalin island, killing all 269 passengers and crew. ... September 1 is the 244th day of the year (245th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Third, Reagan announced support for anti-communist groups including armed rebellions against Marxist governments. When the Polish government suppressed Solidarity movement under Lech Wałęsa in late 1981, Reagan imposed economic sanctions on the People's Republic of Poland. In a policy which became known as the Reagan Doctrine, his administration actively funded "freedom fighters" such as the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, RENAMO in Mozambique, UNITA in Angola, and the Contras in Nicaragua. Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... Solidarity (Polish:  ; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny SamorzÄ…dny ZwiÄ…zek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards, and originally led by Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa. ... Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa ( ; in English often ; born September 29, 1943, Popowo, Poland) is a Polish politician, a former trade union and human rights activist, and also a former electrician. ... Sanctions is the plural of sanction (see also penalty). ... The Peoples Republic of Poland or Polish Peoples Republic (Polish: Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa, PRL) was the official name of Poland from 1952 to 1989, during its period of rule by the Communist party, officially called the Polish United Workers Party (Polska Zjednoczona Partia Robotnicza, or PZPR). ... The Reagan Doctrine was an important Cold War strategy by the United States to oppose the influence of the Soviet Union by backing anti-communist guerrillas against the communist governments of Soviet-backed client states. ... Mujahideen (Arabic: ‎, , strugglers) is an Islamic-Arabic term for Muslims fighting in a war, or involved in any other struggle. ... The Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO; Portuguese: Resistência Nacional Moçambicana) is a conservative political party in Mozambique led by Afonso Dhlakama. ... The União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) is an Angolan political faction. ... The Contras (from the Spanish term La Contra, short for movement of the contrarrevolucionarios) were the armed opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle (which ended the Somoza dynasty), and continuing throughout the following decade. ...

Some Reagan supporters, including former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher credit him with 'winning' the Cold War; this, however, is disputed, as Reagan and Gorbachev had peacefully ended the Cold War before the Soviet Union unraveled several years after Reagan left office. According to Jack Matlock, Reagan's top adviser and ambassador to USSR, in his book "Reagan and Gorbachev: How the Cold War Ended," the Cold War ended in 1987, although other historians place the year at 1990. Reagan spoke warmly of Gorbachev in his autobiography "An American Life" and expressed concern that Gorbachev may be harmed in a coup by rebelling Soviet Hardlines, because Gorbachev had pushed reforms so hard. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ... The Cold War was the period of protracted conflict and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the late 1940s until the late 1980s. ...

Reagan, left, in one-on-one discussions with Mikhail Gorbachev, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR from 1985 to 1991.

Reagan had close friendships with many other political leaders across the globe, especially Margaret Thatcher in Britain, and Brian Mulroney in Canada. Reagan may have had a great desire for establishing personal relationships with other heads of state, often inviting them to his ranch or to Camp David for casual retreats. Public photo of US President Ronald Reagan holding discussions with USSR General Secretary Gorbachev http://www. ... Public photo of US President Ronald Reagan holding discussions with USSR General Secretary Gorbachev http://www. ... Martin Brian Mulroney, PC, CC, GOQ, LLD (born March 20, 1939), was the eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993 and was leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada from 1983 to 1993. ... Main Lodge at Camp David during Nixon administration, February 9, 1971. ...

Key Issues

Cold War

Reagan was the first major world leader to declare that Communism would soon collapse. On March 3, 1983, he was blunt: "I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose — last pages even now are being written."[1] His most detailed analysis came on June 8, 1982, to the British Parliament, stunning the Soviets and allies alike. The prevailing doctrine in the West was that the Soviet Union would be around for generations to come, and it was essential to recognize that and cooperate with Moscow. But Reagan argued that the Soviet Union was in deep economic crisis, which he had intended to make worse by cutting off western technology. He stated the Soviet Union "runs against the tide of history by denying human freedom and human dignity to its citizens." March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Location Position of Moscow in Europe Government Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Geographical characteristics Area  - City 1,081 km² Population  - City (2005)    - Density 10,415,400   8537. ...

Confrontation

Reagan forcefully confronted the Soviet Union, marking a sharp departure from the détente observed by his predecessors Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, and Carter. The Administration oversaw a military build-up that represented a policy named "peace through strength". The new policy outlined in NSDD-32 (National Security Decisions Directive) confronted the USSR on three fronts: decrease Soviet access to high technology and diminish their resources, including depressing the value of Soviet commodities on the world market; increase American defense expenditures to strengthen the U.S. negotiating position; and force the Soviets to devote more of their economic resources to defense. Détente is a French term, meaning a relaxing or easing; the term has been used in international politics since the early 1970s. ... Presidential directives are a form of executive order issued by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the National Security Council. ...

Around the world the U.S. financially and diplomatically supported anticommunist movements, such as the Mujahideen in Afghanistan and Poland's Solidarity movement. Mujahideen (Arabic: ‎, , strugglers) is an Islamic-Arabic term for Muslims fighting in a war, or involved in any other struggle. ... Solidarity (Polish:  ; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny SamorzÄ…dny ZwiÄ…zek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards, and originally led by Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa. ...

Economic Front

Reagan argued that the American economy was on the move again while the Soviet economy had been stagnant for years. For a while the Soviet decline was masked by high prices for Soviet oil exports, but that advantage collapsed in the early 1980s. In November 1985, the oil price was $30/barrel for crude, in March 1986 it had fallen to $12, as the Soviet economy lost billions in revenues.^[1]

Gorbachev took power in the USSR facing serious economic problems and defeat in Afghanistan. He implemented bold new policies of glasnost and perestroika to revitalize the Soviet economy. Responding to Reagan's sincerity and personal diplomacy, Gorbachev pushed his reforms further, ultimately leading to a failed coup by Soviet hardliners and the end of the USSR. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Poster showing Mikhail Gorbachev, with the slogan perestroika Perestroika ( , Russian: IPA: ) is the Russian term (which passed into English) for the economic reforms introduced in June 1987 by the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. ...

President Reagan and Margaret Thatcher at Camp David.

Among European leaders, his main ally and undoubtedly his closest friend was Margaret Thatcher, who as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom supported Reagan's firm foreign policies. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (503x750, 64 KB) President Reagan walking with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Camp David, 1986. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (503x750, 64 KB) President Reagan walking with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher at Camp David, 1986. ... Main Lodge at Camp David during Nixon administration, February 9, 1971. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ... The Prime Minister is in practice the most important political office in the United Kingdom. ...

Military Buildup and Treaties/Negotiations

Reagan's anti-Soviet posture contributed to a Soviet near-panic reaction to a routine NATO exercise in November 1983, ABLE ARCHER 83. Some historians, among them Beth B. Fischer in her book The Reagan Reversal, argue that the ABLE ARCHER 83 near-crisis had a profound effect on President Reagan, and it forced him from a policy of confrontation towards the Soviet Union to a policy of rapprochement. ABLE ARCHER 83 was a NATO command post exercise (or war game) conducted from November 2—11, 1983, which spanned the continent of Europe and simulated a coordinated nuclear release. ...

End of the Cold War

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After the reformer Mikhail Gorbachev came to power, Reagan was among the first to recognize the real change in the direction of the Soviet leadership, and Reagan shifted to skillful diplomacy, using his sincerity and charm to personally push Gorbachev further with his reforms.^[2] Image File history File links Wiki_letter_w. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov ( , IPA: , commonly written as Mikhail Gorbachev; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. ...

The two leaders built a close relationship during their meetings, and together they achieved a massive reduction in nuclear arms, making the world safer from nuclear war, and peacefully ended the Cold War. Reagan sincerely believed that if he could persuade the Soviets to simply look at the prosperous American economy, they too would embrace free markets and a free society. ^[3] Gorbachev, facing severe economic problems at home, was swayed. The Cold War was the period of protracted conflict and competition between the United States and the Soviet Union and their allies from the late 1940s until the late 1980s. ...

Reagan's Secretary of State George Shultz, a former economics professor at Stanford, privately instructed Gorbachev on free market economics. At Gorbachev’s request, Reagan gave a speech on free markets at Leningrad University. ^[4] Shultz in his official D.O.L. portrait. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov ( , IPA: , commonly written as Mikhail Gorbachev; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. ...

Despite their cool initial mutual antagonism, Reagan and Gorbachev were able to forge a close working relationship. Towards the end of his presidency, Reagan visited Moscow in order to sign a major arms-control agreement between the superpowers and was viewed as a celebrity by Russians. A journalist asked the president if he still considered the Soviet Union the evil empire. "No," he replied, "I was talking about another time, another era." ^[5]

In his autobiography "An American Life," Reagan expressed his optimism about the new direction they charted, his warm feelings for Gorbachev, and his concern for Gorbachev's safety. "I was concerned for his safety," Reagan wrote. "I've still worried about him: How hard and fast can he push reforms without risking his life?"

After Reagan left office, events unraveled far beyond what Gorbachev originally intended. Gorbachev's reforms, pushed further by Reagan, opened Pandora's Box of freedom. Gorbachev proposed to President George Bush, Sr. massive troop reductions in Eastern Europe. Elections were held in Eastern European countries with the blessing of Gorbachev. On March 11, 1990 Lithuania, led by newly elected Vytautas Landsbergis, declared independence from the Soviet Union. The gate to the Berlin Wall was opened with Gorbachev's blessing. After a failed coup by rebelling Soviet hardliners, USSR ceased to exist, and Boris Yeltsin became leader of the new Russia. Without a tyrant in control, like Gorbachev's predecessors, nothing could hold the Soviet Empire together anymore. March 11 is the 70th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (71st in Leap year). ... This article is about the year. ... Vytautas Landsbergis Professor Vytautas Landsbergis ( (help· info), born October 18, 1932) is a Lithuanian conservative politician and member of the European Parliament. ... Yeltsin redirects here. ...

In her eulogy for his funeral, Margaret Thatcher said, "Ronald Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot" but later emphasized that Reagan achieved this through personal diplomacy with Gorbachev. The Cold War scholar John Lewis Gaddis, in his book "The Cold War: A New History," credited Pope John Paul II, Thatcher, Reagan and Gorbachev for being agents of change. For his role, Gorbachev received the first Ronald Reagan Freedom Award and the Nobel Peace Prize. Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (born 13 October 1925) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990. ...

What some call the "orthodox view" of the end of the Cold War is that "the Soviet Union's capitulation and the Cold War victory for the forces of freedom and democracy were ultimately due to the relentless application of the West's military superiority and the dynamism of its ideas and economic system. These factors revealed communism's moral illegitimacy and highlighted its economic stagnation." [Salla and Summy, p 3]^{[verification needed]}

Some of the European leaders of the time gave credit to Reagan for his role. Lech Wałęsa, leader of the Solidarity movement in Poland, said in 2004, "When talking about Ronald Reagan, I have to be personal. We in Poland took him so personally. Why? Because we owe him our liberty. This can't be said often enough by people who lived under oppression for half a century, until communism fell in 1989." [2] Helmut Kohl, chancellor of West Germany, said, "He was a stroke of luck for the world. Two years after Reagan called on Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the wall, he noted, it fell and 11 months later Germany was reunified. We Germans have much to thank Ronald Reagan for." Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said, "President Reagan was a determined opponent of Communism and he played an important role in bringing an end to Communism and to the artificial division of Europe imposed after the Second World War." Václav Havel, who became Czechoslovakian president in 1989 after the Velvet Revolution, said, "He was a man of firm principles who was indisputably instrumental in the fall of Communism." [3] Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa ( ; in English often ; born September 29, 1943, Popowo, Poland) is a Polish politician, a former trade union and human rights activist, and also a former electrician. ... Solidarity (Polish:  ; full name: Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity — Niezależny SamorzÄ…dny ZwiÄ…zek Zawodowy Solidarność) is a Polish trade union federation founded in September 1980 at the Lenin Shipyards, and originally led by Lech WaÅ‚Ä™sa. ... Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov ( , IPA: , commonly written as Mikhail Gorbachev; born March 2, 1931) was the last leader of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until its collapse in 1991. ... Patrick Bartholomew Ahern (known as Bertie Ahern, Irish name: Pádraig Parthalán Ó hEachthairn; born 12 September 1951) is an Irish politician. ... Václav Havel (official portrait) Václav Havel, GCB, CC (IPA: ) (VA-slav HA-vel) (born October 5, 1936) is a Czech writer and dramatist. ... Warning: Value not specified for common_name Motto: Czech: Pravda vítÄ›zí (Truth prevails; 1918-1989) Latin: Veritas Vincit (Truth prevails; 1989-1992) Anthem: Kde domov můj and Nad Tatrou sa blýska Capital Prague Language(s) Czech, Slovak Government Republic President  - 1918-1935 Tomáš Masaryk  - 1989-1992 V... Non-violent protesters are fighting with flowers against armored policemen The Velvet Revolution (Czech: sametová revoluce, Slovak: nežná revolúcia) (November 16 – December 29, 1989) refers to a bloodless revolution in Czechoslovakia that saw the overthrow of the communist government there. ...

Iran-Iraq War

Initially neutral in the Iran-Iraq War, the U.S. became increasingly involved. The U.S. supported both nations at various times — "Too bad they both can't lose," Henry Kissinger said — but mainly sided with Iraq, believing that Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini threatened regional stability more than Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. U.S. officials feared that an Iranian victory would embolden Islamic fundamentalists in the Arab states, perhaps leading to the overthrow of secular governments—and damage to Western corporate interests—in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Kuwait. After initial Iraqi military victories were reversed and an Iranian victory appeared possible in 1982, the American government initiated Operation Staunch to attempt to cut off the Iranian regime's access to weapons (notwithstanding their later shipment of weapons to Iran in the Iran-Contra Affair). The U.S. provided intelligence information and financial assistance to the Iraqi military regime. The U.S. also allowed the shipment of "dual use" materials, that could be used for chemical and biological weapons, ostensibly for agriculture, medical research, and other civilian purposes, but they were diverted for use in Saddam's weapons of mass destruction programs. Combatants  Iran Iraq Commanders Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini Abolhassan Banisadr Ali Shamkhani Mostafa Chamran† Saddam Hussein Ali Hassan al-Majid Strength 305,000 soldiers 500,000 Passdaran and Baseej militia 1,000 tanks 1,000 armored vehicles 3,000 artillery pieces 65 aircraft 720 helicopters[1] 190,000 soldiers 4,500... Henry Alfred Kissinger (born Heinz Alfred Kissinger on May 27, 1923) is a German-born American diplomat, Nobel laureate and statesman. ... Ayatollah Khomeini founded the first modern Islamic republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ruhollah Khomeini (آیت‌الله روح‌الله خمینی in Persian) (May 17, 1900 – June 3, 1989) was an Iranian Shia cleric and the political... Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majidida al-Tikriti (Arabic: ‎ [1]; born April 28, 1937[2]), was the President of Iraq from July 16, 1979 until April 9, 2003, when he was deposed during the United States-led 2003 invasion of Iraq. ... The phrase Islamic fundamentalism is primarily used in the West to describe Islamist groups. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب) are a heterogeneous ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... The Iranian Islamic Revolution in 1979 and the hostage crisis in Tehran frustrated American policy makers whose response came as an embargo on the new government of Iran. ... Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. ... Weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a term used to describe a munition with the capacity to indiscriminately kill large numbers of living beings. ...

On April 18, 1988 Reagan authorized Operation Praying Mantis, a one-day naval strike against Iranian naval ships, boats, and command posts in retaliation for the mining of a U.S. guided missile frigate. One day later, Reagan sent a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. [4] USS Simpson (FFG-56) is mentioned in firing on Iranian F-4 Phantom II Fighters built by the United States. April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Iranian frigate IS Sahand (74) attacked by aircraft of U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing 11 in retaliation for the mining of the guided missile frigate USS . ... --> USS (FFG-58) is one of the final vessels in the United States Navys Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided missile frigates. ... USS Simpson (FFG-56) is an Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate of the United States Navy, named for Rear Admiral Rodger W. Simpson. ... The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II[2] is a two-seat supersonic long-range all-weather fighter-bomber developed for the U.S. Navy by McDonnell Douglas. ...

In 1986, the U.S. also sold arms to Iran to fund Contra rebels in Nicaragua, leading to the Iran-Contra scandal. Reagan professed ignorance of the plot's existence and quickly called for an Independent Counsel to investigate. Ten officials in the Reagan Administration were convicted, and others were forced to resign. Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger was indicted for perjury and later received a presidential pardon from George H.W. Bush, days before the trial was to begin. In 2006, historians ranked the Iran-Contra affair as the ninth-worst mistake by a U.S. president.^[6] In the Iran-Contra Affair, United States President Ronald Reagans administration secretly sold arms to Iran, which was engaged in a bloody war with its neighbor Iraq from 1980 to 1988 (see Iran-Iraq War), and diverted the proceeds to the Contra rebels fighting to overthrow the leftist and... United States Office of the Independent Counsel was an independent prosecutor — distinct from the Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice — that provided reports to the Congress under Title 28 of the United States Code, Section 595. ... Caspar Willard Weinberger (born August 18, 1917) is best known as United States Secretary of Defense under President Ronald Reagan from 1982 through 1987, and for his related roles in the Strategic Defense Initiative program (popularly known as Star Wars), and in the Iran-Contra Affair. ... Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law or in any of various sworn statements in writing. ...

State visits

In 1985 Reagan visited the Kolmeshohe Cemetery near Bitburg at the urgent request of Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West Germany, to pay respects to the soldiers interred there. Controversy arose because 49 of the graves contained the remains of men who had served in the Waffen-SS. The cemetery also contained remains of about 2,000 other German soldiers who had died in both World Wars, but no Americans. Some Jewish and veterans' groups opposed this visit. Reagan went because of his need to support Kohl and ratify the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Reagan also visited the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he cited Anne Frank and ended his speech with the words, "Never again."^[7] Bitburg (English - Bit Castle) is a city in Germany, capital of the district Bitburg-Prüm, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. ... Dr. Helmut Josef Michael Kohl (born April 3, 1930) is a Catholic German conservative politician and statesman. ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster; Volunteer to the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS was the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel. ... The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 1948 and came into effect in January 1951. ... Bergen-Belsen, sometimes referred to as just Belsen, was a German concentration camp in the Nazi era. ... It has been suggested that Internment be merged into this article or section. ... Annelies Marie Anne Frank (June 12, 1929 – February/March, 1945) was a European Jewish girl who wrote a diary while in hiding with her family and four friends in Amsterdam during the German occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. Anne was born in Frankfurt, Germany, but her family...

References

Ronald Reagan
Administration • Foreign Policy • Reagan Doctrine • Foreign Interventions • Scandals