Editing Margaret Thatcher (section)

====Ties with the US====
[[File:Reagan-Thatcher cabinet talks.jpg|thumb|alt=photograph|upright=1.2|Meeting [[Reagan's cabinet]] with ministers in the [[White House Cabinet Room]], 1981]]
Despite opposite personalities, Thatcher bonded quickly with US president [[Ronald Reagan]].{{refn|{{harvtxt|Cannadine|2017}}: <q>In many ways they were very different figures: he was sunny, genial, charming, relaxed, upbeat, and with little intellectual curiosity or command of policy detail; she was domineering, belligerent, confrontational, tireless, hyperactive, and with an unrivalled command of facts and figures. But the chemistry between them worked. Reagan had been grateful for her interest in him at a time when the British establishment refused to take him seriously; she agreed with him about the importance of creating wealth, cutting taxes, and building up stronger defences against Soviet Russia; and both believed in liberty and free-market freedom, and in the need to outface what [[Evil Empire speech|Reagan would later call 'the evil empire']].</q>|group=nb}} She gave strong support to the [[Reagan administration]]'s [[Reagan Doctrine|Cold War policies]] based on their shared [[Anti-communism|distrust of communism]].{{r|thatcher-cw}} A sharp disagreement came in 1983 when Reagan did not consult with her on the [[invasion of Grenada]].{{sfnp|Williams|2001}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 June 2004 |title=Ronald Reagan |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170628180545/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/document/111260 |archive-date=28 June 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |type=Obituary |via=the Margaret Thatcher Foundation |newspaper=[[The Times]]}}</ref>

During her first year as prime minister, she supported [[NATO]]'s decision to deploy US nuclear [[BGM-109G Ground Launched Cruise Missile|cruise]] and [[Pershing II]] missiles in Western Europe,{{r|thatcher-cw}} permitting the US to station more than 160&nbsp;cruise missiles at [[RAF Greenham Common]], starting in November 1983 and triggering mass protests by the [[Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament]].{{r|thatcher-cw}} She bought the [[Trident nuclear missile]] submarine system from the US to replace Polaris, tripling the UK's nuclear forces<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=28 July 1980 |title=Trident is go |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922079,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080904225816/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,922079,00.html |archive-date=4 September 2008 |access-date=16 January 2011 |magazine=Time}}</ref> at an eventual cost of more than £12&nbsp;billion (at 1996–97 prices).<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 November 1999 |title=Vanguard Class Ballistic Missile Submarine |url=https://fas.org/nuke/guide/uk/slbm/vanguard.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101123230232/http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/uk/slbm/vanguard.htm |archive-date=23 November 2010 |access-date=16 January 2011 |publisher=[[Federation of American Scientists]]}}</ref> Thatcher's preference for defence ties with the US was demonstrated in the [[Westland affair]] of 1985–86 when she acted with colleagues to allow the struggling helicopter manufacturer [[Westland Helicopters|Westland]] to refuse a takeover offer from the Italian firm [[Agusta]] in favour of the management's preferred option, a link with [[Sikorsky Aircraft]]. Defence Secretary [[Michael Heseltine]], who had supported the Agusta deal, resigned from the government in protest.{{sfnp|Marr|2007|p=419}}

In April 1986 she permitted US [[General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark|F-111s]] to use [[Royal Air Force]] bases for the [[1986 United States bombing of Libya|bombing of Libya]] in retaliation for the [[West Berlin discotheque bombing|Libyan bombing of a Berlin discothèque]],<ref name="Cannon">{{Cite news |last=Cannon |first=Lou |author-link=Lou Cannon |date=15 April 1986 |title=Reagan Acted Upon 'Irrefutable' Evidence |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/15/reagan-acted-upon-irrefutable-evidence/61170c59-b355-4e0a-8ab5-411bba4879e8 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906092229/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1986/04/15/reagan-acted-upon-irrefutable-evidence/61170c59-b355-4e0a-8ab5-411bba4879e8/ |archive-date=6 September 2017 |access-date=5 July 2017 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> citing the right of self-defence under [[Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter|Article 51 of the UN Charter]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Riddell |first=Peter |date=16 April 1986 |title=Thatcher Defends US Use Of British Bases in Libya bombing raid |work=Financial Times |page=1}}</ref>{{refn|<q>The United States has more than 330,000&nbsp;members of her forces in Europe to defend our liberty. Because they are here, they are subject to terrorist attack. It is inconceivable that they should be refused the right to use American aircraft and American pilots in the inherent right of self-defence, to defend their own people.</q><ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=Engagements |house=House of Commons |date=15 April 1986 |volume=95 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1986/apr/15/engagements |access-date=22 October 2020 |pages=723–728}}</ref>|group=nb}} Polls suggested that fewer than one in three British citizens approved of her decision.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lejeune |first=Anthony |date=23 May 1986 |title=A friend in need |work=National Review |page=27 |volume=38 |issue=1}}</ref>

Thatcher was in the US on a state visit when Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein [[Iraqi invasion of Kuwait|invaded Kuwait]] in August 1990.<ref name="gw-pbs">{{Cite web |title=Oral History: Margaret Thatcher |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/thatcher/1.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202075000/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/gulf/oral/thatcher/1.html |archive-date=2 December 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=PBS}}</ref> During her talks with President [[George H. W. Bush]], who succeeded Reagan in 1989, she recommended intervention,{{r|gw-pbs}} and put pressure on Bush to deploy troops in the Middle East to drive the [[Iraqi Army]] out of Kuwait.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lewis |first=Anthony |author-link=Anthony Lewis |date=7 August 1992 |title=Abroad at Home; Will Bush Take Real Action? |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CEED9113AF934A3575BC0A964958260 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111173131/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/07/opinion/abroad-at-home-will-bush-take-real-action.html |archive-date=11 January 2021 |access-date=1 November 2008 |work=The New York Times}}</ref> Bush was apprehensive about the plan, prompting Thatcher to remark to him during a telephone conversation: "This was no time to go wobbly!"<ref>{{Cite web |date=26 August 1990 |title=Gulf War: Bush–Thatcher phone conversation (no time to go wobbly) |url=http://www.margaretthatcher.org/commentary/displaydocument.asp?docid=110711 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420093131/http://www.margaretthatcher.org/commentary/displaydocument.asp?docid=110711 |archive-date=20 April 2008 |access-date=1 November 2008 |publisher=Margaret Thatcher Foundation}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tisdall |first=Simon |author-link=Simon Tisdall |date=8 April 2013 |title=No-nonsense Iron Lady punched above UK's weight on world stage |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-iron-lady-world-stage |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170731063611/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/apr/08/margaret-thatcher-iron-lady-world-stage |archive-date=31 July 2017 |access-date=18 June 2017 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> Thatcher's government supplied military forces to the international coalition in the build-up to the [[Gulf War]], but she had resigned by the time hostilities began on 17&nbsp;January 1991.{{sfnp|Aitken|2013|pp=600–601}}<ref name="grice">{{Cite news |last=Grice |first=Andrew |date=13 October 2005 |title=Thatcher reveals her doubts over basis for Iraq war |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thatcher-reveals-her-doubts-over-basis-for-iraq-war-319542.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025132508/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/thatcher-reveals-her-doubts-over-basis-for-iraq-war-319542.html |archive-date=25 October 2017 |access-date=22 September 2016 |work=The Independent}}</ref> She applauded the coalition victory on the backbenches, while warning that "the victories of peace will take longer than the battles of war".<ref>{{Cite Hansard |title=The Gulf |house=House of Commons |date=28 February 1991 |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1991/feb/28/the-gulf#column_1120 |column=1120 |access-date=28 October 2020}}</ref> It was disclosed in 2017 that Thatcher had suggested threatening Saddam with [[chemical weapon]]s after the invasion of Kuwait.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 July 2017 |title=Margaret Thatcher suggested threatening Saddam with chemical weapons |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40667031 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170722005112/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-40667031 |archive-date=22 July 2017 |access-date=22 July 2017 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mance |first=Henry |date=20 July 2017 |title=Thatcher wanted to threaten Saddam with chemical weapons |url=https://www.ft.com/content/e2d78a20-6bcd-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20170720180853/https://www.ft.com/content/e2d78a20-6bcd-11e7-b9c7-15af748b60d0 |archive-date=20 July 2017 |access-date=31 July 2017 |work=Financial Times}}</ref>