Editing Ronald Reagan (section)

===Escalation of the Cold War===
{{further|Cold War (1979–1985)|Reagan Doctrine}}
[[File:Reagan sitting with people from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in February 1983.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Reagan in the Oval Office, sitting with people from the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, February 1983|Reagan meeting with [[Afghan mujahideen]] leaders, 1983]]
Reagan ordered a massive defense buildup;{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=4}} he revived the [[B-1 Lancer]] program that had been rejected by the [[Carter administration]],{{sfn|Herring|2008|p=868}} and deployed the [[MX missile]].{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=37}} In response to Soviet deployment of the [[SS-20]], he oversaw [[NATO]]'s deployment of the [[Pershing missile]] in Western Europe.{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=260}} In 1982, Reagan tried to cut off the Soviet Union's access to [[hard currency]] by impeding its proposed gas line to Western Europe. This hurt the Soviet economy, but also caused ill will among American allies in Europe who counted on the resulting revenue; he later retreated on this issue.{{sfn|Graebner|Burns|Siracusa|2008|pp=29–31}} In March 1983, Reagan introduced the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] (SDI) to protect the United States from space intercontinental ballistic missiles. He believed that this defense shield could protect the country from nuclear destruction in a hypothetical nuclear war with the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=131}} There was much disbelief among the scientific community surrounding the program's scientific feasibility, leading opponents to dub the SDI "Star Wars",{{sfn|Brands|2015|p=418}} although Soviet leader [[Yuri Andropov]] said it would lead to "an extremely dangerous path".{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=132}}

[[File:President Ronald Reagan in Meeting with President Mohammad Zia Ul Haq of Pakistan in Oval Office.jpg|thumb|Reagan listening to Pakistani president [[Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq]], 1982]]
In a 1982 address to the [[British Parliament]], Reagan said, "the march of freedom and democracy... will leave [[Marxism–Leninism]] on the [[ash heap of history]]". Dismissed by the American press as "wishful thinking", [[Margaret Thatcher]] called the address a "triumph".{{sfn|Cannon|2000|pp=271–272}} [[David Cannadine]] says of Thatcher that "Reagan had been grateful for her interest in him at a time when the British establishment refused to take him seriously", with the two agreeing on "building up stronger defenses against Soviet Russia" and both believing in outfacing "what Reagan would later call '[[Evil Empire speech|the evil empire]]{{'"}},{{sfn|Cannadine|2017|p=38}} in reference to the Soviet Union, during a speech to the [[National Association of Evangelicals]] in March 1983.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=130}} After Soviet fighters downed [[Korean Air Lines Flight 007]] in September, which included Congressman [[Larry McDonald]] and 61 other Americans, Reagan expressed outrage towards the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Brands|2015|pp=420–421}} The next day, reports suggested that the Soviets had fired on the plane by mistake.{{sfn|Pemberton|1998|p=133}} In spite of the harsh, discordant rhetoric,<ref>G. Thomas Goodnight, "Ronald Reagan's re‐formulation of the rhetoric of war: Analysis of the 'zero option,' 'evil empire,' and 'star wars' addresses." ''Quarterly Journal of Speech'' 72.4 (1986): 390–414.</ref> Reagan's administration continued discussions with the Soviet Union on [[START I|{{nowrap|START I}}]].{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=868–869}}

[[File:President_Ronald_Reagan_Meeting_with_President_Hosni_Mubarak_of_Egypt_in_The_Oval_Office.jpg|alt=President Ronald Reagan Meeting with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in The Oval Office|thumb|Reagan meeting Egyptian President [[Hosni Mubarak]] in the [[Oval Office]], September 1983]]
Although the Reagan administration agreed with the communist government in China to [[Three Communiqués|reduce the sale of arms to Taiwan]] in 1982,{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=270}} Reagan himself was the first president to reject [[containment]] and ''détente'', and to put into practice the concept that the Soviet Union could be defeated rather than simply negotiated with.<ref name="Knopf" /> His [[Operation Cyclone|covert aid]] to [[Afghan mujahideen]] forces through Pakistan against the Soviets has been given credit for assisting in ending the [[Soviet occupation of Afghanistan]].{{Sfn|Bergen|2001|p=68}} However, the United States was subjected [[blowback (intelligence)|to blowback]] in the form of the [[Taliban]] that opposed them in [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|the war in Afghanistan]].{{sfn|Herring|2008|pp=883–884}} In his [[1985 State of the Union Address]], Reagan proclaimed, "Support for [[freedom fighter]]s is self-defense."{{sfn|Cannon|2000|p=320}} Through the [[Reagan Doctrine]], his administration supported [[anti-communist]] movements that fought against groups backed by the Soviet Union in an effort to [[rollback]] Soviet-backed communist governments and reduce Soviet influence across the world.{{sfnm|1a1=Kanet|1y=2006|1p=340|2a1=Pach|2y=2006|2p=78}} The Reagan administration ignored [[human rights violations]] in the countries they backed and held a narrow definition of [[human rights]].{{sfnm|1a1=Wawro|1y=2010|1p=381|2a1=Søndergaard|2y=2020|2p=4}} Other human rights concerns include the [[Genocide under Ríos Montt|genocide in Guatemala]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Gunson |first=Phil |date=April 2, 2018 |title=Gen Efraín Ríos Montt obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/gen-efrain-rios-montt-obituary |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104150256/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/02/gen-efrain-rios-montt-obituary |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref> as well as [[Truth Commission (Chad)|mass killing]]s in [[Chad]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Maclean |first1=Ruth |last2=Camara |first2=Mady |date=August 24, 2021 |title=Hissène Habré, Ex-President of Chad Jailed for War Crimes, Dies at 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/world/africa/hissene-habre-dead.html |url-access=subscription |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104145936/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/24/world/africa/hissene-habre-dead.html |archive-date=January 4, 2023 |access-date=January 4, 2023}}</ref>