Editing Ronald Reagan (section)

===The USS ''Stark'' incident===
In the context of the [[Tanker War]] on May 17, 1987, an Iraqi fighter jet hit the {{USS|Stark}} with two [[Exocet missiles]], killing 37 sailors.<ref name="usni3">{{cite news |last=LaGrone |first=Sam |date=May 17, 2017 |title=The Attack on USS Stark at 30 |url=https://news.usni.org/2017/05/17/the-attack-uss-stark-at-30 |work=USNI News}}</ref><ref name="nhhc1">{{cite news |title=Stark (FFG-31) |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/s/stark--ffg-31-.html |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |date=March 16, 2017}}</ref> Three days later, [[President Reagan]] declared a "policy of self-defense" would now be ordered, as he accepted Iraq's official apology:<ref name="ct2">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/05/20/reagan-accepts-iraq-apology/ |title=Reagan Accepts Iraq Apology |date=May 20, 1987 }}</ref> "Our ships are deployed in the Persian Gulf in order to protect U.S. interests and maintain free access and maintain [[freedom of navigation]] and access to the area's oil supplies. It is a vital mission, but our ships need to protect themselves and they will. [From now on] if aircraft approach any of our ships in a way that appears hostile, there is one order of battle. Defend yourselves. Defend American lives.. We're going to do what has to be done to keep the Persian Gulf open. It's international waters. No country there has a right to try and close it off and take it for itself. And the villain in the piece really is Iran. And so they're delighted with what has just happened."<ref name="crim1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1987/5/20/reagan-declares-policy-of-self-defense-pwashington-president/|title=Reagan Declares Policy of Self-Defense &#124; News &#124; The Harvard Crimson|website=www.thecrimson.com}}</ref>