By the time Mikhail and Reagan were in control of their own offices, the world was a mess. For almost three decades, the US along with its allies, has been trying to contain and limit the spread of communism through diplomatic, economic and military initiatives that cost billions of dollars and thousands of lives. Although all these extreme measures were taken, the Soviet Union continued to progress and communism controlled various areas such as Eastern and Central Europe, China, Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea etc.
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Reagan regarded the cold war as a battle between freedom and oppression. He viewed those under the Soviet’s “Evil Empire” were struggling unlike those living in the United States “Shining on a Hill”. What he wanted was to end the cold war by making the US stronger than the Soviet Union. To do that, simultaneous tax cuts were implements which led to exponential growth in military spending and the national debt. In addition to that, he ordered direct involvement in Grenada while funding millions of dollars to anti-communism governments and guerrillas in various Central American countries. Furthermore, he proposed strategic defense plan where the United States would have placed weapons in space to protect the US from any upcoming nuclear attacks. This initiative was named by critics as “Star Wars” and was made after the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty violation.
On the other hand, Gorbachev wanted to improve the social, economic and diplomatic issues the Soviet Union was facing at that time. He decided it was time to act upon his thoughts leading him to implementing reforms that were made in the hopes of improving living standards and worker productivity. In 1985 through adding measures of democratic freedoms, Gorbachev wished that he could achieve something called (glasnost) which is openness and acceptance within the society, something the Soviet Union didn't posses traditionally. He also waned to achieve perestroika which focused on helping the economy grow. This led to the independence of many European countries from the communist power leading Gorbachev to immediately face a lot of political oppositions. Gorbachev then started establishing ties with Western Leaders and going for the common interest of Soviets and Europeans through discussing missile reductions. |
One way both Reagan and Gorbachev wanted to improve the wars situation was by attending summits where they could discuss their thoughts and suggestions. For the first time since their last summit 8 years ago, leaders from the Soviet and American sides hold a summit conference on November 19th 1985 in Geneva. Although the summit produced no important agreements, it allowed Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev to bond and create long personal talks that allowed them to develop a sincere and close relationship. The United States were actually surprised by how the summit turned out, especially with Reagan’s negative thoughts concerning communism and the Soviet Union. When it came to Reagan, the summit was a way to bring the nuclear arms race under control through negotiations. For Gorbachev it was another clear signal of his desire to make good relationships with the US so he can pursue his domestic reforms. Throughout the meeting, six agreements ranging from scientific exchanges to environmental issues were reached. The conference ended on November 21st 1985.
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