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He funded Islamic radicals in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including those who were foreign fighters from Saudi Arabia and would later form al-Qaeda.
He funded Saddam Hussein while Saddam was gassing Kurds and Iranians.
He gave arms to Iran when it was funding terrorism and the kidnapping of Americans.
He funded death squads and terrorist armies throughout Latin America, vastly increasing the death toll in civil conflicts there.
He delayed the end of the Cold War by his foolish loyalty to SDI.
He fiddled while HIV/AIDS spread, leading to devastation in Africa and throughout much of the Third World.
He presided over a period when CIA employees of Nicaraguan nationality were setting up one of the nation's largest cocaine rings, with the epicenter in LA.
He subverted the will of Congress and allowed the creation of a corrupt shadow government that pursued many of the above policies illegally.
He alienated our West German allies by forcing them to choose between allegiance to America's warmongering or their own desire to get rid of medium range nuclear missiles that made them huge targets and pawns in nuclear brinksmanship.
His delay of the end of the Cold War led to an unstable post-Soviet reality that has done more to increase proliferation than just about anything else.
In every way, Reagan's foreign policy set the stage for the lunacy which has followed, including Bush's preemptive policy.
Reagan's foreign policy was a miserable failure. I'd say good riddance, but his spirit lives on in the mess we have to deal with today.
The Daily Cascadian
by seaprog on Mon Jun 07, 2004 at 11:49:58 AM PDT
[ Parent ]
Wouldn't you agree that for any president, no matter what agenda or objectives, who is able to achieve many of his desired goals, his leadership would be deemed successful?
I was not saying that what Reagan prioritized in his foreign policy was good for America, but it did achieve the desired shift of power further up the hierarchy, allowing the Executive Branch more leverage in international relations. This also developed an internal, almost sub-conscious desire by the neo-cons for the return of empire. For such a grand foreign policy directive, Reagan was successful.
You stated: His delay of the end of the Cold War led to an unstable post-Soviet reality that has done more to increase proliferation than just about anything else. In every way, Reagan's foreign policy set the stage for the lunacy which has followed, including Bush's preemptive policy.
This is the exact point I was making. In his foreign policy success (that is, his own policy, not what is best for the US) Reagan was able to create conditions which were extremely receptive towards GW's reckless pursuit of the 21st Century's version of "Manifest Destiny." By desolving the dangerous balance of M.A.D., Reagan allowed Bush1 and Clinton opportunities to fill the USSR vacancy. The vaccum was not filled until GW and his aggressive foreign policy agenda exploited the situation.
Free Samples
by islanddave on Mon Jun 07, 2004 at 12:31:25 PM PDT
wide narrow
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