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Ronald Reagan: Difference between revisions

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Text replacement - "The Guardian" to "The Guardian"
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====Deficits====
====Deficits====
The deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg|2015|pp=605–606}} The national debt tripled between the fiscal years of 1980 and 1989, and the national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent by 1989. During his time in office, Reagan never fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise of submitting a [[balanced budget]]. The United States borrowed heavily to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits.{{sfnm|1a1=Patterson|1y=2005|1pp=158–159|2a1=Woodard|2y=2012|2p=132}} Reagan described the tripled debt the "greatest disappointment of his presidency".{{sfn|Cannon|2001|p=128}} [[Jeffrey Frankel]] opined that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, Bush, reneged on [[Read my lips: no new taxes|his campaign promise]] by raising taxes through the [[Budget Enforcement Act of 1990]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/george-hw-bush-donald-trump-budget-deficit-taxes |title=George HW Bush was fiscally responsible – unlike Donald Trump |last=Frankel |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Frankel |date=December 11, 2018 |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=December 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231035650/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/george-hw-bush-donald-trump-budget-deficit-taxes |archive-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref>
The deficits were exacerbated by the early 1980s recession, which cut into federal revenue.{{sfn|Leuchtenburg|2015|pp=605–606}} The national debt tripled between the fiscal years of 1980 and 1989, and the national debt as a percentage of the gross domestic product rose from 33 percent in 1981 to 53 percent by 1989. During his time in office, Reagan never fulfilled his 1980 campaign promise of submitting a [[balanced budget]]. The United States borrowed heavily to cover newly spawned federal budget deficits.{{sfnm|1a1=Patterson|1y=2005|1pp=158–159|2a1=Woodard|2y=2012|2p=132}} Reagan described the tripled debt the "greatest disappointment of his presidency".{{sfn|Cannon|2001|p=128}} [[Jeffrey Frankel]] opined that the deficits were a major reason why Reagan's successor, Bush, reneged on [[Read my lips: no new taxes|his campaign promise]] by raising taxes through the [[Budget Enforcement Act of 1990]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/george-hw-bush-donald-trump-budget-deficit-taxes |title=George HW Bush was fiscally responsible – unlike Donald Trump |last=Frankel |first=Jeffrey |author-link=Jeffrey Frankel |date=December 11, 2018 |website=The Guardian |access-date=December 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221231035650/https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/dec/11/george-hw-bush-donald-trump-budget-deficit-taxes |archive-date=December 31, 2022}}</ref>


===Assassination attempt===
===Assassination attempt===
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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}}
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]]
[[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 fighters 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}}  Military historian [[Geoffrey Wawro]] notes the administration ignored [[human rights violations]] in the countries they backed.{{sfnm|1a1=Wawro|1y=2010|1p=381|2a1=Søndergaard|2y=2020|2p=4}}  Other human rights concerns include the [[Guatemalan genocide#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> and mass killings 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>
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 fighters 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}}  Military historian [[Geoffrey Wawro]] notes the administration ignored [[human rights violations]] in the countries they backed.{{sfnm|1a1=Wawro|1y=2010|1p=381|2a1=Søndergaard|2y=2020|2p=4}}  Other human rights concerns include the [[Guatemalan genocide#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> and mass killings 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>


===Invasion of Grenada===
===Invasion of Grenada===