Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush

Cold War Part 3 Nixon, Ford, Carter, Reagan, George H.W. Bush

Gerald Ford took the reign of government after the resignation of Richard Nixon. Upon taking the office of president, he announced, “Our long nightmare is over.” Ford committed political suicide one month later when he granted the former president a full pardon – democrats were furious, they wanted Nixon tried for crimes; Ford did not want a former president locked up. Gerald Ford had one foreign policy achievement. He signed the Helsinki Accords in Finland in 1975. The Helsinki Accords was a 35 nation agreement on economic cooperation and humanitarian issues such as self determination, religious freedom, and political beliefs. The Watergate affair and Nixon’s pardon trumped the memories of the Democrat’s Vietnam War and Democrat Jimmy Carter, governor of Georgia was elected president in 1976. The attraction of Jimmy Carter was his ‘Washington Outsider’ image. He was a graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy and had small town roots (Plains, Georgia). He had a deep religious commitment and was a confessed ‘born again Christian.’ Carter’s Christian beliefs began a resurgence of religious influence in American politics. He promised that moral principles would guide his approach to foreign policy. He promised also to reverse the self centered imperial philosophy of prior U.S. governments and let human rights be the cornerstone of his foreign policy. As a testimony to his moral/foreign policy principles, he targeted the Panama Canal, the most ‘conspicuous symbol of Yankee imperialism.’ He negotiated a new treaty with Panama that gave the canal back to Panama’s control at the year 2000. Carter’s single greatest achievement as president was arranging a peace settlement between the age old enemies, Israel and Egypt. The leader of each country, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and President Carter met at the U.S. presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland and signed the Camp David Accords (1978). The exchanged territory for peace settlement brought peace between the two enemies that eluded them since biblical times. The Middle East was also the setting for Carter’s greatest foreign policy defeat. An Islamic fundamentalist revolution took over the pro-U.S. government in Iran and replaced it with a radical Islamic group guided by their spiritual leader, Ayatollah Khomeini. The Islamic radicals viewed the U.S. as the ‘Great Satan’ and stopped the flow of oil to America. The conflict deteriorated when radical students and other militants seized the U.S. Embassy in Teheran held more than 50 U.S. hostages the crisis dragged on for the remainder of Carter’s administration symbolizing a failed foreign Middle East policy. (Carter did try a military rescue mission that was marred by mechanical blunders. The hostages were dispersed around Iran so another rescue attempt would be moot).

Page | 1 The Nixon-Ford policy Détente was continued and a new SALTII treaty was negotiated under Carter’s administration. The SALT II Treaty would limit the size of the superpower’s missile delivery systems – thus making the world safer against a nuclear threat. In reaction Carter: 1) Stopped scheduled grain shipments to the USSR 2) Decided to boycott the 1980 Olympics in Moscow The détente policy became seriously fractured, but the biggest loss was the SALT II treaty. It was not ratified by the Senate and the policy of détente faded as the cold war began another freeze period. Review U.S. Nuclear Treaties 1) 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (Kennedy) The U.S., Britain, and the USSR signed this treaty to protect the environment by agreeing to only underground testing of nuclear weapons. 2) 1972 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT I - Nixon) agreed to limit the number of anti-ballistic missiles each country could have significant step toward reducing cold war tensions (détente) 3) 1979 Strategic Arms Limitation Talks II (SALT II - Carter) Treaty between the U.S. and the Soviet Union to limit nuclear delivery systems. Due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the U.S. Senate refused to ratify the treaty and the cold war refroze. As we can see, Carter had his share of foreign policy problems. At home, the biggest issue was the growing inflation rate. Because of several economic factors and the inexperience of Carter’s ‘outsider’ administration, the economy slipped and the inflation rate went to 13%. The unemployment rate followed. To add fuel to the economic fire, carter’s failed Middle-East policies created new OPEC oil boycotts that led to gas lines and enormous prices at the pump. Carter tried to redirect the county from its foreign oil dependency but his energy policy fell victim to a disconnect between his administration, Congress, domestic oil producers and gas guzzling consumers. Carter’s energy policy took another hit. In 1979, an accident occurred at the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant in Pennsylvania. The fear of a ‘meltdown’ became a very real possibility. The crisis was averted but popular opposition to building nuclear power plants to ease future dependency on oil stalled; thus making the nation’s energy demands and solutions more complex. Carter was also dropped into the environmental discussion of the nation because of a disaster at Love Canal in Niagara Falls New York. Residents there suffered a serious illness. The illnesses were traced to the ill effects of toxic waste. The residents found out that their homes at Love Canal were actually built on a former

Page | 2 waste dump. Carter responded by creating the Super Fund; federal monies set aside for clean-up of hazardous waste left by chemical related industry throughout the nation. Election of 1980 Democrats – Jimmy Carter Republicans – Ronald Reagan Issues: High unemployment, high inflation and the conservative swing to the right. Reagan asked the public in his campaign slogan, ‘’Are you better off than you were four years ago?’ Conservative Democrats also supported Reagan and will become known as Reagan Democrats and help him implement his policies over the next eight years. The election of Reagan had an immediate effect on American foreign policy. Iran freed the American hostages, giving his administration a positive start. Next, Reagan’s administration focused on the dismal economy. Reagan believed in supply-side economics in the form of tax cuts. His supply-side economic concept was to reduce government spending by cutting taxes (government would have less money) and this would increase private spending (businesses and people would have more money because they paid less taxes). (Reaganomics) Remember, the democrats advocated Keynesian Economics, which relied on government spending to increase consumer income. Reagan’s approach to the cold war and communism was a simplistic but effective attitude. He called the Soviets an Evil Empire and began a massive military build up to counter any challenge by world-wide communism. The defense budget out grew any gains made by Reaganomics and drastically increased the national debt. His most costly and most ambitious military plan was the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI). The plan called for plans to build a high-tech system of lasers and particle beams to destroy enemy missiles before they could reach U.S. territory. Critics called SDI, ‘Star Wars’ because of its ambition to extend the arms race into space and use advanced technology to go beyond the acceptance of MAD. His view of aggressive communism became real when a small pro-Marxist coup took over the small Caribbean island of Grenada in 1983. Not risking another situation like the failed Bay of Pigs fiasco, Reagan ordered the Marines to invade the island and reestablish a U.S. friendly government in Grenada. (Mention U.S. medical students) Grenada was a boost to Reagan’s hard line against communism and its attempts to extend its influence and into the western hemisphere. The boost to Reagan’s popularity did not go unnoticed by Reagan’s Congressional enemies in Congress.

Page | 3 Reagan’s and Congress’ complex and opposite view of American policy became apparent in 1985. Reagan’s administration supported an anti-Marxist group in Nicaragua called the ‘Contras.’ They were attempting, with U.S. economic support, to over throw the communist Sandinistas that had taken control of the Nicaragua government. The U.S. Democratic Congress passed the Boland Amendment (1985) prohibiting the president to give more aid to the anti-Marxist Contras. Even though Congress blocked Reagan from helping anti-Communist elements in Central America, Reagan was also concerned with problems in the volatile Middle-East. Two events demanded presidential attention:  Iran and Iraq were engaged in a bloody war  More American hostages had been captured by Islamic Terrorists and dispersed so that they could not be rescued. Reagan’s staff members put together an elaborate plan to solve a lot of problems in the Middle East and go around the Boland Amendment to help the Contras. 1) Secret weapons sales were transported from the U.S. to Iran. Iran used the weapons against Iraq. 2) Iran paid top prices for the weapons and used its political influence to free the hostages 3) The profits from the arms sales were funneled to the ‘Nicaragua Contras’ to buy weapons. (Thus, bypassing the Boland Amendment) The plot was exposed and Congress launched an investigation into the Iran Contra Affair – the investigation was played out in televised hearings. Reagan lost popularity but it was temporary. As we know, Reagan began a massive military build up to counter any communist aggression from the Soviet ‘Evil Empire.’ To coincide with the U.S. military build-up, the Soviets put a new leader in charge- a dynamic reformer, Mikhail Gorbachev. Gorbachev put forth two reforms to move Soviet citizens toward greater political freedom. 1) Glasnost (openness) – was a policy to give more freedoms and political repression 2) Perestroika - restructure the Soviet economy by introducing some free market practices To achieve his reforms, Gorbachev had to make a choice – continue the costly arms race with the U.S. or deal with the deteriorating Soviet economy. He chose reforms. Mention Gorbachev also had to deal with the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the nuclear accident at Chernobyl in the Ukraine. When Gorbachev bowed out of the arms race, it became the ideal time to sign another nuclear treaty with the USSR. In 1987, Reagan and Gorbachev signed the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF).

Page | 4 The INF Treaty was the first nuclear treaty requiring both countries to reduce, rather than merely limit, their arsenals of nuclear weapons. The agreement included unprecedented verification procedures. The Cold War had threatened the very existence of the planet and humankind. Regardless of what caused the Soviets to change their policy, President Reagan must be credited with bring the Cold War to an end. Even though the official end will take place with the break-up of the Soviet Union in December in 1991. The Election of 1988 Republicans – George H. Bush (Reagan’s Vice President) Democrats – Michael Dukakis (Governor of Mass) Issues:  Dukakis furloughed hard criminals while governor making him look weak on crime.  Bush promised that he would not raise taxes – ‘Read my lips – no new taxes’ The Republicans won a decisive victory on the coat tails of Ronald Reagan. The first years of the Bush Administration were dominated by drastic changes in the Communist world.  A student pro-democracy freedom movement in China was crushed at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Hundreds were killed by the Chinese army.  Gorbachev announced he would no longer ‘support’ Eastern European Communist governments with Soviet forces. The Soviet satellites began to oust their Communist governments and claim their freedom. The Communists in Eastern Germany were forced out of power and the hated symbol of the Cold War, the Berlin Wall was torn down. In 1990, the two Germany’s were reunited.  The Baltic countries, part of the Soviet Union, followed the Soviet satellites and declared their independence – the other Soviet countries followed . . . the Soviet Union just dissolved leaving Gorbachev without a country.  The President of Russia was Boris Yeltsin and when he pulled Russia out of the USSR, the end was assured.  Other tangible proof assured the Cold War had ended. Before the final days of the Soviet Union, Gorbachev and President Bush signed the START I Nuclear Agreement (1991). They agreed to reduce nuclear warheads to just under 10,000 for each side. A follow-up START II Treaty was signed in 1992 between Bush and Boris Yeltsin. The START II Treaty reduced warheads for each side to just above 3,000. Review Nuclear Treaties 1) 1963 Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (Kennedy) 2) 1972 SALT I (Nixon) 3) 1979 SALT II (Carter) Not Ratified 4) 1987 INF Treaty (Reagan

Page | 5 5) 1991 START I (Bush) 6) 1992 START II (Bush) As communism was collapsing, Bush had a chance to bask in the past and swing Roosevelt’s Big Stick across Panama. Seemed like the autocratic ruler of Panama, General Manuel Noriega, was using his country for a pipe-line to funnel drugs into the United States. The U.S. had already declared ‘War on Drugs’ and the federal government sponsored the ‘Just Say No’ campaign spearheaded by Nancy Reagan. Bush ordered an invasion to bring the drug dealer Noriega to justice, Noriega was removed with a little help from high powered speakers and American rock music. He is still imprisoned today (Operation Just Cause). George Bush called for a ‘New World Order’ during the collapse of communism. His new world order theory of internationalism was put to a test in early 1991. Saddam Hussein, Iraq’s dictator, invaded oil rich Kuwait. This act threatened world oil sources going through the Persian Gulf and from Saudi Arabia. Bush put together a 28 nation military alliance to liberate Kuwait. The massive military operation made up of mostly American forces (1/2 million) was called Desert Storm. After a brutal air attack followed by 100 hours of fighting on the ground, Saddam was defeated. The U.S. did not drive him from power because that would have gone beyond the scope of the fragile coalitions intentions. The Desert Storm conflict is called the first Persian Gulf War. The Gulf War conflict gave President Bush an unheard of 90% approval rating. Domestically, he called for a ‘kinder, gentler America.’ He passed the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The act prohibited discrimination against citizens with physical and mental disabilities in hiring, transportation and public accommodations. Bush was also president when the super tanker, the Exxon Valdez, hit a reef off of the coast of Alaska. It is one of the most devastating human caused environmental disasters. It was the largest oil spill in the U.S. until the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deep Water Horizon spill. The crisis was complicated by the isolated area of the disaster and no plan was in place to address such a man made catastrophe. Even though Bush enjoyed a high approval rating, a stagnant economy and political infighting caused a growing disillusionment with government. Public anger against government was best demonstrated in the ratification of the Twenty-Seventh Amendment. The amendment prevented Congress from raising its own salary. The Amendment was proposed in 1789 and ratified in 1992. As the Election of 1992 approach, bush’s approval rating dramatically dropped. Election of 1992 Republican – George H.W. Bush Democrats – Bill Clinton

Page | 6 Independent – Ross Perot One of the main issues of the election was whether a free-trade agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico would pass. The treaty called the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA, caught the attention of Texas billionaire Ross Perot. Using his own money, he campaigned on the issue that if NAFTA was passed, American jobs would leave the U.S. and go to Mexico chasing cheap labor. (Perot won 19% of the popular vote) Even though the public was ‘entertained’ by the colorful Ross Perot, Bill Clinton carried the day – his simplistic message, ‘It’s the Economy Stupid!,’ translated at the polls that the Republicans don’t get it . . . elections are about the economy and not much more. Along with Clinton, both houses of Congress went back to the Democrats, bringing the era of Reagan to an end.

Page | 7