George Bush and the End of the Cold War. Christopher Alan Maynard Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 2001 From the Shadow of Reagan: George Bush and the End of the Cold War. Christopher Alan Maynard Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Maynard, Christopher Alan, "From the Shadow of Reagan: George Bush and the End of the Cold War." (2001). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 297. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/297 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI fiims the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction.. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6” x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ProQuest Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. FROM THE SHADOW OF REAGAN: GEORGE BUSH AND THE END OF THE COLD WAR A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of History by Christopher Alan Maynard BA., Lee University, 1994 M A , Louisiana State University, 1997 May 2001 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number. 3016560 Copyright 2001 by Maynard, Christopher Alan All rights reserved. _ ___ (ft UMI UMI Microform 3016560 Copyright 2001 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©Copyright 2001 Christopher Alan Maynard All rights reserved Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments I would like to thank all of the professors who have taught me over the years. In particular, this work has been greatly enriched by Professor David Gilbert whose overall direction of my studies has had a profound impact. John Lasiter and Mary Finch of the George Bush Presidential Library were particularly helpful and I owe them a debt of gratitude along with all those at the Bush Library who offered their assistance. A Peter and Edith O’Donnell Grant from the George Bush Library Foundation provided financial assistance for my research. Nancy Reagan granted access to Ronald Reagan’s private collection at the Reagan Library. In addition, I would like to thank Marlin Fitzwater, Brent Scowcroft, James A. Baker III, Colin Powell, and Jack F. Matlock, Jr., for giving so generously of their time for interviews for this study. Finally, I would like to thank my wife Carole Medlin Maynard, whose career as an editor was instrumental in allowing me to finish my work. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Table of Contents Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................iii Abstract ........................................................................................................................ v Introduction..................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 Media Image Building: Reagan, Bush, and the “Wimp” Factor................................................15 2 The Primacy of the National Security Council: Beyond Containment in Europe.......................................................... 51 3 Bush and Gorbachev: The Road to Malta............................................ 87 4 Personal Diplomacy: The Reunification of Germany..........................................................127 5 “When You Lose Your Best Enemy”: The Collapse of the Soviet Union.....................................................164 6 The Prudent Cold Warrior: The Foreign Policy Legacy of George Bush...................................... 202 Bibliography ............................................................................................................ 229 Appendix A Marlin Fitzwater Interview................................................................ 241 B James A. Baker HI Interview ............................................................. 248 C Brent Scowcroft Interview................................................................. 255 D Colin Powell Interview...................................................................... 262 E Jack F. Matlock, Jr. Interview........................................................... 267 Vha.......................................................................................................................... 275 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Abstract George Bush entered the presidency constantly compared and contrasted with his predecessor, Ronald Reagan. Lacking Reagan’s eloquence and adept use of the media, Bush was lambasted by the press as Reagan’s “lapdog” and labeled a “wimp.” The press pushed Bush to establish themes to match policy goals and to use the bully pulpit to lead the national debate on issues. His refusal prompted journalists to characterize the Bush presidency as lacking an agenda. Reagan’s success with the media and Bush’s failure have produced a misconception about the successes and failures of each president’s policies. Thus, the period usually is referred to as the “Reagan-Bush years,” indicating that Bush’s term can best be explained as Reagan’s third term. This distinction is partly a result of the misconception that the Cold War was basically over by the end of the Reagan administration and that Bush merely signed agreements Reagan had already negotiated. This ignores the instability of the Soviet Union, as well as the potentially explosive situation in Central and Eastern Europe, that still existed when Reagan left office. This dissertation explores how differences between Ronald Reagan and George Bush affected the end of the Cold War, examining Bush’s use of the media, the restructuring of the National Security Council, the subsequent fundamental shift in foreign policy approach to the Soviet Union, and the use of personal diplomacy in the reunification of Germany and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Bush led a transition: a transition from the Cold War to a post-Cold War world. Bush’s diplomatic strengths proved as great as his media skills and domestic agenda were weak. Bush and his V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. advisors managed the end of the Cold War, helping it end not with a bang, but a peaceful whimper. This dissertation is funded by a Peter and Edith O’Donnell Grant from the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation and is based on interviews with Bush administration officials such as Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, Colin Powell, Marlin Fitzwater, and Jack Matlock, plus many recently declassified documents. vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Introduction The end of the Cold War has brought about a reinvigoration of the debate over how historians examine the Cold War period. John Lewis Gaddis, in particular, has drawn a distinction between “old” Cold War history and “new” Cold War history. Before the end of the Cold War, Gaddis suggests, American historians gave the United States disproportionate attention, wrote a history of a war before they knew the outcome, and emphasized interests, which they defined in material terms. Gaddis views these as deficiencies and welcomes the “new” Cold War history, with its multiarchival attempt to draw upon the records of all major participants, its