Raegan Administration on the Politics and the Economy of the Us
Yassmen Hammam
Chapter 30
Essay 3- Assess the impact of the Reagan administration on the politics and the economy of the United States. It is that Ronald Reagan did not have a firm grasp of world issues, history, or geography. When Reagan told French president Fran `cois Mitterrand, a socialist, that communism and socialism were the same, Mitterrand wondered, “what planet is that man living on?” Superficial and often mistaken about elementary facts, Reagan acted more on instinct that on analysis. Expressing the reformist message to common in U.S. foreign policy, he liked to quote Tom Paine of the American Revolution; “we have it in out power to begin the world over again,” Reagan stated that the Soviet Union was an “evil empire,” that would “ commit any crime,” “lie” and “cheat” to achieve a communist world. Because he attributed Third World disorders to Soviet intrigue, the president declared the Reagan Doctrine; the United States would openly support anticommunist movements, “freedom fighters” wherever they were battling the Soviets or Soviet backed governments. Under this doctrine, The CIA funneled aid to insurgents in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Angola, and elsewhere. In open defiance of the sovereignty of those nations, Reagan worked to overthrow their governments. Reagan officials also championed free market capitalism, , evident in their enthusiasm for the 1988 U.S. Canada Free Trade Agreement, and in their rejection of the 1982 United Nations’ Convention on the law of the sea, patiently crafted through compromise over a ten year period. Third world nations argued that rich sea bed resources of petroleum and minerals should be shared under international supervision among all nations as a “common heritage of mankind,” the industrial states, which alone had the capital and equipment needed to conduct excavating and drilling operations, preferred private exploitation with minimal
Chapter 30
Essay 3- Assess the impact of the Reagan administration on the politics and the economy of the United States. It is that Ronald Reagan did not have a firm grasp of world issues, history, or geography. When Reagan told French president Fran `cois Mitterrand, a socialist, that communism and socialism were the same, Mitterrand wondered, “what planet is that man living on?” Superficial and often mistaken about elementary facts, Reagan acted more on instinct that on analysis. Expressing the reformist message to common in U.S. foreign policy, he liked to quote Tom Paine of the American Revolution; “we have it in out power to begin the world over again,” Reagan stated that the Soviet Union was an “evil empire,” that would “ commit any crime,” “lie” and “cheat” to achieve a communist world. Because he attributed Third World disorders to Soviet intrigue, the president declared the Reagan Doctrine; the United States would openly support anticommunist movements, “freedom fighters” wherever they were battling the Soviets or Soviet backed governments. Under this doctrine, The CIA funneled aid to insurgents in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Angola, and elsewhere. In open defiance of the sovereignty of those nations, Reagan worked to overthrow their governments. Reagan officials also championed free market capitalism, , evident in their enthusiasm for the 1988 U.S. Canada Free Trade Agreement, and in their rejection of the 1982 United Nations’ Convention on the law of the sea, patiently crafted through compromise over a ten year period. Third world nations argued that rich sea bed resources of petroleum and minerals should be shared under international supervision among all nations as a “common heritage of mankind,” the industrial states, which alone had the capital and equipment needed to conduct excavating and drilling operations, preferred private exploitation with minimal