Foreign Policy after Vietnam
and the End of the Cold War
Goal 12
Essential Idea

The Reagan Doctrine led to the end of the
Cold War.
Carter Elected
Ford’s Action: Ford
pardoned Nixon
Why Ford did it: so the
country could move on
Result: Jimmy Carter easily
beat Ford in the Election of
1976
Zionist Movement


Zionism – the idea that
Jews should have a
homeland
The Holocaust helped
the Zionist Movement
gain strength
Creation of Israel

In 1948, land was set
aside from Palestine by
the United Nations to
create Israel
Middle-East Conflict


This area is still a source of
conflict between
Palestinians, who are Arab
and Muslim, and Israelites,
who are Jews
Creating Israel
Yom Kippur War



The Yom Kippur War pitted Syria and Egypt (Arab) against Israel
(Jewish)
Camp David Accords – moderated by President Carter, Israel and
Egypt agreed to peace
Yom Kippur War
Arabs Unhappy with the Peace
It was the first
time an
Arab/Muslim
country recognized
Israel as a country
Egypt's leader,
Anwar Sadat, was
later assassinated
by Arabs
Covert Operations in Iran
1953
Iran and the Soviet
Union began
negotiating a deal to
trade oil
America was worried
that Iran would become
communist
The Rule of the Shah





The CIA secretly overthrew
the government and installed
the Shah (King) of Iran
1979
Iran had a revolution
The Shah was removed
The Ayatollah Khomeini, a
fundamentalist Muslim, was
put in power
Iranian Hostage Crisis




Iranian Hostage
Crisis
52 Americans were
taken hostage in
response to Carter
helping the Shah
They were held for
444 days until Carter
was replaced by
Ronald Reagan
Foreign Policy in
Iran
Détente


Foreign Policy under
Nixon:
Détente – have a “live
and let live” approach
with communist
countries in order to ease
Cold War tension
Carter Abandons Détente
Foreign Policy under
Carter:
Carter strongly
believed in human
rights, which he
thought the Soviets
violated
Soviet War in
Afghanistan:
When the Soviets went
to war with
Afghanistan, America
sided with Afghanistan
Helping Afghanistan Against the
Soviet Union


Carter boycotted the
1980 Olympics in
Moscow
America sent aid to
Afghan fighters,
including Osama Bin
Laden
The Iran-Contra Scandal



The Problem: Iranian Hostage
Crisis
What Reagan secretly did: in
exchange for the hostages,
Reagan sold weapons to Iran
What Reagan did with the
money: used the money to
fund Contras, who were anticommunists in Nicaragua
(breaking détente)
The Iran-Contra Scandal




Why it was a scandal:
Iran was considered an
enemy (you don’t sell
weapons to enemies!)
Congress had forbidden
giving aid to Contras (even
though they were anticommunist, America was
practicing détente at the
time)
Iran-Contra Scandal
Reagan’s Foreign Policy
1. Containment
What it said: prevent communism
from spreading
2. Truman Doctrine
What it said: protect Greece and
Turkey from communism
3. Eisenhower Doctrine
What it said: protect the Middle
East from communism
4. Détente
What it said: make peace with
communism (“live and let live”)
The Reagan Doctrine



5. Reagan Doctrine
What it said: DESTORY
COMMUNISM
The Difference: Reagan
did not want to “put up
with” communism, he
wanted to end it
completely (destroy it)
Enforcing the Reagan Doctrine



Strategy #1: “Peace through Strength”
Reagan authorized a massive build up of the military
Reagan hoped the Soviet Union’s economy would collapse while
trying to keep up the arms race
Peace through Strength


Strategic Defense Initiative – nicknamed
“Star Wars”, this program sought to build
weapons that could intercept missiles (in
space)
Was this realistic at the time?
Proxy Wars


Strategy #2: Proxy Wars
Proxy wars – rather than fight the Soviet Union directly, America would help
countries fighting the Soviet
Proxy Wars







Korea, Vietnam, and
Afghanistan were
proxy wars
This kept America and
the Soviet Union from
fighting directly and
starting nuclear war
The Reagan Doctrine
Where did we fight in
the 1950s?
Where did we fight in
the 1960s?
Where is Afghanistan?
What can be said about
all the places we
fought/were involved
in during the Cold
War?
Soviets Near Collapse



New Soviet Leader: Mikhail
Gorbachev
Change #1: Perestroika –
allowed for more economic
freedom
Change #2: Glasnost –
allowed more freedom of
speech and religion
Reagan Keeps the Pressure On




1985 (Germany)
Reagan visited West Berlin,
aware that the Soviet Union
was near collapse
In a speech, Reagan
demanded Gorbachev tear
down the Berlin Wall
Reagan’s Speech
Tiananmen Square




1989 (China)
Chinese students held a massive protest at
Tiananmen Square
The world watched as the students were attacked
by the Chinese military
Chinese Protest Communist Rule
Freedom vs. Oppression
The Iron Curtain Raises



1989 (Eastern Europe)
Eastern European countries began having
revolutions
Communist governments were turned into
democratic governments
Fall of the Berlin Wall



1989 (Germany)
The Berlin Wall was torn down
Germany was reunited as a democratic country
Soviet Union Collapses, Cold War Ends
1991 (Soviet Union)
The Soviet Union
collapsed (Russia again!)
Boris Yeltsin became
president
The Cold War ended
The Cold War Ends

What was the effect of the Reagan Doctrine?