In 1823, the Monroe Doctrine advocated American isolationism. Then came the Truman Doctrine. A few decades later, the Soviet Union's nuclear capabilities succeeded that of the United States', SALT II was a failure, and the domino effect assured the collapse of democracies around the world. Thus was the situation when Ronald Reagan assumed power in 1981. Immediately, though, the newly initiated president took a much harder approach to communism. He was incredulous of containment policy (1), reluctant to negotiate treaties with the Soviet leaders on the basis of distrust, and, as opposed to former p

The Reagan Doctrine can lay claim to having had limited success; when applied against Afghanistan, it was successful - it sent the Soviet Union "a warning" and, once again, indicated a willingness to back the hard-lined rhetoric with action. In Kampuchea, the Vietnamese withdrew their forces. When applied against Nicaragua, however, the result was a nasty blow to the Reagan administration - it portrayed the Reagan administration as unreliable, and the inability to overthrow the Sandinista regime is a standing monument of failure.

speech on "National Defense and Security." Ronald Reagan furthermore justified the necessity to

RONALD REAGAN'S INTENTIONS: CONCLUSIONS

Ronald Reagan recognized the policy of deterrence as a workable solution to the "stand-off" between the two superpowers. In the speech on "National Defense and Security" this becomes clear, as he describes the policy as having promoted "stability through offensive threat."(8) Even though the policy "has worked"(9), Ronald Reagan's personal stance on the issue is well expressed by the following allegory, which is probably inspired by his time in motion pictures: "It was like having two Westerners standing in a saloon aiming their guns at each others heads - permanently. There had to be a better way."(10) His hopes are "that the human spirit must be capable of rising above dealing with other nations and human beings by threatening their existence."(11) Ronald Reagan's conviction that deterrence was absurd, and his intention of freeing the world from nuclear threat became one of the centerpieces of his foreign policy. It was a visible indication of wanting to take a different approach in dealing with the Soviet Union; a clear repudiation of what every president since World War II had embraced. An embrace which Ronald Reagan would not sustain. In the speech on "Defense and National Security", he states:

He was a passionate conservative, blunt and direct in his political speeches, and more often than not, took to applying anti-Soviet rhetoric to an unheard-of degree: "Let's not delude ourselves, the Soviet Union underlies all the unrest that is going on. If they weren't engaged in this game of dominoes, there wouldn't be any hot spots in the world."(5) Ronald Reagan's dedication to freedom, and his apathy for communism was continuously reflected by his actions and his addresses to Congress and the American public. He was, in short, a hard-liner on communism, intent to "leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash-heap of history."(6)

Enormous amounts of money were allocated for the military in the first few years of Reagan's

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