Reagan, according to James Graham Wilson, possessed contradictory views of Soviet power. The Soviets were both incredibly powerful and teetering on a weak foundation.
What was Reagan’s greatest regret and greatest sorrow as president?
Which of the following is true about Grenada in 1983?
This 1980 book by Larry Beilenson may have inspired Reagan’s vision of SDI. It proposed building a nuclear shield “To ward off the nuclear blow, active defense seeks to stop, deflect, or destroy the incoming missiles.”
What were the two goals (or “less-than-grand” strategies) that Reagan employed in foreign affairs as president?
What were NSDD-32 and NSDD-75?
Where did Reagan enunciate the Reagan Doctrine?
The most radical of the Democratic contenders for President in 1984. He supported diplomatic relations with Castro’s Cuba, urged sharp reductions in military spending, and claimed to be leading a “rainbow coalition” of minorities and disadvantaged groups.
What word does James Graham Wilson believe accurately describes Reagan’s foreign policy approach in the first term?
Reagan refused to work with Arab powers, even moderate ones, and was opposed to selling weapons, such as AWACS planes, to them.
Which of the following is true as it relates to problems in the Middle East during Reagan’s first term in office?
In 1982, Reagan was outraged by Israel’s heavy and sustained bombardment of Lebanon– describing Israel’s actions as akin to a “holocaust” and warning Begin that America’s historic relationship with Israel was endangered.
President Reagan’s re-election in 1984 completely contradicted what most pundits assumed (i.e. that he would lose). With high inflation and high unemployment rates, the President—due to his great communication skills—was able to persuade the public to “win one more for the Gipper.”
What was the KAL Massacre?
Reagan enjoyed great support from Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. He was without question Reagan’s closest friend and confidant in the Middle East.
Mondale’s choice for a running-mate in 1984 was a historic choice—he selected a female, this New York Congresswoman.
What was the implication of Reagan’s conflicting views about Soviet power?
In October 1983, over 240 U.S. Marines were killed in a terrorist attack in Lebanon. Reagan, who had sent them in a few months before to promote stability, now promptly withdrew them in early 1984.
Although Reagan often had a tense relationship with Begin of Israel, he was able to secure Israel’s return of Sinai to Egypt in 1982.
No conviction Reagan ever held was stronger than his belief that the United States must ensure the survival of Israel.
Reagan was the one who encouraged Israel to take out (i.e. bomb) a nuclear facility in Iraq in the summer of 1981.
What was the Reagan Doctrine?
Reagan believed this region presented America with more difficulty, frustration and convoluted problems than any other.
While playing golf in Georgia in October 1983, Reagan personally telephoned an armed gunman who had seized the course pro shop and taken hostages, including two White House aides.
Reagan believed the Middle East was important to the United States because of the Cold War– i.e. he believed the Soviet Union was eager to exploit any opportunity to expand its influence and supplant America as the dominant superpower in this oil-rich and strategically important part of the world.
Which of the following is NOT true about Walter Mondale?
A conservative criticism of Reagan by 1984:
According to James Graham Wilson, Reagan was uncertain about the purpose of SDI because he remained conflicted whether long-term peace could be achieved by the dismantling of nuclear weapons or whether it necessitated the eradication of communism.
NOT a correct statement about the 1984 presidential campaign:
According to modern scholar James Graham Wilson, did Reagan have a grand foreign policy strategy—“grand strategy” meaning “the deliberate configuration of several strategies toward the implementation of a long-term vision of a new status quo”?
What did James Graham Wilson argue in his article on Reagan and “grand strategy”? Be sure to provide examples and explanation. Be sure too to explain what “strategy” and “grand strategy” are.