Reagan Doctrine

 

Different presidential doctrines formulated by different U.S. Presidents in various periods of history, have acted as milestones in the realm of U.S. politics and U.S. foreign policy. Among such presidential doctrines, the doctrine formulated and initiated by President Reagan should be considered as an important one. The reason is, Reagan’s doctrine contributed a lot to the lessening of the Soviet supremacy during the Cold War era. It must be noted that even though the doctrine lasted less than a decade, it is still considered as a pivotal one which acted as a centerpiece of U.S. foreign policy that was implemented between the early 1980s and 1991 (“Reagan Doctrine”, n.d.). The importance of the doctrine also lies in the fact that even today the consequences of the implementation of the Reagan Doctrine acts as a source of political debates. On one hand the doctrine contributed to the weakening of the Soviet Union, then, on the other hand, the implementation of the doctrine paved the way for some long drawn conflicts which are still upsetting the domain of U.S. foreign policy. 
Through the formulation and enactment of the doctrine President Reagan wanted to curb the power of the Soviets. It was through this doctrine that President Reagan opted to strengthen those nations that were seriously in opposition to the Soviet supported regimes. This presidential doctrine directly opposed the Soviet-instigated communism and it directly proposed according to Carpenter,“American moral and material support for insurgent movements attempting to oust Soviet-backed regimes in various Third World nations” (1986). It was a doctrine which, precisely in an indirect manner, paved the way for the U.S. funding of those groups that were rebelling against communism. As per the Reagan Doctrine, the members of these groups were freedom fighters who were trying to free their nations from the clutches of the Soviet instigated communism. As a matter of fact, “this policy translated into covertly supporting the Contras in their attacks on the leftist Sandinista government in Nicaragua; the Afghan rebels in their fight against the Soviet occupiers; and anticommunist Angolan forces embroiled in that nation's civil war” (“Feb 6, 1985: The “Reagan Doctrine” is announced”, n.d.).
If one tries to analyze the development of the Reagan Doctrine then he/she is surely going to find that the doctrine came into being as a refutation of the policy of containment by the U.S. presidents before Reagan. The policy of containment proved to be an utter failure, because despite of the implementation of the policy the aggressive approaches of the Soviet Union could not be contained. Reagan had a thorough knowledge about the tension that was gradually building among Soviet leaders and their U.S. counterparts, and during his election, he justifiably wanted to focus on the issue. After getting elected as the President, the solution to the Soviet problem became a major area of concern for Reagan. Moreover, the initiation and wider implementation of the Reagan Doctrine was also instigated by the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet armies in 1979. It was due to this invasion that apart from enacting embargoes on the Soviet Union, the U.S. think tank became inclined towards restricting the spread of communism through a stringent foreign policy. In addition, the result of such inclination was the Reagan Doctrine. Leaders from both the nations met in New York to minimize the ongoing tension on September 25, 1980 (“United States Relations with Russia Timeline: The Cold War”, 2009). However, the discussion of the aftermath proved to be a failure in respect of putting checks   balanced on the aggressive policies embraced by the Soviet Union. 
As a result, it can be said that keeping in mind the need of restricting the spread of Soviet-instigated communism in different parts of the world, the Reagan Doctrine came into being. Even though, to some extent, the doctrine was proved to be successful in putting an end to the Cold War and bringing about the demise of the Soviet Union, its implementation opened the door for the incoming of some major problems. These problems still now are conditioning the sphere of U.S. foreign policy and the foreign policies of different other concerned nations. Primarily, it can be said that the formulation and implementation of the Reagan Doctrine exposed the wrongs in the approaches of the U.S. administration towards the problems of other nations. In the post-Reagan period the support of the U.S. administration to the contras became a disturbing issue. It must be noted that the implementation of the doctrine embossed a black spot on the political realm of the U.S. administration. It was later on revealed that, “President Reagan permitted the sale of arms to Iran, with profits diverted to the contras. The arms sale and transfer of funds to the contras were handled surreptitiously through the CIA intelligence network, apparently with the full support of CIA Director William Casey. Exposure of the Iran-Contra affair in late 1986 provoked a major congressional investigation” (“The Reagan Doctrine”, n.d.). Nevertheless, it was not only the probe into the matter which fueled the scandal, the consequence of such involvement of the U.S. administration did also pave the way for the continuation of the Iran-Iraq problem even today. Moreover, the policy of funding and supporting the Afghan rebels against the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan eventually paved the way for the emergence of terrorist groups which today is functioning against the well-being of the United States. Hence, it can be seen that the implementation of the doctrine initiated some major problems which are still now persisting. However, it must also be noted that, it was due to the formulation and implementation of the doctrine that Nicaragua got its freedom from the clutches of the Soviet-supported regime and it must also be noted that the implementation of the doctrine eventually put an end to the Cold War through motivating Gorbachev to come to terms with his U.S. counterpart (Farnham, 2001). 
In conclusion, the Reagan Doctrine is still considered as an important political strategy in the sphere of U.S. politics, and the importance of the doctrine also lies in the fact that even today the consequences of the implementation of the Reagan Doctrine acts as a source of political debates. The doctrine contributed to the weakening of the Soviet Union, yet the implementation of the doctrine paved the way for some long drawn conflicts which are still upsetting the domain of U.S. foreign policy. 






































References
Carpenter, T.G. (1986). U.S. Aid to Anti-Communist Rebels: The "Reagan Doctrine" and Its Pitfalls. Cato Policy Analysis No. 74. Retrieved August 3, 2014, from http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa074.html   
Farnham, B. (2001). Reagan and the Gorbachev Revolution: Perceiving the End of Threat. The Eighties Club. Retrieved August 3, 2014, from http://eightiesclub.tripod.com/id404.htm 
Feb 6, 1985: The “Reagan Doctrine” is announced (n.d.). Cold War. Retrieved August 3, 2014, from http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-reagan-doctrine-is-announced
Reagan Doctrine (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2014, from https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Reagan_Doctrine.html 
The Reagan Doctrine (n.d.). Retrieved August 3, 2014, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtid=2&psid=3369   
United States Relation with Russia: The Cold War (n.d.). U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 
August 3, 2014, from http://2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/pubs/fs