LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Ronald Reagan: Soviet Union
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Reagan was the first major world leader to declare that Communism would soon collapse. On March 3, 1983, he was blunt: "I believe that communism is another sad, bizarre chapter in human history whose — last pages even now are being written."[8] His most detailed analysis came on June 8, 1982, to the British Parliament, stunning the Soviets and allies alike. The prevailing doctrine in the West was that the Soviet Union would be around for generations to come, and it was essential to recognize that and work with them. But Reagan argued that the Soviet Union was in deep economic crisis, which he intended to make worse by cutting off western technology. He stated the Soviet Union "runs against the tide of history by denying human freedom and human dignity to its citizens."
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Reagan's second term was marked by the ending of the Cold War, as well as a number of administration scandals, notably the Iran-Contra Affair. The president ordered a massive military buildup in an arms race with the Soviet Union, forgoing the previous strategy of détente. He publicly portrayed the USSR as an "evil empire" and supported anti-Communist movements worldwide. Despite his rejection of détente, he negotiated with Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to shrink both countries' nuclear arsenals. Reagan left office in 1989; in 1994 the former president disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He died ten years later at the age of ninety-three, and ranks highly among former U.S. presidents in terms of approval rating.
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Beginning in 1985, Reagan began to soften his stance toward the Soviet Union in response to signals of a new openness (see glasnost) in foreign relations under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. The two leaders met four times between 1985 and 1988, when they concluded the Intermediate-Range Nuclear-Force Missile Treaty (INF treaty) which sharply reduced intermediate nuclear forces. The last years of Reagan’s presidency were disrupted by the Iran-contra affair, which broke in late 1986 and involved the White House’s complicity in the illegal diversion of profits from arms-for-hostage deals with Iran to the U.S.-supported contra guerrillas fighting the Sandinista government in Nicaragua. In 1994, Reagan disclosed that he had Alzheimer’s disease in hope of increasing public awareness of the illness; he died of complications from the disease a decade later.
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Dubbed "The Great Communicator," Reagan was known for his ability to express ideas and emotions in an almost personal manner, even when making a formal address. He honed these skills as an actor, live television and radio host, and politician. As President, he hired skilled speechwriters who could capture his folksy charm. Reagan's rhetorical style varied. He used strong, even ideological language to condemn the Soviet Union and communism, particularly during his first term.
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There is a fourth, unofficial, similar statement from Ronald Reagan about this particular subject. It was reported in the New Republic by senior editor Fred Barnes. The article described a luncheon in the White House between the President and Eduard Shevardnatze, during the Foreign Minister's visit to Washington to sign the INF Treaty on September 15, 1987. "Near the end of his lunch with Shevardnadze," wrote Barnes, "Reagan wondered aloud what would happen if the world faced an 'alien threat' from outer space. 'Don't you think the United States and the Soviet Union would be together?' he asked. Shevardnadze said yes, absolutely.
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Reagan forcefully confronted the Soviet Union, marking a sharp departure from the d�tente observed by his predecessors Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Jimmy Carter. Sensing that planned economies could not compete against market economies in a renewed arms race, he made the Cold War economically and rhetorically hot. The administration oversaw a massive military build-up that represented a policy of "Peace through strength." Many Reagan supporters credit Reagan administration military polices with winning the Cold War. Others argued... that the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union was due more to internal separatist problems and the depressed global price of crude oil, on which the Soviet economy during those years depended heavily.
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