Ronald Reagan

Decisions of Greatness

Martin Anderson, Annelise Anderson

• Publisher: Hoover Institution Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780817918347
• eBook ISBN: 9780817918361
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: Political Biographies
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Ronald Reagan's Cold War strategy was well established in his first year in office and did not change throughout his presidency. It was to make absolutely sure in the minds of the Soviets that they too would be destroyed in a nuclear war—even as Reagan sought an alternative through strategic defense to make nuclear missiles obsolete and thus eliminate the possibility of an all-out nuclear war. This book offers new perspectives on Ronald Reagan's primary accomplishment as president—persuading the Soviets to reduce their nuclear arsenals and end the Cold War. It details how he achieved this success and in the process explains why Americans consider Reagan one of our greatest presidents. The authors examine the decisions Reagan made during his presidency that made his success possible and review Reagan's critical negotiations with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev—ending with the 1988 Moscow Summit that effectively ended the Cold War. They present Gorbachev's thoughts on Reagan as a great man and a great president 20 years after he left office. But ultimately, they reveal the depth of Reagan's vision of a world safe from nuclear weapons, painting a clear portrait of a Cold Warrior who saw the possibility of moving beyond that war.

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Hoover Institution Press Publication No. 657

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ISBN 978-0-8179-1834-7 (cloth : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-8179-1835-4 (pbk. : alk. paper)

ISBN 978-0-8179-1836-1 (e-book)

ISBN 978-0-8179-1837-8 (mobi)

ISBN 978-0-8179-1838-5 (PDF)

For Nancy Reagan and George Shultz

Contents

foreword by John Raisian

preface

acknowledgments

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chapter one Ronald Reagan: The View of Americans

chapter two Reagan’s Unique Accomplishment

chapter three If the Soviets Attacked

chapter four Development of the Nuclear Arsenals

chapter five Reagan’s Decisions

chapter six Negotiating to End the Cold War

chapter seven The Moscow Summit and the End of the Cold War, 1988

chapter eight Freedom Won

chapter nine Reagan and Gorbachev

chapter ten Nuclear Arsenals After Reagan, 1989–2012

chapter eleven The Reagan Legacy

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appendix a Martin Anderson’s Interview with Ronald Reagan, Los Angeles, July 25, 1989—The Transcript

appendix b The Strategic Military Situation When President Reagan Took Office, by Lowell Wood

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about the authors

index

[Illustrations follow Chapter 4 and Chapter 9.]

Foreword

In Ronald Reagan: Decisions of Greatness, Martin and Annelise Anderson bring a lifetime of factual inquiry and critical thinking to bear arguably on the pivotal achievement of Reagan’s presidency—ending the Cold War. While the Soviet Union did not cease to exist as a rival superpower until 1991, signaling the formal end of the Cold War, the Andersons demonstrate how decisions Reagan made as far back as the first year of his presidency set the stage for drastic nuclear arms reduction in the late 1980s and beyond. Indeed, it was Reagan’s firm conviction that a nuclear war could not be won and must never be fought that permeated his efforts to negotiate peace through strength.

As a treatise focused specifically on Reagan’s vision and strategy for arms reduction, Ronald Reagan: Decisions of Greatness helps to further define and clarify the legacy of Ronald Reagan. We are indebted to Martin and Annelise for continuing to mine the writings of Reagan, presenting to the public at large a clearer, more accurate portrayal of this great man. Through such works as Reagan, In His Own Hand (2001), with Kiron K. Skinner, and Reagan: A Life in Letters (2004), with Skinner, each with a foreword by George P. Shultz, the Andersons have clearly revealed Reagan as the intellectual driver of his administration’s initiatives and strategies. One could argue their writings and publication of Reagan’s own words played no small part in the public’s increasing admiration for President Reagan.

I take great pleasure in participating in this effort of publishing and releasing on behalf of the Hoover Institution. Both Martin and Annelise served in the Reagan Administration and have been affiliated with Hoover as fellows going back as early as 1971. Both have been invaluable colleagues who have contributed to the intellectual rigor and profile of the Hoover Institution through their longtime dedicated service. Martin and Annelise are dear friends, partners in policy research, and patriots in the pursuit of freedom worldwide. I trust you will find much to appreciate in this book.

JOHN RAISIAN

Tad and Dianne Taube Director

Hoover Institution, Stanford University

Preface

This book includes a great deal that is new in the process of telling the story of Ronald Reagan’s primary accomplishment: persuading the Sovi...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Foreword
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Black & White Gallery
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Chapter Nine
• Color Gallery
• Chapter Ten
• Chapter Eleven
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• About the Authors
• Index