How Did Reagan and Gorbachev Deal with the End of the Cold War - Assignment Example

A huge amount of defense expenditure was on the “MX missile defense system, an expanded naval fleet, new army tanks, and the B-1 bomber” (Reagan). He also assembled new intermediate-range nuclear missiles in Western Europe. In 1983, Reagan started his new mission called the Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI). The SDI had lasers and other expertise to wipe out Soviet missiles in the USA which lead to the huge economic crisis in the Soviet Union (D’Souza).

The alarming situation of the Soviet Union during the end of 1987 was the main reason for the Cold War to end. Mikhail Gorbachev took many reforms and policies to end the Cold War rivalry. His opinions were opposite to Reagan's and followed the policies of Stalin. A summit was held in 1986 where Reagan and Gorbachev could not reach any negotiation due to differences in their agreements over missile defense (D’Souza).

Later in 1987, a new arms treaty was signed between the USA and the Soviet Union. The main focus of the treaty was to eliminate intermediate-range nuclear force from Europe. This was done to reduce the nuclear attacks, collection of weapons, and develop peace between the nations. The summit of 1987 addressed eliminating nuclear forces and the use of nuclear powers during the war.

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