Printed Page 921
1983
1986
1987
RONALD REAGAN ACCELERATED Jimmy Carter’s arms buildup and harshly censured the Soviet Union, calling it “an evil empire.” Yet despite the new aggressiveness — or, as some argued, because of it — Reagan presided over the most impressive thaw in superpower conflict since the Cold War had begun. On the periphery of the Cold War, however, Reagan practiced militant anticommunism, assisting antileftist movements in Asia, Africa, and Central America. He also dispatched troops to the Middle East and the Caribbean.