Ronald Reagan Was No Neocon: Peace Through Strength Did Not Mean War at Any Price

Alzheimer's robbed Ronald Reagan of his memory. Now Republican neocons are trying to steal his foreign policy legacy. A de facto peacenik who was horrified by the prospect of needless war, Reagan likely would have been appalled by the aggressive posturing of most of the Republicans currently seeking the White House.

Ronald Reagan took office at a dangerous time. The Cold War raged, with the Soviet Union suffering through the Brezhnev era of stagnant authoritarianism. Moscow's weaknesses, though eventually exposed, were not so evident at the time and Washington faced challenges around the world. Reagan sacrificed much of his political capital to increase U.S. military outlays. But he used the new capabilities created almost not at all.

Reagan's mantra was "peace through strength." Peace was the end, strength the means. He focused his attention on the Soviet Union and its advanced outposts, especially in the Western Hemisphere. One could disagree with his specific policies, but not his characterization of the U.S.S.R. as an "evil empire." Moscow had to be contained.

Restraining the hegemonic threat posed by an aggressive, ideological Soviet Union led to Reagan's tough policy toward Soviet Communist Party General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev and his immediate successors. Still, Reagan avoided military confrontation--there was no attempt at "roll back," as it was called during the Cold War. He wanted the U.S.S.R. to "lose," but not in a shooting war. Indeed, he routinely employed what neocons today deride as "appeasement."

For instance, during the 1980 campaign Reagan opposed the Carter administration's insistence on an Olympic boycott--which required acting like the Soviets by threatening to seize the passports of individual athletes who might be tempted to travel to Moscow. Reagan also dropped the Carter grain embargo against Moscow. Reagan recognized the obvious economic and political benefits of allowing trade; he also explained that he desired to encourage "meaningful and constructive dialogue."

Worse from the standpoint of today's Republican war lobby was Reagan's response to the Polish crisis. Lech Walesa and the Solidarity movement were a global inspiration but the Polish military, fearing Soviet intervention, imposed martial law in 1981. Again, Reagan's response was, well, appeasement. No bombers flew, no invasion threatened, no soldiers marched. He continued to contain Moscow and challenge its moral foundation. But like Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 and 1956 and Lyndon Johnson in 1968, Reagan did not risk a general war to help liberate Eastern Europeans when they opposed Soviet troops. Indeed, from Reagan came no military moves, no aggressive threats, no economic sanctions. Reagan did little other than wait for the Evil Empire to further deteriorate from within. - Read More at Ronald Reagan Was No Neocon:

Ronald Reagan Was No Neocon: Peace Through Strength Did Not Mean War at Any Price