The Middle East also preoccupied Reagan during
his first term. He announced the Fresh Start initia-
tive to aid the Israeli peace process on August 20,
1982, and at the request of the Lebanese govern-
ment, which was in the midst of a civil war, he sent
U.S. Marines to Beirut five days later. On April 18,
1983, pro-Iranian terrorists bombed the U.S. em-
bassy there, killing 63, and on October 23, 1983, 241
U.S. military personnel died in the car bombing of
their barracks. Reagan responded by pulling troops
out and ordered air strikes on Syrian installations in
Lebanon in December. On October 25, 1983, Rea-
gan sent U.S. troops into the tiny Caribbean island of
Grenada in the wake of a leftist coup.
Reagan announced in January, 1984, that he
would run for reelection, and much of the year was
taken up with popular initiatives. He visited Beijing
in April, where he signed an accord on nuclear arms
development with the Chinese. He signed bills effec-
tively establishing a federal minimum age for al-
cohol consumption and for reducing the federal
deficit. From August to November, Reagan was pre-
occupied with campaigning against Democrat Wal-
ter Mondale, whom he debated twice and defeated
handily (60-40 percent in the popular vote; 525-13 in
the electoral college).
Reagan’s Second Term In March, Soviet leader
Chernenko died and Mikhail Gorbachev assumed
power. Reagan warmed slowly, continuing to warn
about missile threats and advocate negotiations. On
October 24, 1985, Reagan addressed the United Na-
tions on its fortieth anniversary about his hopes for a
“fresh start” with the Soviet Union and a week later
announced an initiative for further nuclear arms
reductions. This catchphrase was carried through
with Reagan’s watershed summit with Gorbachev in
Geneva, Switzerland, in mid-November. On Janu-
ary 1, 1986, Reagan spoke to the Soviet people, and
Gorbachev to the Americans, in the first of four an-
nual radio speeches. After addressing the United
Nations on progress in arms reductions in Septem-
ber, Reagan met with Gorbachev in Reykjavik, Ice-
land, in mid-October. There Gorbachev agreed in
principle with Reagan’s proposal to reduce the stock-
piles of nuclear weapons, even to eliminate them.
Visiting Europe again in June, 1987, for the G7
summit, Reagan stopped in Berlin. On June 12, he
stood before the Brandenburg Gate and challenged
the Soviet Union to release its communist grip on
Eastern Europe, famously saying, “Mr. Gorbachev,
tear down this wall!” The two leaders arranged an-
other summit and in December met in Washington,
D.C., where they signed the Intermediate-Range Nu-
clear Forces (INF) Treaty, which arranged for the
eventual elimination of an entire class of nuclear
weapons. Gorbachev even acquiesced to on-site veri-
fication and softened his opposition on the SDI,
which was blocking progress on long-range (strate-
gic) missile talks. The Senate approved the INF on
May 27, 1988, and on June 1, Reagan and Gorbachev
ratified it at the Moscow summit. The two leaders
also began discussions on reducing conventional
weapons. While in Moscow, Reagan gave an unprec-
edented speech defending political freedom at Mos-
cow University and urged religious freedom while
visiting Danilov Monastery. Reagan met one last
time as president with Gorbachev on December 7,
1988, in New York City.
Preoccupied with and politically damaged by the
Iran-Contra affair, and having lost control of the
Senate, Reagan’s administration made little head-
way in addressing his domestic concerns. His con-
frontational attitude toward the federal budgeting
process made Reagan many enemies in Congress,
but a strong economy kept the issues of taxes and
spending out of the limelight, especially after pas-
sage of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which lowered
taxes for Americans in the highest tax bracket. Rea-
gan supported George H. W. Bush for the Republi-
can nomination in 1988 and retired to California to
write his memoirs after he handed power over to
Bush in January, 1989.Impact Reagan’s two terms in office created a sea
change in U.S. foreign policy, reinvigorated the U.S.
military, and proved a dominant factor in ending the
Cold War. His administration introduced conflict and
confrontation in the federal budgeting process, ener-
gized the political right in America, and placed the
conservative agenda of smaller government, a leaner
welfare system, and fiscal responsibility at the center
of the national debate. ERTA, however, was his only
unalloyed fiscal victory. His bungling of the Iran-
Contra episode undermined his reputation, and his
attempts to reduce the size of government and gov-
ernment spending foundered. Nevertheless, Reagan
remained well liked for his humor, appealing person-
ality, and ability to engage world leaders from British
prime minister Margaret Thatcher to Soviet premier804 Reagan, Ronald The Eighties in America