Changes

===Ronald Reagan & George H.W. Bush 1981-93===

===Ronald Reagan & George H.W. Bush 1981-93===

* [[Reagan Doctrine]]  

* [[Reagan Doctrine]]  

* [[Rollback]]  

* [[Rollback]]  

* [[Ronald Reagan]]  

* [[Ronald Reagan]]  

Reagan defeated Carter in 1980 by stressing the failures of both foreign and domestic policy, warning America had become weak at home and abroad. Rejecting détente he called for rollback of the decrepit Soviet Empire, whose only strength was in missile power but which was falling apart in terms of economics, politics and society.  

Reagan defeated Carter in 1980 by stressing the failures of both foreign and domestic policy, warning America had become weak at home and abroad. Rejecting détente he called for rollback of the decrepit Soviet Empire, whose only strength was in missile power but which was falling apart in terms of economics, politics and society.  

Thatcher wanted to cooperate with Gorbachev and convinced Reagan that it was possible. That assessment shifted Western political rhetoric from east–west confrontation to conciliation and support for internal democratic reform in the Soviet Union. Reagan adopted Thatcher's view, and when Gorbachev started to dismantle the Soviet Empire Reagan largely abandoning his own harsh depiction of the Soviet Union as the "focus of evil in the modern world." The collapse of the Soviet Union, however, lessened U.S. military need for a trusty friend in Europe. Thus, American relations with Britain turned more to trade and economic issues.

Thatcher wanted to cooperate with Gorbachev and convinced Reagan that it was possible. That assessment shifted Western political rhetoric from east–west confrontation to conciliation and support for internal democratic reform in the Soviet Union. Reagan adopted Thatcher's view, and when Gorbachev started to dismantle the Soviet Empire Reagan largely abandoning his own harsh depiction of the Soviet Union as the "focus of evil in the modern world." The collapse of the Soviet Union, however, lessened U.S. military need for a trusty friend in Europe. Thus, American relations with Britain turned more to trade and economic issues.

===Clinton 1993-2001===

===Clinton 1993-2001===

====1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances====

====1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances====

At the time of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, including an estimated 1,800 strategic warheads, 176 long-range ballistic missiles, and 42 strategic bombers.  

At the time of Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine held the third largest nuclear arsenal in the world, including an estimated 1,800 strategic warheads, 176 long-range ballistic missiles, and 42 strategic bombers.  

Once Clinton won re-election however, North Korea had violated most of the terms of the non-proliferation agreements and withdrew from the rest. By 2000 the money the Clonton administration paid to North Korea amounted to over $61 million. After the Clinton's left office in 2001, and [[Bush administration]] no longer paying the blackmail money in the form of food aid and humanitarian assistanc, North Korea tested it's [[nuclear bomb]] it had built with aid paid by the Clinton administration.

Once Clinton won re-election however, North Korea had violated most of the terms of the non-proliferation agreements and withdrew from the rest. By 2000 the money the Clonton administration paid to North Korea amounted to over $61 million. After the Clinton's left office in 2001, and [[Bush administration]] no longer paying the blackmail money in the form of food aid and humanitarian assistanc, North Korea tested it's [[nuclear bomb]] it had built with aid paid by the Clinton administration.

===Bush: 2001-2008===

===George W. Bush: 2001-2008===

* [[9-11 Attack]]  

* [[9-11 Attack]]  

* [[Iraq War]], 2003+

* [[Iraq War]]

Peace appeared to be at hand—even “an end to history.” So it seemed.  However fundamentalist Moslem groups, enraged at American support for Israel and humiliated by the encroachment of western, especially American values and culture, fought back with terrorism, dealing sudden death and injury to unsuspecting civilians.  A series of airplane hijackings and hostage taking marked the late 1970s.  In 1979 a militant fundamentalist movement in Iran toppled America’ ally, the Shah, and seized American diplomats.  For over a year America was frustrated and humiliated.  When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the small oil-rich ally of the United States in 1990, President George H. W. Bush mobilized the UN to demand withdrawal. Saddam refused so American-led coalition forces liberated Kuwait.  Saddam stayed in power but had to abide supposedly strict UN controls.  When he threw out UN inspectors in 1998 it was only a matter of time before the unresolved crisis exploded.  Quite separate from Saddam, an extreme group of fundamentalists calling itself Al Qaeda meanwhile organized attacks on American interests in the Middle East.  On September 11, 2001, they launched a stunning attack on New York City and the national capital.  America, more united than any time since 1945, declared war on Al Qaeda. A quick invasion of Al Qaeda sanctuaries in Afghanistan was successful.  Pakistan, a major nuclear power that had been supportive of the terrorists switched and became a key ally of the United States.  President George W. Bush leveraged his public support to eliminate the long-term threat posed by Iraq, with an invasion in spring 2003. He moved in close cooperation with Britain and other allies, but without the endorsement of the United Nations.  The warfare was short and decisive, but the occupation was met with violence and the goal of creating a democratic nation in Iraq proved much more difficult than expected.  Public opinion worldwide turned hostile to America—the superpower-as-bully syndrome brought out the old clichés about the “Ugly American” that had been in circulation for decades, emboldening anti-American forces and causing Americans, in the 2004 presidential campaign, to take a hard look at the nation's role in the world.

Peace appeared to be at hand—even “an end to history.” So it seemed.  However fundamentalist Moslem groups, enraged at American support for Israel and humiliated by the encroachment of western, especially American values and culture, fought back with terrorism, dealing sudden death and injury to unsuspecting civilians.  A series of airplane hijackings and hostage taking marked the late 1970s.  In 1979 a militant fundamentalist movement in Iran toppled America’ ally, the Shah, and seized American diplomats.  For over a year America was frustrated and humiliated.  When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the small oil-rich ally of the United States in 1990, President George H. W. Bush mobilized the UN to demand withdrawal. Saddam refused so American-led coalition forces liberated Kuwait.  Saddam stayed in power but had to abide supposedly strict UN controls.  When he threw out UN inspectors in 1998 it was only a matter of time before the unresolved crisis exploded.  Quite separate from Saddam, an extreme group of fundamentalists calling itself Al Qaeda meanwhile organized attacks on American interests in the Middle East.  On September 11, 2001, they launched a stunning attack on New York City and the national capital.  America, more united than any time since 1945, declared war on Al Qaeda. A quick invasion of Al Qaeda sanctuaries in Afghanistan was successful.  Pakistan, a major nuclear power that had been supportive of the terrorists switched and became a key ally of the United States.  President George W. Bush leveraged his public support to eliminate the long-term threat posed by Iraq, with an invasion in spring 2003. He moved in close cooperation with Britain and other allies, but without the endorsement of the United Nations.  The warfare was short and decisive, but the occupation was met with violence and the goal of creating a democratic nation in Iraq proved much more difficult than expected.  Public opinion worldwide turned hostile to America—the superpower-as-bully syndrome brought out the old clichés about the “Ugly American” that had been in circulation for decades, emboldening anti-American forces and causing Americans, in the 2004 presidential campaign, to take a hard look at the nation's role in the world.