Star-Wars

      Mikhail Gorbachev was the first and last president of the Soviet Union from 1988 until 1991.  Gorbachev was in power during Ronald Reagan’s time as President of the United States.  The two conversed several times about reducing the amount of nuclear weapons under each countries arsenal.  At a time when the Cold War was still being ‘fought’ this was possibly the best Soviet-American relationship among leaders. The two leaders met in Iceland and almost ended the Cold War, almost.

      Gorbachev and Reagan met in Reykjavik, Iceland in October of 1986.  The two dies met for two days and made substantial progress in negotiations.  They got to a point where both sides would reduce the number of ballistics missiles.Gorbachev was risking a lot but making negotiations but had to for the future growth of his country.  The Soviet Union could not compete in an arms race as the nations economy was severely struggling.  The Soviets proposed to eliminate 50% off all of their strategic arms which included ICBMs (intercontinental ballistic missiles).  The sticking point was something out of Reagan’s fantasies.  The “Strategic Defense Initiative” or SDI was one of the reasons why the two sides could not come to an agreement.  This “Star Wars” (a nickname for the project) type space station was something Reagan thought would be able to keep the United States safe from all further attacks.  It was something Gorbachev saw as a potential weapon and felt as if space should not be weaponized.  The SDI program allowed the Cold War to continue for years longer[1].

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[1] Oliver Stone, and Peter Kuznick, The Untold History of the United States, (New York: Gallery Books, 2012), chapt. 12.