U.S. Foreign Policy1975 - 1990

President Nixon 1969 - 1974

President Nixon

After the Vietnam War the U.S. became more cautious about military interventions

Nixon and Ford pursued a policy of Détente, a relaxation of tensions, with the Soviet Union and China

Nixon ended U.S. naval patrols of the Taiwan Strait and lifted trade restrictions on China

Nixon visited China in 1972

Nixon in China

Nixon in China

Sino-Soviet Split

The U.S.S.R. and China had a falling-out

The Shanghai communique in 1972 stated that the U.S. and China opposed the hegemony of any nation in Asia

In January 1979, the U.S. and China exchanged diplomatic recognition

China begins to transition from command economy to free market economy under

SALT

Strategic Arms Limitation Talks tried to limit the number of nuclear weapons possessed by the Soviet Union and the United States

Objectives of SALT

SALT Provisions

Linkage

Soviet Economy

Expanded rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s

Economic growth rate fell to 2% by early 1970s

Decline in economic sectors such as computers, microelectronics, and telecommunications

Soviet workplace plagued by high absenteeism, drunkenness, corruption, and shoddy production

Nixon Issues

Détente was confusing to people As relations with the Soviet Union and

China normalized relations with NATO allies declined

The developing world remained poor and divided

Nixon supported a CIA coup against Salvador Allende, the elected leader of Chile and a Marxist, and replaced him with Augusto Pinochet, a brutal dictator

President Carter 1976 - 1980

Carter paid more attention to global “interdependence” and the need for closer cooperation between wealthier more industrialized countries and the poorer countries of the south

Identified human rights as an appropriate basis for U.S. policy

Rejected power politics and concentrated on domestic renewal

Power Politics

State of international relations in which states protect their own interests by threatening each other with military, economic, or political aggression

Nuclear development, pre-emptive strikesBait and bleed, bloodlettingEconomic sanctionsBuck passingShock and awe

President Carter

President Carter

Camp David Accords

An agreement signed in 1978, between Egypt and Israel to pursue a framework for peace, which led to the Egypt Israel peace treaty in 1979

Mutual recognitionRemoval of IDF and Jewish settlers from

Sinai PeninsulaEconomic aid package to Egypt and

Israel

Iran Hostage Crisis

Iranian Revolution in 1979. Shah Pahlavi was deposed by followers of Ayatollah Khomeini

Islamic Republic establishedNovember 4, 1979, Islamic students occupy

the U.S. embassy in Tehran and take 66 Americans captive

13 hostages released on November 19th and 20th and 1 released on July 11th 1980

Rest of the hostages released on January 20th 1981

President Carter

President Carter

President Carter

President Reagan

Increased defense spendingChanged SALT to STARTSDI – Strategic Defense InitiativeReagan Doctrine - Rollback in

developing countriesIran Contra Scandal

Strategic Defense Initiative

World According to Reagan

Reagan Doctrine

Eliminated Marxist regime in Grenada in 1983

Formed anti-Sandinista army known as “contras” to fight Marxist government in Nicaragua

Encouraged Ferdinand Marcos, President of the Philippines to step down, and be replaced by Corazon Aquino in 1986

Helped depose Jean-Claude Duvalier, President of Haiti in 1986

Reagan Doctrine

Supported rebels against Angolan Marxist government

Supported insurgents against Soviet forces in Afghanistan from 1979 – 1989

Iran Contra Scandal

Democratic controlled Congress refused to fund contras in Nicaragua

Profits from a secret arms deal to Iran were used to fund contra activities in Nicaragua

Conduct of the contra war transferred to National Security Council Staff

Operation run by CIA director William Casey and marine lieutenant colonel Oliver North

Soviet Union Weakens

Soviet economy stagnates, cost of supporting Marxist governments such as Cuba, Vietnam, Angola, and Nicaragua bring no real benefit

Arms race, SDI, and Reagan’s hard line against communist convince Gorbachev to reform Soviet economy and society

Glasnost – Policy of openness and transparency in Soviet politics

Perestroika – Economic reforms

Berlin Wall