Reagan Doctrine
President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine in 1823 to establish a new boundary for American foreign policy. Theodore Roosevelt followed with his own corollary in 1904 that expanded U.S. intervention rights in the Western Hemisphere. Harry Truman launched the Truman Doctrine in 1947 to support Greece and Turkey against Soviet pressure. Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter each added their own named doctrines during the Cold War era. These policies defined how American presidents responded to global challenges from the nineteenth century through the early 1980s. The Reagan administration entered this tradition seeking to create a strategy that would actively roll back Soviet influence rather than merely contain it.
Ronald Reagan told future National Security Advisor Richard V. Allen in January 1977 that he wanted America to win the Cold War while the Soviets lost. This goal marked a sharp departure from decades of containment policy designed by George F. Kennan and John Foster Dulles. The United States had previously avoided direct confrontation to prevent nuclear escalation or wider conflict. The Reagan Doctrine set those fears aside by supporting rebel movements inside Soviet-allied nations instead. Critics later argued this approach facilitated weapon transfers that created long-term hostility toward the United States. No evidence exists linking U.S. aid directly to Osama bin Laden or his affiliates despite these claims.
The Carter administration began providing limited covert military assistance to Afghan mujahideen fighters after the Soviet invasion in 1979. Democratic congressman Charlie Wilson leveraged his position on House Appropriations committees to secure CIA funding for the war effort. He partnered with CIA officer Gust Avrakotos to expand support through Pakistani intelligence channels under President Zia-ul-Haq. Michael G. Vickers joined the team to improve guerrilla tactics, weapons, logistics, and training for the rebels. In Angola, Jonas Savimbi led UNITA forces against the government until he died in a firefight in Moxico Province in 2002. Congress repealed the Clark Amendment to allow overt military aid to flow to UNITA after years of prohibition.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1984 that the United States violated international law by actively supporting Contras rebels in Nicaragua. The court ordered reparations but the U.S. refused to participate in proceedings or enforce the judgment using its Security Council veto power. A leaked CIA manual from 1984 recommended selective violence for propagandistic effects during guerrilla warfare training. Professor Frederick H. Gareau described these actions as wholesale terrorism targeting bridges, electric generators, and rural health clinics. Greg Grandin documented evidence of Contras mutilating civilians including gouging eyes and cutting off breasts during raids in Nicaragua. More than one hundred people were wounded when rockets attacked Puerto Sandino in September 1983 according to Colombia's former ambassador to Cuba.
The Heritage Foundation translated theory into concrete policy by targeting nine nations for regime change including Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, Libya, Nicaragua, and Vietnam. Michael Johns served as the foundation's principal Reagan Doctrine advocate throughout the 1980s visiting resistance movements across multiple continents. He urged the administration to initiate or expand military support to groups fighting Soviet-backed governments. The Cato Institute opposed the doctrine arguing it expanded overextended commitments without achieving significant prospective gains. Despite opposition, the libertarian think tank conceded that the policy fired conservative enthusiasm more than any foreign issue had done in decades. Mikhail Gorbachev later complained that Heritage Foundation support contributed to Reagan's unwillingness to abandon the strategy during summits.
Margaret Thatcher credited the Reagan Doctrine with aiding the end of the Cold War during a December 1997 speech at the Heritage Foundation. She stated the West would no longer accept areas destined to forego liberty simply because Soviets claimed them within their sphere. Pressure from Contras led the Sandinistas to end their State of Emergency before losing the 1990 elections in Nicaragua. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev labeled the war against U.S.-supported mujahideen a bleeding wound and ended the occupation of Afghanistan in 1989. An agreement in Angola met Savimbi's demand for removal of Soviet and Cuban troops by 1989 as part of a negotiated settlement. George H. W. Bush continued the doctrine until the Cold War faded from U.S. policy after winning the presidency in November 1988.
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Common questions
What was the Reagan Doctrine and when did it begin?
The Reagan Doctrine was a U.S. strategy to actively roll back Soviet influence rather than merely contain it, entering into effect during the Reagan administration in the early 1980s.
Who were the key figures involved in implementing the Reagan Doctrine?
Ronald Reagan initiated the policy while Richard V. Allen served as National Security Advisor, and Michael G. Vickers improved guerrilla tactics for rebel groups.
Which nations received support under the Reagan Doctrine according to The Heritage Foundation?
The Heritage Foundation targeted nine nations including Afghanistan, Angola, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Iran, Laos, Libya, Nicaragua, and Vietnam for regime change efforts.
When did the International Court of Justice rule against U.S. actions in Nicaragua?
The International Court of Justice ruled in 1984 that the United States violated international law by actively supporting Contras rebels in Nicaragua.
How did the Reagan Doctrine contribute to ending the Cold War?
Margaret Thatcher credited the Reagan Doctrine with aiding the end of the Cold War during a December 1997 speech at the Heritage Foundation.
All sources
33 references cited across the entry
- 2bookCharlie Wilson's war: the extraordinary story of the largest covert operation in historyGeorge Crile — Atlantic Monthly Press — 2003
- 3webAnatomy of a Victory: CIA's Covert Afghan War2 October 2001
- 4bookRollback!: Right-wing Power in U.S. Foreign PolicySouth End Press — 1 July 1999
- 5webThink tank fosters bloodshed, terrorism2008-08-22
- 6bookThe Myth of Triumphalism: Rethinking President Reagan's Cold War LegacyBeth A. Fischer — The University Press of Kentucky — 2020
- 7bookMaking the Unipolar Moment: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Rise of the Post-Cold War OrderHal Brands — Cornell University Press — 2016
- 10journalCambodia: Misperceptions and PeaceNate Thayer — 1991
- 14journalReagan Turns One Hundred: Foreign Policy LessonsFelix Chang — February 11, 2011
- 15webJeff Jacoby
- 19magazineThe Reagan DoctrineCharles Krauthammer — 1 April 1985
- 21webThe Man Who Won the Cold WarRichard V. Allen
- 23bookThe Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's LeaderPeter Bergen — Simon and Schuster — 2006
- 24bookKilling Hope: U.S. Military and CIA Interventions since World War IIWilliam Blum — Zed Books — 2003
- 27journalLegal Issues in The Nicaragua OpinionMorrison, Fred L. — January 1987
- 28bookMasters of War: Latin America and United States Aggression from the Cuban Revolution Through the Clinton YearsClara Nieto — Seven Stories Press — 2003
- 29bookState Terrorism and the United StatesFrederick H. Gareau — Zed Books — 2004