Diplomats, Officials Remember Reagan As Man Who Helped End Soviet
Empire
Michael Coleman
THE WASHINGTON DIPLOMAT
07/02/2004
The formal tributes are finished and President Ronald Reagan
now rests in a California cemetery, but Washington’s diplomatic
community continued to discuss the 40th American president’s
legacy nearly a month after his death.
Ambassadors and other embassy officials representing
countries around the world remembered Reagan as a leader of
firm resolve with a steadfast commitment to defeating communism.
“We will never forget the statesmanship
of Ronald Reagan and his efforts to bring the Soviet Empire
to an end,” said Lithuanian Ambassador Vygaudas Usackas
in an interview with The Washington Diplomat. “He helped
open great opportunities for freedom and independence in Lithuania.”
In 1989—shortly after Reagan left the White
House—most Soviet troops were withdrawn from Lithuania,
as well as Latvia and Estonia. Lithuania voted for its independence
in 1990. Usackas said that Reagan, in words and deeds, helped
Lithuania position itself for a transfer from communism to democracy.
The late president also embraced Lithuanian Americans,
including Valdas Adamkus, who served as a top Environmental
Protection Agency official in the Reagan administration.
Not surprisingly, a spokesman for the Embassy
of Afghanistan also expressed fond feelings for the Republican
president’s efforts to defeat communism.
Reagan’s support for mujahedin fighters
in Afghanistan ultimately led to the Soviet Union’s decision
to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989. The demoralizing military
defeat contributed to the communist superpower’s own collapse.
After initially providing little financial aid
to the Afghan resistance, Reagan later supplied Stinger anti-aircraft
missiles and boosted U.S. support for the nation from $35 million
in 1982 to $600 million in 1987.
“He’s remembered for his strong support
of the Afghan resistance and fighting Soviets in Afghanistan,”
said Ashraf Haidari, spokesman for the Afghan Embassy. “Of
course, it was in the interest of U.S. security, but he basically
helped Afghans liberate themselves. Now we continue our relationship
with the United States based on the interest of fighting international
terrorism.”
Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, in an address
to Congress on June 15, described Reagan as “our great
fellow freedom fighter.”
Officials at the Russian Embassy declined to comment
on Reagan’s legacy, instead pointing to remarks made in
a radio address by former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev,
who engaged in intensive negotiations with Reagan to reduce
both countries’ nuclear arsenals at the height of the
Cold War.
“I deem Ronald Reagan a great president,
with whom the Soviet leadership was able to launch a very difficult
but important dialogue,” Gorbachev said. “Reagan
was a statesman who, despite all disagreements that existed
between our countries at the time, displayed foresight and determination
to meet our proposals halfway and change our relations for the
better.”
During his first term, Reagan increased military
spending dramatically, escalating a U.S.-Soviet arms race that
resulted in huge U.S. budget deficits and ultimately helped
to fuel the Soviet empire’s demise.
The “Reagan Doctrine” was used to
characterize the Reagan administration’s policy of supporting
anti-communist insurgents around the globe. In his 1985 State
of the Union address, the Republican president asked Congress
and the American people to stand up to the Soviet Union, which
he had previously dubbed the “Evil Empire.”
“We must stand by all our democratic allies,”
Reagan said in the speech. “And we must not break faith
with those who are risking their lives—on every continent,
from Afghanistan to Nicaragua—to defy Soviet-supported
aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth.”
The Reagan administration focused much of its
energy on supporting proxy armies to diminish Soviet influence.
In Nicaragua, for example, the United States sponsored the Contra
movement in an effort to force the leftist Sandinista government
from power.
Officials with the Nicaraguan Embassy could not
be reached for comment, but it is clear that the opinions of
Reagan there—and in other Central American countries—are
not uniformly rosy. Some critics believe Reagan’s policies
were radical and resulted in widespread, unnecessary bloodshed.
In an interview with Reuters News service a few
days after Reagan’s death, Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista
president who led Nicaragua during the war against the Contra
rebels, said: “We don’t celebrate any death, but
we must be honest. We will not start saying now that President
Reagan respected international law, that he treated Nicaragua
well. We’re not going to lie.”
Miguel D’Escoto, the former Sandinista foreign
minister, told Reuters: “There is not the least doubt
that President Reagan did Nicaragua much harm, caused many deaths.”
However, many current leaders in Central America
argue that Reagan’s zealous pursuit of the eradication
of communism paved the way for democracy.
Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos told Reuters
that Reagan was “a great defender of Nicaragua’s
return to democracy, and all Nicaraguans who believe in democracy
recognize that legacy.”
At the Embassy of Poland, officials remembered
a forceful leader who backed Lech Walesa’s Solidarity
trade union movement. The democratic movement was forced underground
after Poland declared martial law to squelch it shortly after
Reagan was elected into office.
Reagan became a staunch advocate of Solidarity
and imposed sanctions on Poland. In addition to his support
of Solidarity, Reagan is remembered fondly by many in Poland
because of his unrelenting resistance to the spread of communism
in Central and Eastern Europe.
“His presidency had an enormous impact in
the world we used to live in,” said Artur Michalski, first
secretary of the Polish Embassy. “Poles simply liked him
very much. He was a symbol of moral clarity from the United
States. He will remain in our national memory as a very important
American president who helped Poland a lot.”
Michael Coleman is a freelance writer in
Washington, D.C.
