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Olympic Boycott by USA
The USA and many other countries boycotted the summer Olympics held in Moscow to protest Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. (This event shows the ways in which the USA and Soviet fought each other, without a physical war and explains how other countries supported the USA.) -
Declaration of Martial Law
Martial law was declared to crush the Solidarity movement in Poland. (General Wojciech Jaruzelski, then Poland's leader, claims that he declared martial law for the sole purpose of avoiding a Soviet military intervention.) -
The Iranian Hostage Crisis Ended
This crisis was a diplomatic standoff between Iran and the United States of America. The United States hostages were held in Iran for 444 days. (What started as a coup in 1953 to protect Iran from communism ended up as a dangerous chapter in American Cold War history, 30 years later.) -
Ronald Reagan was shot.
Someone tried to assassinate President Reagan as he was leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. During this three others were shot in addition to Reagan. (If President Reagan were successfully killed, he wouldn't be able to play the major role he did during the Cold War.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYI79ziwh0w -
US and UK Alliance
The United States announces intelligence sharing and military supplies with United Kingdom. (The US and UK Alliance allowed for greater tension between the US and Soviet Union.) -
START
During a summit in Geneva, Reagan proposed Strategic Arms Reduction Talks. (The treaty called for the limitation of strategic offensive arms between the US and Soviet Union.) -
SDI
President Reagan addresses the nation on national security and announces the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), a satellite based defense system that would destroy incoming missiles and warheads in space. During this President Reagan gave a speech known as the ‘Star Wars’ speech. (With the tension of the Cold War looming overhead, the Strategic Defense Initiative was the United States’ response to possible nuclear attacks from afar.) -
Senate Stops Clinch River Breeder Reactor Funding
The Clinch River Breeder Reactor was a sodium-cooled fast-neutron nuclear reactor, the project was opposed by President Carter. The senate eventually decided to stop their funding towards the project, causing it to never get finished. (This was a site that once shined as the future of nuclear energy in the United States.) -
Reagan’s Orders
President Reagan urges for better United States/Soviet Union relations. (Reagan declared that the U.S. goal is peace but said the nation must press forward in building a military deterrent.) -
Nuclear Weapons in Space
The Soviet offers to talk with United States over nuclear weapons in space. (The Soviet Union and United States feared the expansion of nuclear weapons into outer space; therefore, they decided to ban other countries from using the moon or other planets as military outposts.)
