The Second Cold War 1979-1985

The Second Cold War 1979-1985

1. March 1983 ‘Evil Empire’ speech

   • Reagan’s point was that the Cold Was a moral war and that America had a moral duty to invest in new nuclear weapons in order to defend liberty from the ‘evil’ Soviet Union.

2. Soviet Response

   • Soviet leaders knew that they could not compete with Reagan’s ‘Star Wars’ plan. Reagan’s proposals meant that the USSR could no longer compete in the arms race.
   • The USSR was behind America in terms of its computer technology. Soviet leaders were concerned they might be used to undermine the power of the Communist Party. Computers could be used for propaganda, or computers linked to phones could be used to leak secrets to governments in the West.