The SDI, never a realistic idea, brought about an end to the arms race. Discuss.

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HISTORY ASSIGNMENT The SDI, never a realistic idea, brought about an end to the arms race. Discuss. The arms race in the twentieth century was fuelled only by the rivalry between the two superpowers during the Cold War - it actually drew to a close when the USSR broke up. The SDI, launched by Reagan, undoubtedly must have created a certain amount of tension for the Soviets but it certainly was not the predominant factor that brought about the demise of the Soviet Union and the subsequent end of the arms race. Gorbachev, when he became the Soviet President, was serious about stemming the rot that had developed in his country's economy. He thus, did not want to increase defence expenditure, and tried to begin a fresh process of arms control and reduction; he wanted to make the world completely nuclear free in fifteen years. However, Reagan, who is widely seen as a right-wing President was suspicious of his motives in the beginning, even after the Soviets sent out a positive signal by unilaterally banning nuclear testing for a year. Reagan simply wanted to 'root out the evil
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Soviet empire'. As he said "But it is inconceivable to me that we can go on thinking down the future, not only for ourselves and our lifetime but for other generations, that the great nations of the world will sit here, like people facing themselves across a table, each with a cocked gun, and no one knowing whether someone might tighten their finger on the trigger." He was bent upon developing the Star Wars project and his SDI programme, which certainly was not a realistic idea (as it was not technologically and financially feasible) only served to unnerve the Soviets; ...

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