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In 1981, Ronald Reagan -- a strident Cold Warrior -- enters the White House on a platform of "making America strong again." Convinced the United States is lagging in the arms race, Reagan increases defense spending and proposes a "Star Wars" anti-missile system -- alarming leaders in Moscow.
 
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| Ronald Reagan's anti-Soviet crusade provoked so much suspicion inside the Kremlin that leader Yuri Andropov was convinced a U.S. nuclear attack was imminent. |
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| In 1989, Congress sharply cut funding for "Star Wars" after critics labeled it an expensive folly. But a decade later, the idea of anti-missile defense has gained new currency -- with bipartisan support.
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| Under arms agreements first framed during the Reagan-Gorbachev years, the United States and Russia are working together to dismantle their deadliest weapons. But the partnership has been bumpy.
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TIME: Reagan for the Defense
April 4, 1983
Pravda: Avert the threat of nuclear war in space!
April 29, 1983
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Film director George Lucas sued to prohibit the general use of the term "Star Wars" to describe the Strategic Defense Initiative. He lost.
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