Compare and contrast the foreign policy approaches of Gerald Ford and

Compare and contrast the foreign policy approaches of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter. How did both presidents approach the Cold War, the crisis in the Middle East, and other areas of concern?

Answer:

ANSWER
An ideal answer will:
1. Discuss how Ford and Carter both approached the Soviet Union. Both presidents tried to follow the policy of détente. Ford signed the Helsinki Accords and Carter negotiated a SALT II agreement. However, with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Carter boycotted the Moscow Olympics and ended grain exports to the Soviet Union, as the invasion had violated the U.S. policy of containment.
2. Discuss how Ford saw India acquire a nuclear weapon, supported the coup in Argentina, while the Middle East remained tense. Ford also considered a proposal to bomb North Vietnam but rejected it, as the pro-American government in Laos fell to communism, as did the pro-American government in Cambodia and South Vietnam officially fell to communism after North Vietnam successfully invaded South Vietnam and ended the Vietnam conflict in 1975. Thus, Ford saw many setbacks in his Cold War quest to prevent Southeast Asia from falling to communism.
3. Discuss how Carter wanted to reverse course from his Republican predecessors by ending development of the B-1 bomber and the neutron bomb while continuing the Republican efforts in China, which had been started by Nixon. Carter also helped usher in an agreement that would eventually turn over control of the Panama Canal to the Republic of Panama.
4. Discuss that while Ford struggled with the Middle East, Carter found some success with the Camp David Accords, which created a peace agreement between Israel and Egypt. Egypt would formally recognize Israel as a nation and Israel agreed to return the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. However, Carter faced a setback when the United States allowed the deposed shah of Iran to receive medical treatment in the United States. Iranian revolutionaries stormed the American embassy and held 66 Americans hostage. Carter’s attempts to free the hostages failed and the crisis damaged his presidency. The hostages were not released until after Reagan had been sworn in as president.
5. Write a concise and effective conclusion that compares and contrasts the foreign policy of Ford and Carter.