1. Reagan supplied weapons to our enemies
Reagan armed Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war despite the fact that it was widely known Iraq was using chemical weapons in violation of International law.
2. Reagan ignored the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein,
When the whole world condemned Saddam Hussein for using chemical weapons to kill 5000 of his own citizens in Iraq, the Reagan administration continued to provide weapons and tactical information to Iraq which Iraq used to target their enemies with chemical weapons. Reagan vetoed a UN resolution condemning Iraq.
3. Reagan illegally supplied arms to both sides in the Iran-Iraq War.
Reagan armed Iran during the Iran-Iraq war in direct violation of a U.S. law that he had signed.
6. Reagan was weak in the war on terrorism.
After the bombing of Beirut, Reagan promised to track down and punish the terrorists who committed that horrible act. He never followed up on that promise.
8. Reagan supported the violent overthrow of a democratically elected government.
President Reagan illegally supported the Nicaraguan Contras, who he called “Freedom Fighters” even though they killed civilians and wanted to restore the dictatorship that previously existed in Nicaragua.
10. Reagan failed to defend us from Saddam Hussein.
When an Iraqi fighter jet fired a missile into a U.S. Navy ship in 1987, killing 37 men, Reagan did nothing in response to the attack. Iraq is still the only country to attack a U.S. warship without retaliation.
11. Reagan helped create Al Qaeda
The Reagan administration armed and supported the Mujahedeen rebels in Afghanistan, who later became the terrorist organization, Al Qaeda.
13. Reagan supported the most brutal dictators in the world as long as he didn’t consider them “Communists”.
He supported Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. Later, when Noriega became too close with Fidel Castro, we suddenly considered him an enemy and removed him from power.
Reagan supported Saddam Hussein when he committed the most brutal atrocities on Earth, killing thousands of his own people. Years later, when Saddam threatened our oil supply, we used these same atrocities as reasons to go to war with him.
Reagan supported Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos even after Marcos killed his political rival and rigged his own reelection.
Reagan supported the brutal regime in El Salvador when it was widely known that they were killing civilians, including Americans. After 4 American nuns were murdered by Salvadorian soldiers, Reagan’s Secretary of State defended the Salvadorians suggesting that the nuns might have been shot while trying to run a military roadblock, but this wouldn’t explain why they were also raped before they were killed.
15. Reagan frequently repeated bald-faced lies even after they were publicly revealed to be untrue.
He told stories about having been a U.S. Army photographer assigned to film Nazi death camps. Reagan never visited or filmed any such camps.
He often told a story about a “Chicago Welfare Queen” who had 80 aliases and gotten $150,000 in welfare. She never existed but they did find one woman who had 2 aliases and received $8,000. Reagan continued to tell the false version of the story.
He claimed that trees create more pollution than automobiles, an absurdly untrue statement that he literally pulled out of thin air.
16. Reagan set new records for Budget deficits.
After criticizing President Carter for having a $50 billion deficit, Reagan’s own deficits exceeded $200 billion. He tripled the national debt in only 8 years. Although Republicans blamed Congress for the budget deficits, all 8 of the budgets passed by Congress had less spending and smaller deficits than the budgets proposed by Reagan.
20. Reagan robbed the Social Security trust fund to pay for his budget shortfalls.
After Reagan cut taxes for the rich, the tax revenue to fund the government was so small that the budget deficit grew to 4 times what it was under Jimmy Carter. So Reagan “borrowed” hundreds of billions of dollars from the Social Security trust fund to pay the country’s bills. That money has never been paid back.
21. Reagan largely ignored the AIDS epidemic while tens of thousands of people were dying of the disease.
Many conservatives in the 1980s believed that AIDS was God’s punishment for being gay. Ronald Reagan did not publicly talk about AIDS until the 6th year of his presidency. In 1986, when AIDS fatalities were doubling every year, Reagan proposed cuts in funding for AIDS research.
__________________________________________________________
From other perspectives…..
The Ghost of Reagan (archival piece that shows eight years of corruption)
The Pardu's Scroll 