Reagan Doctrine

The Reagan Doctrine was in a sense a response to the Brezhnev Doctrine of the Soviet Union. Issued in the President Ronald Reagan's February 1985 State of the Union Address, it says:

We must not break faith with those who are risking their lives...on every continent, from Afghanistan to Nicaragua ... to defy Soviet aggression and secure rights which have been ours from birth. Support for freedom fighters is self-defense

It thus aimed to justify American support of the Contras in Nicaragua and the Mujahadeen in Afghanistan, among other groups.