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There was no increase in spending by the Soviet Union in response to Reagan's pork barrel Star Wars fancy. Indeed, the major increase in Soviet spending, pre-SDI, was in response to Jimmy Carter's military build-up and nuclear submarine tactics. As it turned out, the fall of the Soviet Union was precipitated by a labor union (Solidarity) and a military quagmire (Afghanistan), both of which owe more to Carter than Reagan. Reagan had a chance to eliminate nuclear weapons from both superpowers entirely when he met Gorbachev in Reykjavik, but at the last minute ran scared, keeping the Soviet military in power for several more years than it needed to be. At home, Red-Ink Ronnie flip-flopped on his campaign pledge to balance the budget, which didn't hurt the Soviet Union and only got the US in trouble, exacerbated by the massive deficits of Bush and Bush. Reagan could read a script just dandy, but he was a lousy president.
