And Reagan presided over two years of increase in tensions and hostility vs. the Soviet Union worse than any others since Kennedy, to the point where there&#x27;s indications that the Soviet Union were concerned that Able Archer 83 was preparation for a real attack and considered a first strike.<p>It was first faced with the reality of the level of Soviet fear of an US attack that appears to have set him on a new course.<p>In &#x27;81, worrying about Reagans antagonistic foreign policy was quite rational.