in foreign affairs, bipartisanship was not in evidence. most democrats doggedly opposed reagan's efforts to support the contra guerrillas against the sandinista government of nicaragua and to support the dictatorial governments of guatemala, honduras and el salvador against communist guerrilla movements. he took a hard line against the soviet union, alarming democrats who wanted a nuclear freeze, but he succeeded in increasing the military budget and launching the strategic defense initiative (sdi)—labeled "star wars" by its opponents—that the soviets could not match.