Ron & Dick: A Collaborative TL

February 8th, 1978: Reagan sends in a force of 200 troops in order to quell the unrest in Panama.

February 10th, 1978: A clash between U.S. troops and Panama protesters leaves 23 troops wounded, though none were killed, but 60 Panamanian deaths and 70 more injured.

Silliest war ever.
 
January 12th 1978: Montana Senator Lee Metcalf (D) passes away of natural causes. Governor Bob Woodahl appoints commodity trader Larry Williams (R) to the senate, narrowing the Democratic majority
 
Silliest war ever.

I wouldn't expect Reagan to send in American military force beyond the Canal Zone without consulting Torrijos first. But there would be consequences if the President insisted that the Canal Zone was never going to be returned to Panama. Perhaps not as quickly as I speculated-but rioting and angry rhetoric from Torrijos if Reagan continued to refuse to negotiate seems plausible to me.

February 15th 1978:
Torrijos sends a confidential message to the Reagan administration requesting that American military forces vacate internationally recognized Panamanian territory.

In response to Reagan's comments Gromyko states that the USSR remains committed to the Vladivostok framework for a future Arms Limitation agreement with the United States. Any such agreement with the U.S. is dependent upon Reagan reversing his dismissal of that framework.

"The USSR has not changed positions on the issue of Arms Limitation. Unfortunately the Americans have. Sadly, so long as the United States continues to insist on wholly unacceptable terms any attempt to negotiate an agreement will prove fruitless. It is the sincere hope of the USSR that President Reagan will soon recognize that he has erred in ignoring what his predecessor agreed to in Vladivostok."
 
Last edited:
February 18th 1978:
Chevy Chase hosts Saturday Night Live on NBC becoming the first former cast member to host the show.

In the opening sketch Chase reprises his role as now-former President Gerald Ford.

After cataloging the various crises that have beset the new administration since 1977 Chase as Ford announces that he would, "like to thank Ronald Reagan from the absolute bottom of my heart-for making me look like a genius."
 
March 1, 1978: Libya and Tunisia formally unite into the Arab Islamic Republic with Muammar Gadhafi as President. This is met with condemnation by most of the west but with celebrations in many Libyan cities.
 
March 21-24, 1978: Secretary of State George H.W. Bush secretly travels to Moscow to meet with Premier Andropov and Foreign Minister Gromyko over a potential summit between the former and President Reagan. Nothing is finalized, but Andropov and Bush made major headway. Both agreed to Gromyko visiting the United States in two months time for further talks.
 
March 26th-31st 1978
After Fyodor Kukalov, The USSR's Secretary for Agriculture dies of a heart attack Andropov appoints Stavropol First Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to replace him.

(Historically he died a few months later-but here the pressure of the Brezhnev Assassination and Andropov's triumph in the subsequent succession struggle pushed his attack ahead a few months)
 
April 23rd 1978:
Secretary of State Bush and Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin speak in private on the possibility of an upcoming summit between Reagan and Andropov. Dobrynin reiterates the Politburo's Commitment to the architecture of the Vladivostok Accords.

While admitting that his personal preference would be to pursue a more modest agreement-Bush informs Dobrynin that Reagan remains committed to a reduction based agreement.

Dobrynin expresses a hope that the Summit could be used to resolve other issues where Reagan and Andropov remain more flexible.

He informs Bush that he believes that he expects the USSR to take a less active role in supporting Communist movements in Africa in the absence of the late Suslov. He expresses a hope that this shift may help to alleviate some the tensions that have arisen between the superpowers since Reagan became President.
 
April 30, 1978: American journalists are arrested in Syria while trying to investigate the military-run country and the purges believed to be occurring.
 
Top