Ronald Reagan, U.S. president from 1981-1989, used tough language when speaking of the Soviet Union, USA's long-time rival in the Cold War that followed World War II. Once he called it "The Evil Empire," and from the city of Berlin, he dramatically yelled, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall." Reagan promoted spending billions and billions of dollars on weapons systems launched into outer space designed to defend the United States from Soviet attack. The Star Wars system, though never implemented, signaled to the USSR Reagan's tough-guy stance.