President Jimmy Carter, who had served in the US Navy, was instrumental in countering the Soviet Union and rising extremism in the Middle East.
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- Perceptions of weakness dogged Jimmy Carter's presidency and legacy.
- Carter inherited a struggling economy and a US military adrift after Vietnam.
- But his administration played key parts in countering the Soviets and rising extremism.
When the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, the man who received the most credit was Ronald Reagan.