>>far too much of a pacifist on foreign policy

I recently read An American Life, Ronald Reagan's autobiography.
I was surprised to read that almost from the moment he took office, for all his blustery speeches, Reagan set about trying to improve diplomatic relations with our worst enemies.
He had extensive personal correspondence with the three leaders who preceded Gorbachev, all to no avail, but he never stopped trying. Finally, he was able to reach Gorbachev on a personal level, leading to the most important achievement of his presidency- the end of the cold war.
To be sure, he also credits our military buildup, but there was no doubt that in his mind his reaching out to the Russians is what made the difference.

He also initiated extensive personal contact with the leaders in Iran, including Ayatolla Khomeini but he was never able to accomplish anything with them.

From I could tell, when he learned the real facts about nuclear war when he became president, he was aghast and set about making sure that it would never happen.