Reagan was a quick learner on foreign policy. A trait no one can say a Bush possess. Would GW Bush sit back and do nothing while Israel ran an attack on say Iraq or Iran? No he would have had Powell or Condi there ASAP to scold Israel and if he caught word of it before prevent such an attack. Thus the reason Reagan had far more success than Bush. He knew when to let some problems work their own way out in the M.E. Bush however feels he must micropmanage the M.E.
Let's face it the Reagan policies did not lead to half the M.E. being angry enough to come at us as they are now. Yes there were attacks but not to the extent of the build up in Iran. Iran backed down remember? Remember when Iraq and Iran hated each others guts? Bush has united them to hate us a fete no other POTUS has managed to do not even Carter was that stupid and yes Carter was a dunce but then so was Ford. There lies the Bush legacy. Reagan dealt with Qaddafi one on one. He didn't mobilize the entire military to accomplish the task to do it either. He made it personal and he didn't strut around like a rooster in a hen house saying Mommar I'm coming after you for months on end before doing it.
Reagan wasn't perfect but compared to Poppy, Clinton, and Junior, the man was a political genius. Too bad da Bushes despised all the man worked on and stood for. It cost Poppy a second term. Oh I forgot the official party spin is that was Perot's's fault.. LOL..
I wouldn’t disagree with your comparison of Bush-Clinton-Bush with Reagan. He did condemn the Osirak bombing, though did nothing beyond that. Jihad would have grown, but Bush I and Clinton certainly did little to fight, and more than a little to portray the US as inept.