In response to the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, US President Jimmy Carter announced a US-led boycott of the Moscow 1980 Summer Olympics. In 1984 the Soviets responded with their own boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. Tensions increased when the US announced they would deploy Pershing II missiles in West Germany, followed by US President Reagan's announcement of the US Strategic Defense Initiative. East and West tensions were further exacerbated in 1983 when Ronald Reagan branded the Soviet Union an "Evil empire".