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The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
November 18, 1981. Excerpt from Remarks to Members of the National Press Club on Arms Reduction and Nuclear Weapons. Reagan reads from letter he wrote to USSR President Leonid Brezhnev; announces START talks. "Back in April while in the hospital I had, as you can readily understand, a lot of time for reflection. And one day I decided to send a personal, handwritten letter to Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev." edit "I'd like to read you a few paragraphs from that letter. 'Mr. President: When we met, I asked if you were aware that the hopes and aspirations of millions of people throughout the world were dependent on the decisions that would be reached in those meetings. You took my hand in both of yours and assured me that you were aware of that and that you were dedicated with all your heart and soul and mind to fulfilling those hopes and dreams.'" edit "I continued my letter by saying -- or concluded my letter, I should say -- by saying, 'Mr. President, should we not be concerned with eliminating the obstacles which prevent our people, those you and I represent, from achieving their most cherished goals?'" edit "There's a tendency to make this entire subject overly complex. I want to be clear and concise. I told you of the letter I wrote to President Brezhnev last April. Well, I've just sent another message to the Soviet leadership. It's a simple, straightforward, yet, historic message. The United States proposes the mutual reduction of conventional intermediate-range nuclear and strategic forces." edit "To symbolize this fundamental change in direction, we will call these negotiations START - Strategic Arms Reduction Talks."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
December 23, 1981 Address to the Nation About Christmas and the Situation in Poland. (Lech Walesa & Solidarity movement): Ronald Reagan , "Our government, and those of our allies, have expressed moral revulsion at the police state tactics of Poland's oppressors. The Church has also spoken out, in spite of threats and intimidation. But our reaction cannot stop there. I want emphatically to state tonight that if the outrages in Poland do not cease, we cannot and will not conduct ``business as usual'' with the perpetrators and those who aid and abet them. Make no mistake, their crime will cost them dearly in their future dealings with America and free peoples everywhere. I do not make this statement lightly or without serious reflection."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
March 10, 1982 Excerpt from Remarks on Signing Proclamation 4908, Afghanistan Day. Ronald Reagan, "The Soviet Union bears a grave responsibility for the continuing suffering of the Afghan people, the massive violations of human rights, and the international tension which has resulted from its unprovoked attack. The Soviet Union must understand that the world will not forget, as it has not forgotten the peoples of the other captive nations from Eastern Europe to Southwest Asia -- who have suffered from Soviet aggression. This is the meaning of Afghanistan Day, that the Afghan people will ultimately prevail."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
May 9, 1982 Excerpt from Address at Commencement Exercises at Eureka College, Eureka, Illinois. Ronald Reagan, "The Soviet Union bears a grave responsibility for the continuing suffering of the Afghan people, the massive violations of human rights, and the international tension which has resulted from its unprovoked attack. The Soviet Union must understand that the world will not forget, as it has not forgotten the peoples of the other captive nations from Eastern Europe to Southwest Asia - who have suffered from Soviet aggression. This is the meaning of Afghanistan Day, that the Afghan people will ultimately prevail." edit "We are now approaching an extremely important phase in East-West relations as the current Soviet leadership is succeeded by a new generation. Both the current and the new Soviet leadership should realize aggressive policies will meet a firm Western response. On the other hand, a Soviet leadership devoted to improving its people's lives, rather than expanding its armed conquests, will find a sympathetic partner in the West. The West will respond with expanded trade and other forms of cooperation. But all of this depends on Soviet actions."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
November 22, 1982 Excerpt from Address to the Nation on Strategic Arms Reduction and Nuclear Deterrence. Ronald Reagan says he will seek peace through deterrence and arms reductions. "We desire peace. But peace is a goal, not a policy. Lasting peace is what we hope for at the end of our journey; it doesn't describe the steps we must take nor the paths we should follow to reach that goal. I intend to search for peace along two parallel paths: deterrence and arms reductions. I believe these are the only paths that offer any real hope for an enduring peace." edit "What we are saying to them is this: We will modernize our military in order to keep the balance for peace, but wouldn't it be better if we both simply reduced our arsenals to a much lower level?"
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
March 8, 1983 Excerpt from Remarks at the Annual Convention of the National Association of Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida. Ronald Reagan, "... to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the struggle between right and wrong and good and evil." edit "Yes, let us pray for the salvation of all of those who live in that totalitarian darkness - pray they will discover the joy of knowing God. But until they do, let us be aware that while they preach the supremacy of the state, declare its omnipotence over individual man, and predict its eventual domination of all peoples on the Earth, they are the focus of evil in the modern world."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
March 23, 1983 Excerpt from Address to the Nation on Defense and National Security. Ronald Reagan regarding Soviet / Cuban "power projection" or militarism in Grenada: CUs spy photos (ones that won t compromise our techniques of procuring them). "The rapid buildup of Grenada's military potential is unrelated to any conceivable threat to this island country of under 110,000 people and totally at odds with the pattern of other eastern Caribbean States, most of which are unarmed. The Soviet-Cuban militarization of Grenada, in short, can only be seen as power projection into the region. And it is in this important economic and strategic area that we're trying to help the Governments of El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras, and others in their struggles for democracy against guerrillas supported through Cuba and Nicaragua. These pictures only tell a small part of the story. I wish I could show you more without compromising our most sensitive intelligence sources and methods. But the Soviet Union is also supporting Cuban military forces in Angola and Ethiopia. They have bases in Ethiopia and South Yemen, near the Persian Gulf oil fields. They've taken over the port that we built at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam. And now for the first time in history, the Soviet Navy is a force to be reckoned with in the South Pacific. Some people may still ask: Would the Soviets ever use their formidable military power? Well, again, can we afford to believe they won't?"
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
June 22, 1983 Excerpt from Remarks at the National Conference of the National Federation of Independent Business. Ronald Reagan prays for the day where nuclear weapons no longer exist. "Our proposal incorporates the recommendations of the Scowcroft commission on strategic forces. It reflects a growing consensus and support crucial to effective negotiations. The Soviet Union has not yet responded positively. We sincerely hope they will. The aspirations for genuine arms reductions, stability, and peace are shared by all mankind. And I pray the day will come when nuclear weapons no longer exist anywhere on Earth."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
September 5, 1983 Excerpt from Address to the Nation on the Soviet Attack on a Korean Civilian Airliner. "We are more determined than ever to reduce and, if possible, eliminate the threat hanging over mankind. We know it will be hard to make a nation that rules its own people through force to cease using force against the rest of the world." edit "And make no mistake about it, this attack was not just against ourselves or the Republic of Korea. This was the Soviet Union against the world and the moral precepts which guide human relations among people everywhere. It was an act of barbarism, born of a society which wantonly disregards individual rights and the value of human life and seeks constantly to expand and dominate other nations. They deny the deed, but in their conflicting and misleading protestations, the Soviets reveal that, yes, shooting down a plane -- even one with hundreds of innocent men, women, children, and babies -- is a part of their normal procedure if that plane is in what they claim as their airspace. They owe the world an apology ..." edit "But we shouldn't be surprised by such inhuman brutality. Memories come back of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, the gassing of villages in Afghanistan. If the massacre and their subsequent conduct is intended to intimidate, they have failed in their purpose. From every corner of the globe the word is defiance in the face of this unspeakable act and defiance of the system which excuses it and tries to cover it up. With our horror and our sorrow, there is a righteous and terrible anger. It would be easy to think in terms of vengeance, but that is not a proper answer. We want justice and action to see that this never happens again."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
September 26, 1983. Excerpt from Address Before the 38th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York. Ronald Reagan addressing the United Nations on the Soviet downing of the KAL passenger jet: C/As of Korean & Soviet delegates. "Reactions to the Korean airliner tragedy are a timely reminder of just how different the Soviets' concept of truth and international cooperation is from that of the rest of the world. Evidence abounds that we cannot simply assume that agreements negotiated with the Soviet Union will be fulfilled." edit "Just look at the world over the last 30 years and then decide for yourself whether the United States or the Soviet Union has pursued an expansionist policy."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
January 16, 1984 Excerpt from Address to the Nation and Other Countries on United States-Soviet Relations. Ronald Reagan says that peace talks must progress, despite the back and forth slagging between the two countries. "I have openly expressed my view of the Soviet system. I don't know why this should come as a surprise to Soviet leaders who've never shied from expressing their view of our system. But this doesn't mean that we can't deal with each other. We don't refuse to talk when the Soviets call us imperialist aggressors and worse, or because they cling to the fantasy of a Communist triumph over democracy. The fact that neither of us likes the other system is no reason to refuse to talk. Living in this nuclear age makes it imperative that we do talk." edit "We can't predict how the Soviet leaders will respond to our challenge. But the people of our two countries share with all mankind the dream of eliminating the risk of nuclear war. It's not an impossible dream, because eliminating these risks are so clearly a vital interest for all of us. Our two countries have never fought each other. There's no reason why we ever should. Indeed, we fought common enemies in World War II. Today our common enemies are poverty, disease, and above all, war."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
August 23, 1984 Excerpt from Remarks Accepting the Presidential Nomination at the Republican National Convention in Dallas, Texas. C/As of white convention delegates (decked out in cheap and strange GOP celebratory wares, natch) listening and cheering Ronald Reagan; zooming (in) MS of NANCY REAGAN and RON REAGAN, JR. "In the 4 years before we took office, country after country fell under the Soviet yoke. Since January 20th, 1981, not 1 inch of soil has fallen to the Communists."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
March 11, 1985 Excerpt from Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With Regional Editors and Broadcasters. Press conference regarding the death of Premier Chernenko: Ronald Reagan, "Today we've learned of the death of the head of state, Konstantin Chernenko, and I've sent my condolences to the Soviet leadership and people. I want them to know that we will deal with Chairman Chernenko's successor with an open mind and will continue our efforts to improve relations between our two nations - to settle our differences fairly and, particularly, to lower the levels of nuclear arms."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
Part 2 April 16, 1985 Excerpt from Remarks at a Conference on Religious Liberty. Ronald Reagan says that Communist repression causes want for religious belief. "We're living in a dramatic age. Throughout the world the machinery of the state is being used as never before against religious freedom. But at the same time, throughout the world new groups of believers keep springing up. Points of light flash out in the darkness, and God is honored once again. Perhaps this is the greatest irony of the Communist experiment. The very pressure they apply seems to create the force, friction, and heat that allow deep belief to once again burst into flame."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
July 8, 1985 Excerpt from Remarks at the Annual Convention of the American Bar Association. Ronald Reagan says USSR is totalaristic. "You see, it's true that totalitarian governments are very powerful and, over the short term, may be better organized than the democracies. But it's also true - and no one knows this better than totalitarian rulers themselves - that these regimes are weak in a way that no democracy can ever be weak." edit "I have on my desk at home a letter signed by 10 women in the Soviet Union. They are all in a prison camp in that Union - a labor camp. The letter is no more than 2\1/2\ inches wide and just an inch high, and yet, by hand, they wrote a complete letter, signed their 10 names to it, smuggled that and another document just a little bigger - about a 3-inch square of paper - that is the chart of the hunger strikes they have endured. And they smuggled it out to be sent to me because they wanted to tell me and all of you that the United States, where they are, in that prison, still remains their hope that keeps them going - their hope for the world."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
October 24, 1985 Excerpt from Address to the 40th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, New York. Ronald Reagan says that though the political philosophies of the US & the USSR are diamentrically opposed. C/As ambassadors of USSR, Cambodia, Ethiopia, and Nicaragua. "Let us begin with candor, with words that rest on plain and simple facts. The differences between America and the Soviet Union are deep and abiding. The United States is a democratic nation. Here the people rule. We build no walls to keep them in, nor organize any system of police to keep them mute." edit "But isn't it important for us to weigh the record as well? In Afghanistan, there are 118,000 Soviet troops prosecuting war against the Afghan people. In Cambodia, 140,000 Soviet-backed Vietnamese soldiers wage a war of occupation. In Ethiopia, 1,700 Soviet advisers are involved in military planning and support operations along with 2,500 Cuban combat troops. In Angola, 1,200 Soviet military advisers involved in planning and supervising combat operations along with 35,000 Cuban troops. In Nicaragua, some 8,000 Soviet-bloc and Cuban personnel, including about 3,500 military and secret police personnel. All of these conflicts - some of them underway for a decade -- originate in local disputes, but they share a common characteristic: They are the consequence of an ideology imposed from without, dividing nations and creating regimes that are, almost from the day they take power, at war with their own people." edit "I believe fervently that hope is still alive. The United States has spoken with candor and conviction today, but that does not lessen these strong feelings held by every American. It's in the nature of Americans to hate war and its destructiveness. We would rather wage our struggle to rebuild and renew, not to tear down. We would rather fight against hunger, disease, and catastrophe. We would rather engage our adversaries in the battle of ideals and ideas for the future. These principles emerge from the innate openness and good character of our people and from our long struggle and sacrifice for our liberties and the liberties of others. Americans always yearn for peace. They have a passion for life. They carry in their hearts a deep capacity for reconciliation. Last year at this General Assembly, I indicated there was every reason for the United States and the Soviet Union to shorten the distance between us. In Geneva, the first meeting between our heads of government in more than 6 years, Mr. Gorbachev and I will have that opportunity. So, yes, let us go to Geneva with both sides committed to dialog. Let both sides go committed to a world with fewer nuclear weapons, and some day with none. Let both sides go committed to walk together on a safer path into the 21st century and to lay the foundation for enduring peace. It is time, indeed, to do more than just talk of a better world. It is time to act."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
November 21, 1985 Excerpt from Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress Following the Soviet-United States Summit Meeting in Geneva. Ronald Reagan talks about first summit w/ Gorbachev. "can't claim that we had a meeting of the minds on such fundamentals as ideology or national purpose, but we understand each other better, and that's a key to peace. I gained a better perspective; I feel he did, too." edit "We discussed the great issues of our time. I made clear before the first meeting that no question would be swept aside, no issue buried, just because either side found it uncomfortable or inconvenient. I brought these questions to the summit and put them before Mr. Gorbachev."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
December 8, 1987 White House press conference, signing of intermediate range arms control treaty (INF Treaty): MSs RONALD REAGAN, General Secretary MIKHAIL GORBACHEV at his side, talking to the press about the nature of the treaty. "This agreement contains the most stringent verification regime in history, including provisions for inspection teams actually residing in each other's territory and several other forms of onsite inspection, as well." edit "For the first time in history, the language of ``arms control'' was replaced by ``arms reduction'' -- in this case, the complete elimination of an entire class of U.S. and Soviet nuclear missiles." edit "The numbers alone demonstrate the value of this agreement. On the Soviet side, over 1,500 deployed warheads will be removed, and all ground-launched intermediate-range missiles, including the SS - 20's, will be destroyed. On our side, our entire complement of Pershing II and ground-launched cruise missiles, with some 400 deployed warheads, will all be destroyed. Additional backup missiles on both sides will also be destroyed." edit "We can only hope that this historymaking agreement will not be an end in itself but the beginning of a working relationship that will enable us to tackle the other urgent issues before us: strategic offensive nuclear weapons, the balance of conventional forces in Europe, the destructive and tragic regional conflicts that beset so many parts of our globe, and respect for the human and natural rights God has granted to all men." MSs Reagan and Gorbachev signing the treaty, exchanging pens, standing and shaking hands.
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
May 11, 1988 Excerpt from Remarks at the Annual Republican Congressional Fundraising Dinner. Ronald Reagan recounts the battles undertaken by his administration against Communism, then announces Soviet troop withdrawl from Afghanistan, thus ending the eight year war and introducing another eight of civil war. "We have spoken openly and directly about the fundamental moral differences between the United States and the Soviet Union. We have rejected containment and made our policy the expansion of freedom around the world. We sent a new message of strength by restoring democracy in Grenada. And by supporting courageous freedom fighters around the world, we're shining a light on the path out from communism. And this Sunday, the Soviet Army is scheduled to begin its long-awaited withdrawal from Afghanistan."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
June 3, 1988. Excerpt from Remarks to Members of the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London. MS Ronald Reagan and NANCY Reagan shaking hands with Mikhail and RAISA Gorbachev; MSs Ron and Mikhail walking through streets of Moscow. "Quite possibly, we're beginning to take down the barriers of the postwar era; quite possibly, we are entering a new era in history, a time of lasting change in the Soviet Union. We will have to see."
The Great Communicator Vol 2: The Military and the Soviet Union
May 31, 1988 Excerpt from Remarks and a Question-and-Answer Session With the Students and Faculty at Moscow State University. Auditorium in Moscow, accoutrements of Soviet Communism adorning the walls: the troop removal from Afghanistan. Reagn, "Just a few years ago, few would have imagined the progress our two nations have made together. The INF treaty, which General Secretary Gorbachev and I signed last December in Washington and whose instruments of ratification we will exchange tomorrow -- the first true nuclear arms reduction treaty in history, calling for the elimination of an entire class of U.S. and Soviet nuclear missiles. And just 16 days ago, we saw the beginning of your withdrawal from Afghanistan, which gives us hope that soon the fighting may end and the healing may begin ..."
The Great Communicator Vol 4: The Man
DO NOT USE Glowing, sentimental opening of Ronald Reagan.
The Great Communicator Vol 4: The Man
Election night party, Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, 1980: two men show RONALD REAGAN & family a cake shaped like the United States when the top layer begins to slide, threatening to ruin Nancy Reagan's green & black dress. " Governor Reagan we just wanted to show you, what the map of the United States looks like as of 8:00 o clock tonight." (The cake starts to slide and at that time, Governor Reagan lunges at it to grab a hold of it.) Reagan, " Oh, All right. When that began to slide, I thought the world was going out as I was getting in."
The Great Communicator Vol 4: The Man
October 21, 1984. Debate Between the President and Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale in Kansas City, Missouri. MSs Ronald Reagan in debate with Democratic candidate WALTER MONDALE: "... I will not make age an issue of this campaign. I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent's youth and inexperience." Draws big laugh, even from Mondale.