Dutch: on Homeland Security

Defense is not a budget issue; do B-1, MX, Trident & Stealth

Reagan said, "Defense is not a budget issue. You spend what you need." He reminded his advisor that he had campaigned on the theme of restored national security. His election had signaled to the Soviet Union that this these would become policy, and Congress's approval of his first budget made it official. "There must be no perception by anyone in the world that we're backing down one inch on the defense buildup."

Just for a start, he announced that the US intended to rearm with 100 B-1 bombers, 100 MX multiple-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles, a second generation of Trident subs, and a new, radar-invisible, stealth warplane.

Source: Dutch, by Edmund Morris, p.450 Oct 2, 1981

SDI: intercept and destroy ballistic missiles

Let me share a vision of the future which offers hope. It is that we embark on a program to counter the awesome Soviet missile threat with measures that are defensive. Let us turn to the very strengths in technology that spawned our great industrial base and that have given us the quality of life we enjoy today.

What if free people could live secure in the knowledge that their security did not rest upon the threat of instant US retaliation to deter a Soviet attack--that we could intercept and destroy strategic ballistic missiles?

Current technology has achieved a level of sophistication where it's reasonable for us to begin this effort. My fellow Americans, tonight we're launching an effort which holds the promise of changing the course of human history.

I call upon the scientific community in our country, those who gave us nuclear weapons, to turn their great talents no to the cause of mankind and world peace; to give us the means of rendering these nuclear weapons impotent and obsolete.

Source: Dutch, by Edmund Morris, p.474-477 Mar 23, 1983

Share SDI instead of MAD

The summit should focus, Reagan felt, not on arms control per se but on the madness of MAD, which led to nuclear stockpiling. Once that neurosis was taken care of, "the mountains of weapons to which you refer can shrink."

Reagan said, "I have an argument to share with you--our anti-missile shield. We don't know if it is possible, but we are optimistic. If we come up with a solution, let us share it, make it available to everyone. Remove all fear of a nuclear strike."

No idea could have seemed more addled to Soviet perceptions than a universal defense against the ultimate offense, unless the President's shield was the sort of defense that kills. Yet he was insisting, "It's not a weapon, it's a system, a worthy dream."

Source: Dutch, by Edmund Morris, p.562 Nov 19, 1985

Reykjavik: refused to trade SDI for nuclear disarmament

Gorbachev had offered to scale down the Warsaw Pact's huge conventional arms superiority over NATO. Reagan thought, we have negotiated the most massive weapons reductions in history.

Gorbachev demanded something in return, "This all depends on you giving up SDI." Reagan had been bracing for this. "SDI isn't a bargaining chip. If you are willing to abolish nuclear weapons, why are you so anxious to get rid of a defense against nuclear weapons?"

Gorbachev kept smiling, while the president got angrier. Both realized that their rush toward a zero option in Europe had been cowardly, a feint to postpone the unresolved issue. "It's [that] or nothing," Gorbachev said.

"The meeting is over," Reagan said.

"Mr. President, you have missed the unique chance of going down in history as a great president who paved the way for nuclear disarmament."

Reagan said, "That applies to both of us."

Gorbachev said, "I don't know what else I could have done."

Reagan said, "You could have said yes."

Source: Dutch, by Edmund Morris, p.598-599 Nov 19, 1985

Trust but verify: INF cut 1000s of missiles

Monday, December 7, Gorbachev arrives to sign INF treaty. Reagan's speech is not particularly friendly. "Our people should have been better friends by now." After lunch, they sign INF treaty in East Room. Dutch trots out trust-but-verify once too often for Gorbachev, who replies with an irritated smile, "You repeat that at every meeting." Still,the treaty is an epochal event. As Gorbachev says, "It will be inscribed in the history books." For the first time in Cold War, US and USSR have committed to reducing their respective nuclear arsenals. 1,846 Soviet and 846 US missles to be trashed within the next three years.

December 9, Regan demands a date for Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. Reagan, "SDI is essential to our goal of total nuclear disarmament."

Source: Dutch, by Edmund Morris, p.630-631 Dec 7, 1987

"Evil Empire" speech succeeded where nukes failed to impress

"When I called the Soviet Union an 'evil empire,' I meant it!" The most vilified presidential utterance in modern times, the truest, and most seminal. Those two words, which translate so unmistakably into Russian, convinced Yuri Andropov more than any number of bombs that the US was morally ready to fight the century's ultimate war. Source: Dutch, by Edmund Morris, p.642 Jan 9, 1988

The above quotations are from Dutch, a Memoir of Ronald Reagan by Edmund Morris. Click here for definitions & background information on Homeland Security. Click here for more quotes by Ronald Reagan on Homeland Security.
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