75-20-A3
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Secret Service
TranscriptHow far do we go in guarding civil liberties before we endanger the very lives of some in our midst, particularly the life of the President of the United States? I'll be right back. Twice in 19 days, attempts have been made in the life of the president. Everyone's asking why those entrusted with guarding the president had no advance warning about the individuals who attempted his assassination. Congress investigates and demands to know why the Secret Service doesn't have potential assassins identified and watched. and fearing the shock of another tragedy, scores of proposals are made to maximize the safety of the president by minimizing his freedom to walk the streets of the nation he serves. As Paul Harvey said, "Someone tries to kill the president, the only thing we can suggest is locking up the president." Yes we should have better intelligence about possible assassins and yes there was every reason to have the accused in both of the recent attempts under surveillance. Why didn't we and who is responsible for the fact that we didn't? Well the answer to that is some of the very people who are asking these questions the loudest some members of the media, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Congress. It's time to jog our memories as to what's been going on in these past two years. I've had Secret Service protection several times during my terms in office. I have the highest regard for that agency for the caliber of men, their thoroughness, devotion to duty and know-how and courage. There are fewer than two thousand of them it doesn't take a genius to realize the Secret Service is a security force and has neither the manpower nor the resources for intelligence gathering. When threats are made against those for whom it is responsible, the names and what information is available are kept on file. In addition the FBI, other federal agencies and local and state police are given guidelines as to the kind of information the Secret Service requires. These groups forward information and names of anyone known to pose a threat, such as individuals who make unusual and persistent efforts to personally contact high government officials for redress of imagined grievances or those who have uttered threats against the president. The House and Senate committees presently investigating intelligence activities have been hostile to the keeping of files on American citizens, even where there's evidence indicating possible danger. The Department of Justice has done away with its Internal Security Division. Congress has disbanded the Subversive Activities Committee as no longer needed and the Senate is moving to do the same to its own Security Subcommittee even though that committee is investigating the decline of police intelligence activity. Let's not forget the outraged editorials with which much of the press greeted the discovery that police intelligence units in cities such as Washington, New York and Los Angeles had accumulated files on people believed to have a potential for arson, murder and starting riots. Under the pressure, city councils caved in and such files were ordered burned and police were forbidden to continue such activity. The United States Attorney General has called for limiting the ability of the FBI to proceed with domestic intelligence, but in the meantime, it is admitted that foreign terrorist groups are moving closer to America in addition to an estimated fifteen thousand terrorists already organized into 21 groups in the United States. What we need is more intelligence gathering and less anti-intelligence hysteria. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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