76-13-B6
- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1977
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Strategy II[edit]
Transcript[edit]On my last broadcast, I recited the questions faced by President Truman 27 years ago, when our monopoly on nuclear weapons ended and we knew the Soviet Union also had the bomb. I listed the points given to him in a National Security Council paper called NSC 68 which, until recently, had remained secret. To briefly recap, it stated flatly that Russia is determined to impose its authority over the world; that we are the principal obstacle they would have to overcome, and if their expansionism wasn't checked, or contained soon, no possible combination of the remaining free nations could assemble sufficient strength to stop them short of their goal. And that was said 27 years ago. Then were listed the things America must do, including military buildup, leadership role among our free world allies, recognition that the cold war was real, and that -- QUOTE -- "No nation ever saved its freedom by disarming itself in the hope of placating an enemy." -- UNQUOTE. What are the answers to the question of today? Questions that are even harder. Alexander Solzhenitsyn says the Soviet Union has already won the political side of its war for Europe, the Middle East and the emerging nations of Africa . He says the Kremlin strategists have been, -- QUOTE -- "Breaking off piece after piece, country after country." UNQUOTE. He adds, -- QUOTE -- "You can simply be taken with bare hands." -- UNQUOTE . Willy Brandt, a socialist himself, warns that "Eurocommunism" in France and Italy is as deadly as the Moscow brand. But, here in our own country we have a warning we dare not ignore. A group of dozens of well-known men and women of both parties; former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, ex-Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Nitze on the Democratic side; David Packard former Deputy Secretary of Defense, Clare Booth Luce and Gordon Gray, members of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board on the Republican side, and the General Secretary of the AFL-CIO, Lane Kirkland; this group with unquestionable credentials, has sounded an alert. They say, -- QUOTE -- "Our country is in danger and the danger is increasing. The principal threat is the Soviet drive for dominance based upon an unprecedented military buildup. The scope and s9phistication of the Soviet campaign and its tempo has quickened. Encouraging divisiveness among nations new and old, it has been acquiring a network of positions, including naval and air bases, which supports its drive for dominance in the Middle East, the Indian Ocean, Africa and the South Atlantic. Soviet expansion and worldwide deployment of military power threaten political independence of our allies and access for them and us, to raw materials and the freedom of the seas. " -- UNQUOTE. Then they called for a policy of collective defense just as NSC 68 did 27 years ago. Their summation was that if the present drift continues, the United States could find itself isolated in a hostile world with a succession of bitter choices between war and surrender. Only by mustering a superiority, beginning with a superiority of the spirit, can we stop the thunder of hobnailed boots on their march to world empire. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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