Reel

Edited compilation of speeches regarding the Cold War and relations with the Soviet Union made by Ronald Reagan during his Presidency.

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

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."

January 1, 1986 Excerpt from New Year's Messages of President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev. Reagan talks (briefly) about the first summit w/ Gorbachev, extends good will upon the Soviet people. "Good evening. This is Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America. I'm pleased to speak to you on the occasion of the New Year. This is a time for reflection and for hope. As we look back on the year just concluded and on the year that is to come, I want to share with you my hopes for the New Year, hopes for peace, prosperity, and good will that the American and Soviet people share. Just over a month ago, General Secretary Gorbachev and I met for the first time in Geneva. Our purpose was to begin a fresh chapter in the relations between our two countries and to try to reduce the suspicions and mistrust between us."

June 11, 1986 Excerpt from The President's News Conference. Reagan says Gorbachev is first Russian to even discuss arms reductions.

October 6, 1986 Excerpt from Remarks at a White House Briefing on Soviet-United States Relations for the President's Commission on Executive Exchange. Reagan says he looks forward to meeting w/ Gorbachev in Iceland. "We're discussing not just arms control, for example, but arms reduction, as well as human rights and regional conflicts. Progress toward our twin goals of peace and freedom then will not be easy. As I mentioned in my Saturday radio talk, we seek the support of all Americans. We need your help, and we also need, as I said, some careful preparation. And that's why we agreed to the talks in Iceland and will look forward to meeting Mr. Gorbachev there."

October 12, 1986 Excerpt from Remarks to American Military Personnel and Their Families in Keflavik, Iceland. Reagan says that though Gorbachev rejected the arms control offer, he is still optimistic. "We came to Iceland to advance the cause of peace, and though we put on the table the most far-reaching arms control proposal in history, the General Secretary rejected it. However, we made great strides in Iceland in resolving most of our differences, and we're going to continue the effort."

October 13, 1986 Excerpt from Address to the Nation on the Meetings With Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev in Iceland. Reagan says the Soviets must show their sincerity for change. "I made it plain that the United States would not seek to exploit improvement in these matters for purposes of propaganda. But I also made it plain, once again, that an improvement of the human condition within the Soviet Union is indispensable for an improvement in bilateral relations with the United States. For a government that will break faith with its own people cannot be trusted to keep faith with foreign powers. So, I told Mr. Gorbachev -- again in Reykjavik, as I had in Geneva -- we Americans place far less weight upon the words that are spoken at meetings such as these than upon the deeds that follow. When it comes to human rights and judging Soviet intentions, we're all from Missouri -- you got to show us."

June 12, 1987 Excerpt from Remarks on East-West Relations at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin. Ronald Reagan praises the few thaws of freedom within the Soviet Union, but wonders if the Soviets' expression for change is real or simply an empty token gesture. "And now the Soviets themselves may, in a limited way, be coming to understand the importance of freedom. We hear much from Moscow about a new policy of reform and openness. Some political prisoners have been released. Certain foreign news broadcasts are no longer being jammed. Some economic enterprises have been permitted to operate with greater freedom from state control. Are these the beginnings of profound changes in the Soviet state? Or are they token gestures, intended to raise false hopes in the West, or to strengthen the Soviet system without changing it?" edit "As I looked out a moment ago from the Reichstag, that embodiment of German unity, I noticed words crudely spray-painted upon the wall, perhaps by a young Berliner, "This wall will fall. Beliefs become reality." Yes, across Europe, this wall will fall. For it cannot withstand faith; it cannot withstand truth. The wall cannot withstand freedom." edit "General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate! Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" Much applause and flag-waving.