TRANSCRIPT OF PRESIDENT REAGAN'S REMARKS TO NEWS REPORTERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00552R000505400088-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 16, 2010
• Sequence Number: 88
• Publication Date: April 15, 1983
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/11/16: CIA-RDP90-00552R000505400088-3
ARTI CI - 2I
ON FAGEA 1A
Transcript of President ReagE
Remarks. to News Reporters
Following is a transcript of President Reagan's statement yesterday in
Washington on the confirmation of Kenneth L. Adelman as head of the Arms
Control and Disarmament Agency, followed by an exchange with reporters, as
recorded by The New York Times: -
OPENING STATEMENT
I am deeply gratified by the United
States Senate's confirmation today of
Ambassador Kenneth Adelman to be
director of the Arms Control and Dis-
armament Agency. It's my earnest
hope that this positive step will mark
the beginning of a new bipartisan con-
sensus on the vital issue of nuclear
arms reduction. I'm convinced that
Kenneth Adelman will prove that the
confidence which the Senate has ex.
pressed in him today is well-founded.
Under his leadership we can look for-
ward to a reinvigorated Arms Control
and Disarmament Agency that will
make an important contribution to our
arms reduction efforts.
As we seek equitable and verifiable
agreements with the Soviet Union to
reduce ,the arsenals and the risks of
war, we will need the advice and sup.
port of the Congress. I'm confident
that with full consultation with Con-
gress and the development of our
arms reduction Initiatives, the United`
States can continue to be a force for
genuine peace and progress in the
world. And If we're met with recipro-
cal seriousness of purpose from -the
Soviet Union, 1983 can be a year of his-
toric importance in securing a more
solid and stable peace through arms
reductions. Helen?
NEW YORK TIMES
15 APRIL 1983
Arms or Supplies-
Q. Does that mean we are not arm
ing or supplying any of the dissidents
aeon? the border - the Honduran bor-
Boland Statement
Q. But Mr. President, what is the
American public to think if Congress.
man Boland, who as you know is
chairman of the House Intelligence
Committee, says there's strong
evidence that we are viola the
-law? How do we clear this wd the
American eople? Don't they have a
reason, if a C,o essman is saying.
that we're violating the law. A. Well, maybe some of you people
A. I am not going to get into - I misled him.
could not and would not possibly talk
about such things. But may I point out Access to Intelligence
that this whole controversy over Nica.
ththe t ib some
ov realities -, n information, to Administration
revolutionary Government mant is a a briefings and. .
ovary Government that took.
power by force, but with the promise A. Yes, and of - I think Secretary
of democratic elections, none of which Shultz` and Security Adviser Judge
under the previous Administration.
The previous Administration, how.
e ,did recognize this Government
of Nicaragua, sought to help it with
considerable financial aid and with.
drew that aid long before we were
here when it became apparent that the
Government had become completely
Marxist, had turned away and thrown
out some of the democratic groups
that had supported them and fought
and you have seen the statement by
Barry Goldwater of the Intelligence
Committee that is r'- lutely positive
that there is no' violation of the law
whatsoever. I think that when they
pay a little more attention to this
they're going to find out we're not via,
lating the law.
Let me do what I promised the other
day and start with some of the people
with them in the revolution to bring
democracy to Nicaragua, and were
then no longer a part of the Govern-
ment. But also the cutoff of funds was
because the Nicaraguan Government
had pledged to the United States that
it would not attempt to overthrow any
other governments in Central Amer.
ice, particularly El Salvador, by help.
QUESTIONS AND ANS~A' ing the insurgents there -the guerril-
las - and they violated that promise.
And they are still violating it.
Insurgents in Nicaragua And anything that we are doing In
Q. Mr. President, are we directly or
indirectl supplying, arming or train-
ing any insurgents - Nicaraguan in.
surgents? And if so, why?
A. We are complying with the law -
the Boland Amendment, which is the
law - we're complying with that
fully.
that area is simply trying to interdict
the supply lines, which are supplying
the guerrillas in El Salvador. But the
picture today is that Nicaragua, with
its protests that somehow someone is
trying to overthrow them - it, as a
revolutionary Government, is trying
to overthrow the Government of a
neighboring country, El Salvador,
which was a duly-elected Govern-
ment, and which is going to hold an-
other election before this year is out.
in the back of the room here.
A Perspective
Q. Mr. President, are you willing to
say flatly that the United States is net
engaging in any activities that a rea.
sonable person could assume would be
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for the purpose of overthrowing the
Nicaraguan Government?
A. We are not doing anything to try
and overthrow the Nicaraguan Gov-
ernment. As a matter of fact, let's put
that in perspective for a moment.
Nicaragua today has created the
biggest military force in all of Central
America and large -parts of South
America - an army of some 25,000
backed by a militia of 50,000 armed
with Soviet weapons that consist of
heavy-duty tanks, an air force, orce, hell-gunships, .
planes,
bombers and so forEh, heavy artillery
and a few thousand Moskito? Indians
and I don't think it's rea-
le to assume that that kind of a
force couldn't nurse any ambitions
m that they can overthrow that Govern-
great military force.
And I think that people should under-
stand some of these things and ask
themselves what is the need for them
--having the biggest army In all of the
We are cooperating with the other
Central American countries in the re-
gion to try and bring democracy and
peace to Central America. .
Soviet Aircraft
Q. Mr. President, this morning your
Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-
American Affairs, Mr. Enders, told
the House Foreign Affairs Committee
that there was a possibility Cuba or
the Soviet Union may introduce high-
performance aircraft or even Cuban
troops into Nicaragua. Do you have
any information about any impending
possibility of this, and if so, what
would be the American response to
that move?
A. Well, no, I think I'm not going to
answer a hypothetical question with a
hypothetical answer. And I only know
that that possibility does exist be-
cause the Soviet Union, by way of
Cuba. has been engaged already -
may I remind you that the inaugura-
tion of the revolutionary government,
when it took over - Castro was
present and a representative of the
Soviet Union and both of them openly
hailed Nicaragua as the first Commu-
nist country on the mainland of'the
Western Hemisphere.
No?ustification in Wishes
Q. Mr. President, considering what
you've just said about Nicaragua and
your put statements about how it is a
staging area there - doesn't the
United States want that-Government
replaced? And is there anything that
you feel that we should be doing within
the law to have that Government in
Nicaragua replaced with a demo.
cratic one? ,
A. We, of course, as I said - any-
thing that we are doing is aimed at in.
tern cting these supply lines and stop-
ping supply lines and stop-
ping this effort to overthrow the El
Salvador Government. But what I
might personally wish, or what our
Government might wish, still would
not justify us violating the law of the
an Q. You're . not doing anything to
overthrow the Government there?
A. No, because that would be violat-
ing the law.
Jobs in Pittsburgh
Q. Mr. President, you were success-
ful in your efforts to get a job for Ron
Bricker, the bold young man from
Pittsburgh who gave you his resume
- I understand a lot of other unem-
ployed steel workers are now flooding
the White House with requests for
help. Are you planning to help get jobs
for these other people, too?
A. I haven't seen any of those
r69umfe, if they've been sent or any-
thing. I didn't know that. I know
there's been talk about it.up there. If
you remember that day, Mr. Bricker
accosted me and handed me his
resume and asked me would I show it
to anyone if I had the opportunity -
that he was seeking work. And I said,
I s, Idnwould. I did. He's got a job. Now
di't expect that all of the unem-
ployed were suddenly going to ask me
to be the employment agency, individ-
ually, for them- I think that would be
impossible.
But at any time that I can be in
way of help in lining someone up with
an employer who's looking for an em-
ployee, of course I'd do it, because I
think it's a problem on all our minds,
and I think - this isesfrom your
question - but Idi ntbi k we ought to
recognize that throughout this coun-
try, radio and TV stations that have
held job-a-thons have been successful
in getting thousands of people put
back to work. -There are local groups
and committees, including, right
there in Pittsburgh, that are doing the
-same thing in an effort to help stimu-
late and move faster, and they have to
do it on the basis of individuals, and
we, of course, in our own legislation
with the so-called jobs bill, are doing
our part here at the government level.
But the main way they're going to go
back to work is going to be with the
recovery of the economy. Now, Bill? I
just recognized Bill.
Legislative Restrictions
Q. Thank you so mush. Let me ask
you this, sir- do the war Powers Act
and the Boland Amendment unduly
restrict your Executive and would you like to see as the Chief
something done about It?
A. Helen, I should have listened to
you. I think any legislation which re-
stricts the relation or is - confines it-
self to the relationship of a single
country - our relationship with a sin-
gle country - yes, is restrictive on the
obligations that the Constitution Im-
poses on the President.
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