SPEECH RE FOREIGN POLICY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86M00886R001900170013-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 29, 2008
• Sequence Number: 13
• Publication Date: April 17, 1984
• Content Type: REPORT

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My fellow Americans:
I want to speak frankly to you tonight about-the
fundamental questions facing us-no in foreign policy." :.We ar.e'
turbulent centuries in human history, And -we_ Americans .'f4cij.
in the closing decades of the 20th century -- one of the most
some very profound challenges.
wit), their constituents. It is a time for dialogue between the
Senators spend this time back.in their home districts talking.
The Congress is now in reeess.1 Usually, Congressmen and
American people and'their legislative representatives.
.Therefore, this is just the right ;.time for me to raise--these'
basic issues, because it is a'time when the American people
must awake some basic decisions.
The Nature of the World We Live Ini
As President. my duty is to lead. It-is my constitutional
respnnsibility to look to our net~ones security; and to our
vital
interests, and to do what is necessary to defend'. themi.
duty is to anticipate problems, t9 warn of dangers,-and to act,
world as it is. Others have the luxury. of second-guessing; -my
(Others have the luxury of illusions; my job is to view the
an necessary, to keep harm away- tom our shores.
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Thus it should be clear that peace and freedom do.not come
at peace, a world of
ao all other peoples.
about merely by wishing for them.: It is is harsh world -out-
there' and advancing our goals requires realism, strength, and'
no little courage. It is a harshlworld, and there is great
temptation to shy away from it and to take refuge in eacapism~.
There are those-who will tell you that the world will
be a safer place if we upend less on maintaining our
All Americans yearn for a world
freedom and progress. So. Indeed,
enjoy pence. prosperity, and freedom, most other people do
is a very troubled world. While we and our democratic allies
Sadly. the world in which these noble aims are
not. Many parts of the world are torn by conflict
Central. America, in southern Africa, in the Middle
Afghanistan. in Southeast Asia. All around the globe.
'revolutionary violence or dictatotship.
-thp developing world, hopes for prrogress- are too often lost to,
terrorists threaten innocent people and-civilized values.
defenses. That is esc4ism.
There are those who wil tell you that our.diplomatit
objectives can be achieved through goodwill.and noblle
aspirations, without' erican power to back__thea upj
That is escapism.
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the. part of the united Staltes. That is escapism.
.There are those who will till you that resources,
markets, and sealanes thatiare vital to the west's
survival can be secure witlhout vigilance and effort on
In the last 15.years, the grow4h of Soviet military power
has meant a radical change in the ~ature of the world we live
i n . No, it does not mean that we ~re in.imminent danger of
nt)c l ear war. That is the least likely danger we face. If we.
mzir:trAin the strategic balance, t'len we can count on the basic
prudence of the Soviet leaders to:steer clear of that kind of
suicidal challenge to us. out with nuclear aggression'
foreclosed, the Soviets and theirjallies have embarked
i
wi th;
new self-confidence -- on a different kind of challenge that is.
much more difficult for us to cope with. .
Three-quarters of the popula4on of this planet lives in.:
the developing world. In Asia, -frica, and Latin America,
there are over a hundred nations,-- some brand-new, some, very
oifl -- struggling for political; stability, for modern
institutions, for economic progzess,. or for basic security.
f these countries are our friends, and look to us for
Moot. o
help in various forms. Many of1these countries are-vulnerable
to subversion by ruthless forces that are driven by ideology;,
power, and ambition to try to impose their system by force.
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Not too long ago, there were some rho thought that, with
rlr0wirq military and economic ?strettgth. the Soviet Union would
mat uTe and met love. It would feel Mess threatened, the theory
Tall, and therefore it would have less need to threaten others;
it. would become an ordinary countriy. This theory has. proved
disappointingly false.
In the last 10 years we have (weave the brutal Communist
rc)nciuest of Indochinar blatant Soviet/Cuban intervention in
Arigrrln, Ethiopia, and South Yemeni; the outright Soviet invasion.
of Afghanistan: and now the Soviet/Cuban/Nicaraguan aggression
in Central America..
The Soviets and their allies have shown themselves masters
of new techniques of aggression t-- Cuban proxy armies, East
cermar- secret police contingentsl, chemical and toxin weapons
gainst innocent civilians, stage sponsorship of terrorism.afd
.the clandestine shipment of weapons for purposes of
subversion. These are gross vicflations of all the norms of
international law and international morality. We have seen
these means of violence produce refugees on a massive scale N-
irr Indochina, and potentially ih Central America. We have seen
them shoot down an unarmed civiilian airliner with the loss of
2i'9 innocent lives. And. most ominously, we have seen the wave.
of Communist-sponsored violence move ever closer to vital
Western interests like the Perolan Gulf, and ever closer to'our
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This did not all happen by accident. For years the Soviets
have'proudly proclaimed their right.-- indeed their
"revolutionary duty" -- to aid end abet so-called "wars of
national liberation" on every con
anent of the developing
world. This doctrine is all too convenient a way to spread
their system by force., to achieveian eventual stranglehold on
the free world's economic lifelin)bs, and to weaken, and
un4f-rmi ne. the democratic nations.
Yes, there are deep econosic;and social causes to most of.
the would' s turmoil. But where tlhe United States seeks to
respond with economic assistance and support for democracy, the
Soviet Union seeks to exploit inutebility for its own.
aggressive and violent ambitions,.
"'he Chr-1 l enge to the United States
If this is the nature of the challenge we face in the
remaining years of this century -- which I believe it is --
then we Americans must ask oursdlves a fundamental questions.
.Are we prepared to do something about it7 Or are we so fear*ul.
that we will seek refuge in pacifist or isolationist illusions?
will, always take the form of aldstermined, persistent offor1.by
the Soviet Union and its allied to undermine our friends and
our interests, using indirect corms of aggression that push and
Most likely in this nuclear age we will never see a state
of total war or a state of total peace. The main challenge
push until they meet firm.resiatanee.
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The only question is when we witl wake up-to'
p to this danger,-while
..the tightening circle of hosti4 influence comes ever. closer.-to
our own borders.,
President John F. Kennedy understood this challenge, andFhe
was willing to stand up to it, ~s.'in the Cuban missile crisiD.
He would be appalled at the weaic-kneed utterances of-those who
to diay invoke his name.
The Challenge in Central America
This is the issue we face in Central America.
The issue in Central America is not mining, or procedureja'
of consultation with the Co
ngr~as.
Nicaraguan aggression, aided and abetted by the Soviet .Union.
When the Nicaraguan revolution overthrew the dictator
Somoza in 1979, many, in the United States and Latin America'
looked on hopefully, taking at.iface, value the revolutionar.iod'.
promi Bea of democracy and .social progress. But the democratic
and progressive slogans of the;Communist.rulers..of Nicaragua
were a fraud:
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neighbors combined, an far in excess of any
They set about buildings a massive army of over 50.000
men, bigger than the m litary forces of all their
militaristic menace tolall neighboring countries
Soviet-bloc support, Nicaragua became an armed camp, a
conceivable defensive feeds. wttn cuaan, avviaF_, w...
neighboring El Salvador. The operational headquarters
of the Communist warmiking apparatus in El Salvador is
located on the outskirts of Managua, the capital of
Castro, a Communist i surgency was organized in
with the prodding. sd~iee, and guidance of Fidel
Communist Nicaragua.
The people of El Salvador went to the polls two years
.
ago to elect a Parliament, and they went to the polls
a few weeks ago to eject a President -- testifying
eloquently to their lesire for democracy. This
yearning for democracy was answered by guerrilla'gune
and bullets, by a vi0ious four-year campaign of
Communist warfare against bridges, roads, power
stations, trucks, b~ses, and other vital elements of
the Salvadoran econc?my. The Communists.not only-do..
not believe in demoraeyr they fear a legitimate.
democratic process 'because they know they have meager
popular support.,
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The bipartisan Kissinger C mmission that I appointed to:
nd economic conditions that.
invited insurgency in the region, outside intervention As
what gives the conflict, it
a present character.
Propaganda support, money,i sanctuary, arms, supplies,
training, communications,1intelligence, logistics, all,are
important in both morale 41nd operational terms. Withoit
such support from Cuba, Nicaragua and the'Soviet Union;
neither in El Salvador no elsewhere in Central Americ$
would such an insurgency pose so severe a threat to the
government. . . Therefore [the Kissinger Commission..
concluded), curbing the insurgents` violence in El Salvador'
requires, in part, cutting them off from their sources-of
foreign support."
The policy of the United States in Central America ha$
examine the issues in Central America gave, in its report,'en
accurate summation of the importance of Nicaraguan support for
the Salvadoran guerrillasr
"Whatever the social
three positive elemental
and'
to help them reach the path of stable economic
to help friendly cot)ntries build, strengthen,
safeguard democratic institutions,
and social justice,. and
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growth
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to help them resolve Oisputes through diplomacy.
But to achieve these three objectives, there must be a'
fourth component of our policyl:
-- but we are helping or friends defend themselves against
-Central Americans themselves.. The United States is not at ware
and indirect. ;Solutions can be reached. only by the,efforts.of
The role of the United Stoteo in-this effort-is supportive.
against Cuban/Nicarac,uan aggression*
to help these friendly countries defend themselves.
those who choose to make war on peaceful, democratic societies..
..
The flow of weapons into Nicaragua. for purposes of
clandestine transfer to the Communist guerrillas in El
Salvador, is one. of the pringipal threats to regional peaceq
i gnor e8 this danger would deserve to be-* impeached. The future
strategic concern of the Uni ad Staten. Any. President ti
The threat to peace in Central America is necessarily a
of the entire region south o4 our.borders hangs in the baIanrs.,.,
Therefore the United States has' been supporting'-- and
proudly supporting -- not only the elected government of.
Salvador but also those manyithousands of Nicaraguans who: are
i
resisting Communist tyranny in their homeland.
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The 'Nicaraguan regime is a regime of totalitarian, militaristic
gullies who see it as their divine mission to destabilize all
their nrighboTS. ks tong as I am President, I will do whatever
I can to help all those who are prepalred to oppose such
tyrants. If the Communists can make open war against the
ecolt ny of democratic El Salvador, then the opponents of.
1 cnr t~clt~e would be fully entitled to block the flow of .arms or .
teI. other measures to deny rliearaguQ the means to make war on'
its neighbors. It the Soviet Union an proclaim its Intention
to ail subversion, then the United States can proudly proclaim
ite intention to help resist it. This is not only in our-
strategic interests it is morally right. It would be
profoundly immoral to let peace-lov~ng friends who depend on us
be Overwhelmed by brute force it wejhave any capacity to
prevent it.
We should not be misled by Nicaragua's cynicism, which
khaws.no hounds. Last week it tried to misuse the
International Court of Justice for propaganda purposes. Well,
when a Communist regime starts professing asudden devotion to
internntional law, hang onto your wallets.
We did not fall for:
.1 am getting a little tired oil people in this country who
give the Communists the benefit of every doubt. I am frankly
amazed by those who seem determined to grant .Nicaragua a kind
of-Congressional immunity,
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the countries in the Western Hemisphere, only Communist
Nic?araqua" while it wages war on its weaker neighbors:, Of'all
do that no one dare lift a hand ageinet `poor misunderstood
ra r aqua seew..s to have. the benefit of this Congtesaional'.:
protection. Why?
I can tell you that as long asj I am President, the United
States will support. those..inCentral America who fight for
aemneracy':nnd resist tyranny. We `wi.ll do so in full compliance.
With e s t ate. L i shed cons.t. i tut ional ar d. Congress tonal procedures
an we have been doing all along. The Congressional..
intelligence committees were set
foflowe8. it's a 11ttIe unse~esly lot xAembera of congress
j;p in
to handle such consultations -- Which we scrupulously :
run for cover. repudiating the procedures they' themselves.
estAhhlished, just because the controversy was?too hot.
and my objectives. I believe that what we are doing in'Centra.l.
I am not afraid to come before you and explain-=y policy
Anericn is right, and necessary. I believe I was elected to
conduct an effective foreign policy -- to use the vast power of
the United States for good and worthy ends, not to~ run and hide' .
whey; the going gets tough. The American people will have the,
chance in November to decide whether they share this
philosophy,' or whether they prefer a foreign policy of
earapi am, weakness, and' helpiessrhess..
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I ath prepared to fight the.eleet$on on this issue, if that is
the choice of my opponents. i at not afraid of the American
people's basic good sense and.intestinal fortitude.
In the meantime, I will-do xy duty to defend the national
interest as I see it, with
support to sustain me.
God'~.'help to guide me and your
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I WASHFAX RECEIPT
OF-PARTMENT; OF STATE f" .
OEF'AP7M1'4T 1'. ST. T~.
MI SSA(;( NO 5 CLASSIFICATION No. Pages 2
r I~CiM Charles Hill S/S 22540 .7224
(OtIsce'r name)
(Office symbol) (Extension) .
MI SSAGE OI.SC:RIPTION..,___...,Speech re Foreign Policy
(Room number) '
N
'TO- tAgencV) DELIVER TO: Extension Room No.
CIA
Mr. ^ W. Ca SeY
I UN ' i:LEARANCE D INFORMATION
NI:MAR KS
1 l)NN 1, t fbtt
1.11
PER REQUEST. . COMMENT 0
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STAT