1983 - Color, President Reagan: Speaks To Nation on Defense Budget & Cold War, 23Mar83

1983 - Color, President Reagan: Speaks To Nation on Defense Budget & Cold War, 23Mar83 Night Ext. White House from across South Lawn. 04:15:59 President Reagan seated at desk holding speech: My fellow Americans, thank you for sharing your time w/ me tonight. The subject I want to discuss w/ you tonight is both timely & important. Timely because I’ve reached a decision which offers a new hope for our children in the 21st Century, a decision I’ll tell you about in a few minutes. And important because there’s a very big decision that you must make for yourselves... 04:15:31 At the beginning of this year, I submitted to Congress a defense budget... 04:16:04 Our efforts to rebuild America’s defenses & strengthen the peace... 04:16:38 Tonight, I want to explain to you what this defense debate is all about... 04:16:51 But first,let me say what the defense debate is not about. It is not about spending arithmetic. I know that in the last few weeks you’ve been bombarded w/ numbers & percentages. Some say we need... 04:17:28 What seems to have been lost in all this debate is the truth of how a defense budget is arrived at... 04:18:17 There is no logical way that you can say, let’s spend x billion dollars less... 04:18:48 The defense policy of the United States is based on a simple premise: The United States does not start fights. We will never be an aggressor. We maintain our strength in order to deter & defend... 04:19:04 Since the dawn of the atomic age, we’ve sought to reduce the risk of war... 04:20:30 We can’t afford to believe that we will never be threatened. There have been two world wars... 04:21:10 Intercontinental Missiles (ICBM) chart (comparing US & USSR) 04:21:50 The same thing has happened in other areas...new Blackjack bomber is now under development. 04:22:37 Another example of what’s happened... Chart: Intermediate Range Weapons. 04:24:26 Now let’s consider conventional forces.... Chart: Weapons Production 1974-1982 04:25:38 The following aerial photographs, most of them secret until now....Central America & Caribbean Basin (Lourdes, Cuba; MIGs in western Cuba; Sandino Airfield, Nicaragua; Point Salines, Grenada)... 04:28:41 These pictures only tell a small part of the story... 04:29:56 Our NATO allies have assumed a great defense burden, including the military draft ... 04:31:17 We had to move immediately to improve the basic readiness... 04:32:20 Believe me, it wasn’t pleasant for someone who had come to Washington determined to reduce government spending... 04:33:48 We haven’t built a new long-range bomber for 21 years....building the B-1...building one Trident... 04:35:24 Chart: Percent of Budget. ...shift in how we spend the taxpayer’s dollar... 04:38:59 If the Soviet Union will join w/ us in our effort... 04:41:23 America does possess - now - the technologies to attain very significant improvements... 04:42:43 Tonight, consistent w/ our obligations of the ABM treaty... 04:43:47 Thank you, good night, and God bless you. Presidential Speeches; 23Mar83; SDI; Strategic Defense Initiative; Arms Control; Deterrence; Weakness; Zero-zero Plan; Soviet Union; Nuclear Weapons Freeze; Cold War; Military Budgets; Anti-Communist; NOTE: Speech complete. Good color & audio. Any continuous 15 minutes sold at per reel rate. NOTE: Credit must be given to Reagan Presidential Library.