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    "ocrText": "Originally Processed With FOIA(s):\nFOIA Number:\nS\nFOIA\nMARKER\nThis is not a textual record. This is used as an\nadministrative marker by the George Bush Presidential\nLibrary Staff.\nRecord Group/Collection:\nGeorge H.W. Bush Presidential Records\nCollection/Office of Origin:\nSpeechwriting, White House Office of\nSeries:\nSmith, Curt, Files\nSubseries:\nChron File, 1989-1992\nOA/ID Number:\n13888\nFolder ID Number:\n13888-031\nFolder Title:\nAmerican Legion, Washington D.C., 9/7/89\nStack:\nRow:\nSection:\nShelf:\nPosition:\nG\n18\n29\n1\n4\n(Smith/Blessey)\nDraft Six\nAugust 22, 1989\nLEGION\nPRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION\nWASHINGTON, D.C.\nTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989\nJustice Gierke [GER-kee] -- and let me salute the first Viet\nNam veteran to be selected National Commander. And all of you\nwho represent our Nation's largest and fastest-growing veterans\norganization -- now 2.8 million strong.\nAs always, it is a great privilege to join you. And a deep\npersonal pleasure to renew old ties. And to greet new friends.\nToday is September 7th -- and I'm determined not to repeat\nthe mistake I made last year when I referred to this date as\nPearl Harbor Day. Now that I've dispensed with that\nannouncement, I want to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving.\nNot surprisingly, anniversaries were on my mind as I\ntraveled here from Washington. Past the Pentagon. The Congress.\nAnd then Fort McHenry. And it got me to thinking how 1989 marks\nthe 175th anniversary of the \"Star-Bangled Banner.\" And how your\nconvention lies a few yards from its birthplace.\nOK\nYesterday, you did something that would have pleased Francis\nScott Key. For by supporting a Constitutional Amendment making\nit illegal to desecrate the American flag, you joined the crusade\nto protect the symbol of America's honor. What our flag embodies\nis too sacred to be abused.\n2\nso\nWoodrow Wilson once called the flag \"the embodiment, not of\nsentiment, but of history.\" And he went on to say, \"It\nOR\nrepresents the experiences made by men and women, the experiences\nof those who do and live under that flag.\" \"\nWhat Wilson meant, of course, was that the flag -- like\nAmerica -- has many parts, means many things.' It means represents self-\nrepresents\nis\nexpression and (sier) opportunity. And democracy for all.\nBut\nembody\nLike America, the Stars and Stripes mean the strength needed\nthe\nthat\nto defend those values moral and intellectual, economic and\nmilitary - that have made america lem storg.\nAnd like America, Old Glory means symbolizes the gallantry of veterans\nlove\nand afend it\nwho enrich their country -- in wartime and in peacetime.\nStorming the beaches of Anzio. Scaling the cliffs of Normandy.\nAmulel\nGoing about their daily lives with courage and with pride.\nFellow veterans, for 71 years the \"experiences\" of the\nAmerican Legion -- its \"men and women\" -- have helped write the\nM\nStory we of America -- and the story of our flag. And today you\nwrite them still.\nCherring\nempire.\nas\nthere.\nJ\nFor the flag, like America, is more than \"sentiment.\"\nIt\nspelsor\nlives. It lifts. And at its heart is freedom. The freedom to\nwis\nwal\nder\nin\ndream, and to innovate. The freedom to enlarge our possibilities\nas individuals. And expand our horizons as a Nation.\nin alon arer, in\nFifty years ago last Friday, our allies went to war to\n&\nprotect this freedom. For as panzer tanks crossed the Polish\nfrontier, and Stuka bombers savaged Warsaw, liberty confronted an\nevil which -- even now -- defines hell on earth\nencapules\nLus\npear\nIf\nas\nIts very presención a rugged lucat IOW June or the\nFear\nJeny hand of the\n1,Hagul Isau ana a sheet corner supt\nGdanch,\n3\nIn the end, that conflict took more than 55 million lives.\nunderscered\nAnd headlined, as few things have, man's inhumanity to man. Our\nchallenge today is to prove man's humanity to man. And by\npreserving liberty without war, secure what Franklin Roosevelt\ncalled the \"Four Freedoms\": Freedoms of speech, of religion,\nfreedom from want and fear.\nToday, I want to focus upon one of those freedoms\nfreedomfum\nthefear of\nthe fear of\nfear\nFreedom from war abroad. Freedom from drugs, crime, and\nindifference at home. Locally, and globally: Freedom from fear.\nto build a better, safer life,\nTo win that freedom, will require the bravery and sacrifice)\nthat Americans have shown before. And must again. For freedom\ndependsont\nfrom fear can assist the triumph of democracy. And build a\nbetter, safer life.\nAlready, we have done much. Now, let us do\nboth comeste and foregn\nmore. And achieve the real peace of plenty over poverty, and\nNixs?\nhealth over disease the kind of peace which lasts.\nFirst \" at home, freedom uses from those forces which assault the\nour\ndignity of man.\nFor\nOur sworn duty to \"ensure\" domestic Tranquility\" is as old\nas America itself. When we ask what kind of society the American\npeople deserve, our answer is -- and must be -- a Nation in which\nlaw-abiding citizens are safe and feel safe.\nan\nto put an end to O anys that anplizing this nation\nThat is why we have sent a comprehensive battle plan\nto Congress It seeks to rid America of violent criminals with\n15\nm\nguot, this\nan attack on four points. bronts New laws -- to punish hoods. then New\nagents -- to arrest them. New prosecutors -- to convict these\nTIP\nV\nUn sub.\nslugs\nAnd new prisons -- to hold them.\nWe mus y take back the streets\non\nIn 1939 that lettle girls Ogrona Imather n\nthe fear of a unutal occupation Her mather Das hnaw the\nfear of a represence Communeet state, is\nThe feor of war and repression a\nterrible\nS.\nBut the Gime part of Pachage the Dead walion malimal\nonly Two one days 080, 4 & part the was on\nstra tesy anings,\nFellow veterans, bullies and con artists prey on fear. We\nseek to banish it. Our crime package can do that by taking\nDm\nback the streets. And so can a program I announced two days ago\n293h\nDais\nto face down a companion -- and even more deadly -- scourge: I\nrefer, of course, to drugs.\n8\n2\ngitt\nO\nOur drug abuse program will cost nearly $ And put\n0\nfunding where the problem is in the community. As veterans,\nthe\nyou know how battles are often fought -- block-by-block, house-\nwe 'll wm this the\nby-house. Well, this battle will do the same/.\nway. hed by ked, neighborhood\nvymeghbohood,\nWe will fight on any front, and every front. Supply and\ndemand. Education and rehabilitation. Interdiction and\nWe will fight to be free of the\nMUE\nenforcement. In the cities, and the towns. Yes, to fight will\ntheat thefen of crime and drugs, She future four chedren depends\nbe expensive. But to surrender would exact a still higher price\nbut\nthe future of our kids.\nThey We need your help. And I know we 11 have it. Because for\ntheyle 942\nyou\n9\nyears you've done your part. In Minnesota, for instance,\nRosemont Post Number 65 runs the program \"Drug Talk.\" And in\nRussellville, Arkansas, I especially like Post Number 20's\ngiveaway of thousands of rulers. Their message says it all.\nthings\n\"You really measure up when you say 'No' to drugs.\ns\nO\nWhat I'm talking about, of course, is freeing America\nfrom indifference. Against drugs. Against crime. Against any\nfact of life -- disease, for example; lack of education -- which\nimperils the human spirit.\nI think, for instance, of how the Legion aids handicapped\nkids. Or builds good government through Boys State and Girls\nh\nDrugs are sad chapter in the american\nstory as Presidents have so money theres all be before, last\nCopscont you to help doalore write Teachers an ending cont we do can it alone. proud of The adduct 1\nwho wants to laget clean can't do it alone, u\nWe must we free of the theat -- the\nfeor of drugs and crime.\n5\nState programs. And I'm sure you will build on these beginnings:\nSince 1985 -- Money given to scholarships -- $13 million; and to\nall causes -- $144 million; blood donated -- pints; and hours\ngiven to charity - count 'em: over 60 million.\nThese efforts have brought community service to every\ncorner of America. And nowhere more than in the VA health\nsystem. Here's a number for you: At last count, over 11,000\nLegion and Auxiliary members volunteered at VA hospitals. Now,\nlet us take an even bigger step toward ensuring veterans' access\nto quality health care. By supporting our proposed National\nCommission to review the alignment of VA medical facilities.\nThis Commission will outline the future structure of the VA\nsystem. And it will be modeled after the Department of Defense\nBase Closure Commission. But here's the difference: Our bill\nwill forbid the closing of a single, solitary medical center.\nWe will ask Congress to approve or disapprove our proposals\nas a single package. And it will be a good package. For it will\ncreate specialized centers from ambulatory to community-based\ncare. And strengthen veterans' overall care. So I ask you to\nsupport VA's realignment commission. And free veterans from the\nmove\nfear that care will not be accessible to all.\nO\nWell and good, and yet: No freedoms are possible\n3\nwithout freedom from war. Not speech. Not religion. Not from\nwant. And surely, not from fear. Fifty years ago, we learned\nlesson\nat\nthat lesson in Guadalcanal and Monte Casino. Belgium and Bataan.\nI've salhed about our mission to\nmission But secure today freedom to free were involved nation (pain from the fear of wor.\nfrom Jan at home. in a global\nAlimy Al I 5 impr willin\nr\ncarl\nlike\n6\nAnd this lesson, too: The best way to ensure peace is for\nAmerica to be militarily strong.\nHalf-a-century ago, Ike, and Nimitz, and Jimmy Doolittle,\nmony of you today\nfought to end a housiblewor.\nand millions of unsung heroes used that strength to preserve a\nand an almoste reign of terror.\nmaybe\nimmagence world bereft of violence and tyranny Our challenge today is\nless dramatic, but just as vital: To make fragile peace strong,\nand temporary peace permanent. For ours remains a global stage,\nits\nand America remains the leading player. So let us use our\nstrength to keep the peace. And thus spur closer East West ties.\nThankfully, America today is strong And will remain so.\nFor our strength is a major reason that as tyranny's tide is\n<\nrunning out, democracy's tide is running in. In Poland and\nHungary, in the gulag and ghetto, [ liberty is sweeping the globe.\nYet with even hopeful change comes uncertainty. And with\nuncertainty comes the need for vigilance. This is no time to\ndeclare freedom's victory before the fact.\nnutronal\nThat is why we need a1 Defense budget that ensures a strong\nand secure America. And why I'm pleased that the Senate largely\nagrees. This week, our defense authorization bill moves to\nHouse-Senate conference committee. There's just one problem:\nThe House version is totally unacceptable. It keeps unneeded\nprograms that would save nearly $20 billion from 1990-94. And it\nlengthens their funding. Harming our defense budget for years to\nholders\ncome. And making it hostage to pork-barrel projects that will\nstrip money from programs crucial to strategic modernization.\n5\nwaping\n7\nThis modernization is vital -- vital because America must\nbase its procurement decisions not on perestroika and glasnost --\nbut on the future capacity -- the actual weapons -- that any\nSoviet leader might have available. As decades change, so do the\nweapons needed to deter other Nations' first-strike ability.\nThis President -- any President -- would betray his. office if he\nviewed America's deterrence in a vacuum,\nof today's headleness\nmaintain\nAccordingly, we must strength America's defense by\nstrengthening its deterrent triad. And by that I mean:\nSubmarines, missiles, and the B-2 bomber.\nI have called for two Trident submarines to be funded in\n1990 and 1991. Today, I renew that call. And reaffirm my\ncommitment to the second part of our triad: strategic land-based\nmissiles. Already, the Soviet Union has two mobile systems. And\nwe need to match them. Not only to modernize our forces into the\n21st Century. But to gain leverage for arms control.\nWhat we're talking about is simple logic. Or as Sam Rayburn\nsaid, \"If a man has common sense, he has all the sense there is.\"\nWe want to ban all mobile missiles in the Strategic Arms\nbugang position\nto\nJuls\nCM\nReduction Talks. But common sense warns us: We wont 't ban any\nuntil the Congress makes our level comparable to the Soviets.\nWell, our new single-warhead ICBM missile --- the Midgetman and\nwe've got two ways to encure parity -\nour MX mutti washed CBM.\nmakes common sense. For when deployed, it would require more\nand that makes\nthan one enemy missile to take out a single warhead. And our MX\nsense.\nBut\nmulti warhead ICBM it makes sense. For the Midgetman won't be\nsil\nweb\n5)\nSo\n8\nWP\nready until 1997. And to fill the void, I have asked Congress\nto\nshift existing MXs to mobile, less vulnerable rail cars.\nMl\nwhere\nThe third part of our deterrent triad -- the B-2 or Stealth\nBomber -- can avoid radar. Its range is perfect for long-range\nmissions. And here's the kicker: the B-2 makes it impossible\nfor any country to destroy a mixed force of bombers and missiles.\nmore part .0 the equation\nFinally, I want to mention-the Strategic Defense Initiative.\nFor SDI will begin the movement from offensive to defensive\nit will\ndeterrence Put would-be aggressors in the dark about what\ntargets had been destroyed. And deter not merely existing threats\nbut also Nations on the verge of possessing nuclear and chemical\nmissiles. If that's not common sense, I don't like fishing.\nFellow veterans, peace is not an accident. Not the real\npeace which ensures FDR's Four Freedoms of speech, religion, and\n2\nfrom want and, yes, fear Real peace evolves from planning and\npreparedness, engagement and reality Real peace springs from\ndemocracies who know that when it comes to national defense,\nfinishing second means finishing last.\nSo, let us modernize our strategic forces. And, thus,\nencourage arms control. We need the Trident and Midgetman. We\nneed the MX, B-2, and SDI. Yes, each involves short-term funding\ndefense\nresponsible\npain. But each is crucial to a package that is sane -- fiscally\ncin\n-- and cohesive -- strategically.\nwhose\nThirty-four years ago, Douglas MacArthur returned to the\nin\nPlain at West Point, where he gave a speech to the cadets. \"The\nsoldier,\" he told them, \"above all other people, prays for peace\nyou\n9\n-- for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of\nwar. \"\nEach of us Dere know the truth of Those\nFellow veterans, General MacArthur knew as we do -- how\nwords.\nwar can be glorious from a distance -- but hateful and grotesque\nwar hasbeen\nup close. At times, it is inevitable -- at times, even\nNot for am children\nnecessary. But not here. Not now. Not if we summon our heart\nand will to build a more secure and peaceful world.\nWhat a wonderful legacy -- for this, and future generations.\nWhat a tribute to the men and women who toiled at Inchon and\nBastogne. In the gulleys and the hills. Valiant Americans --\nheroes all -- now part of our history. and of our Lore.\nLet me close by saluting them, and you. And by asking you\nto help preserve the democracy which celebrates our freedom from\nfear. Thank you for your support, and for the privilege\naddressing you. God bless you, Godspeed to the American Legion,\nand God bless the United States of America.\n#\n#\n#\n#\nGla c go se liste heale\nFreedom from the year - of war, of crime with\nof drugs. We are unt are soldiers also with\na sroud history. We are, soldies are\nnew hattles to fight But we\namericans and\n(Smith/Blessey)\nDraft Four\nAugust 15, 1989\nLEGION\nPRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION\nWASHINGTON, D.C.\nTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989\nJustice Gierke [GER-kee] -- and let me salute the first Viet\nNam veteran to be selected National Commander. And all of you\nwho represent our Nation's largest and fastest-growing veterans\norganization -- now 2.8 million strong.\nAs always, it is a great privilege to join you. And a deep\npersonal pleasure to renew old ties. And to greet new friends.\nOne year ago today, addressing the American Legion, I\nobserved what an honor it was to meet with you on the anniversary\nof Pearl Harbor Day. Alright, I'll admit: I was wrong about the\ntiming. But believe me, as we say down in Texas, I \"wasn't\nwoofin'\" about the group.\nI thought of that today -- a date, I trust, that will not\nlive in infamy -- as I traveled here from Washington. Past the\nPentagon. Congress. And Fort McHenry. For I kept thinking how\nthis marks the 175th anniversary of the \"Star-Bangled Banner.\"\nAnd how your convention lies a few yards from its birthplace.\nYesterday, you did something that would have pleased Francis\nScott Key. For by supporting a Constitutional Amendment making\nit illegal to burn the American flag, you upheld the crusade to\nhonor what some have died for. And that we must live for. What\nthe American flag embodies is too sacred to be abused.\n(Smith/Blessey)\nDraft Seven\nAugust 23, 1989\nLEGION\nPRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION\nWASHINGTON, D.C.\nTHURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989\nJustice Gierke [GER-kee] -- and let me salute the first Viet\nNam veteran to be selected National Commander. And all of you\nwho represent our Nation's largest and fastest-growing veterans\norganization -- now 2.8 million strong.\nAs always, it is a great privilege to join you. And a deep\npersonal pleasure to renew old ties. And to greet new friends.\nToday is September 7th -- and I'm determined not to repeat\nthe mistake I made last year when I referred to this date as\nPearl Harbor Day. Now that I've dispensed with that\nannouncement, I want to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving.\nNot surprisingly, anniversaries were on my mind as I\ntraveled here from Washington. Past the Pentagon. The Congress.\nAnd then Fort McHenry. And it got me to thinking how 1989 marks\nthe 175th anniversary of the \"Star-Bangled Banner.\" And how your\nconvention lies a few yards from its birthplace.\nYesterday, you did something that would have pleased Francis\nScott Key -- and for which I thank you. For by supporting a\nConstitutional Amendment making it illegal to desecrate the\nAmerican flag, you joined the crusade to protect the symbol of\nAmerica's honor. What our flag embodies is too sacred to be\nabused.\n2\nWoodrow Wilson once called the flag \"the embodiment, not of\nsentiment, but of history.' And then he went on to say, \"It\nrepresents the experiences made by men and women, the experiences\nof those who do and live under that flag.\"\nWhat Wilson meant, of course, was that the flag -- like\nAmerica -- represents many things. It represents self-expression\nand opportunity. And democracy for all.\nLike America, too, Old Glory reflects the values -- moral\nand intellectual, economic and military -- that have made, and\nkeep, us strong.\nAnd like America, the flag symbolizes the gallantry of\nveterans who love their country -- giving of themselves, and\noften of their lives. Storming the beaches of Anzio. Scaling\nthe cliffs of Normandy. Taking shell-torn hills named Hamburger\nand Arrowhead.\nFellow veterans, for 71 years the \"experiences\" of the\nAmerican Legion -- its \"men and women\" -- have helped write the\nStory of America -- and the story of our flag. And today -- in\npeacetime, as in wartime -- you write their stories still.\nFor the flag, like America, is more than \"sentiment.\" It\nlives. On a rugged hill at Iwo Jima. It lifts. The tiny hand\nof the little girl I saw on a street corner in Gdansk, waving the\nStars and Stripes. For both encapsule freedom. The freedom to\nvote as we want, and pray where we choose. The freedom to go\nabout our daily lives gently, quietly -- without tyranny or fear.\n3\nFifty years ago last Friday, our allies went to war to\nprotect this freedom. For as panzer tanks crossed the Polish\nfrontier, and bombers savaged Warsaw, liberty confronted an evil\nwhich -- even now -- defines hell on earth.\nIn the end, that conflict took more than 55 million lives.\nAnd underscored, as few things have, man's inhumanity to man.\nOur challenge today is to prove man's humanity to man. And by\npreserving liberty without war, secure what Franklin Roosevelt\ncalled the \"Four Freedoms\": Freedoms of speech, of religion,\nfreedom from want and fear.\nToday, I want to focus on one of those freedoms -- freedom\nfrom fear. The fear of war abroad. The fear of drugs and crime\nat home.\nTo win that freedom -- to build a better, safer life -- will\nrequire the bravery, and sacrifice, that Americans have shown\nbefore. And must again. Already we have done much. Now, we\nmust do more. And achieve real peace -- both domestic and\nforeign -- the kind of peace which lasts.\nFirst, our mission at home. Where our sworn duty to \"ensure\ndomestic Tranquility\" is as old as the Republic itself. When we\nask what kind of society the American people deserve, our answer\nis -- and must be -- a Nation in which law-abiding citizens are\nsafe and feel safe.\nThat is why we have sent a comprehensive battle plan to\nCongress to put an end to the crime and drugs which plague the\nUnited States.\n4\nFirst, our plan seeks to rid America of violent criminals\nwith an attack on four fronts. New laws -- to punish them. New\nagents -- to arrest them. New prosecutors -- to convict them.\nAnd new prisons -- to hold them.\nOur plan strikes at the bullies and con-artists who prey on\nfear. For we want to double the mandatory minimum penalties for\nthe use of semi-automatic weapons in crimes involving violence or\ndrugs. And to end plea-bargaining for federal firearm offenses.\nWe want to ban -- permanently -- the import of so-called \"assault\nweapons\" that aren't acceptable under the standards of existing\nlaw. And, yes, we want Congress to enact the steps needed to\nimplement the death penalty.\nIn short, our crime proposals are based on three principles.\nEvery criminal in this Nation must understand that if they commit\na crime, they will be caught. And if caught, they will be\nprosecuted. And if convicted, they will do time. By taking\nhoods off the streets, we can -- and will -- take back the\nstreets.\nI ask you to support our crime plan. And yet it's only one\npart of the answer. So, two nights ago, I announced America's\nfirst national strategy to win the war on drugs.\nYes, our drug abuse program will be expensive -- nearly $8\nbillion. But to surrender would exact a still-higher price --\nthe future of our kids. As veterans, you know how battles are\noften fought -- block-by-block, house-by-house. Well, we'll win\nthis battle the same way. By putting funding where the problem\n5\nis -- the community. Winning kid-by-kid, neighborhood-by-\nneighborhood.\nOur drug program aims to stop drug abuse before its start.\nThrough education and prevention -- from grade school to graduate\nschool. And, second, to help addicts who want to go clean. With\nspecial emphasis on expectant mothers. Then, there's the third\npart of our strategy -- giving drug dealers the security of the\nslammer. And for their ultimate bosses -- the drug lords -- life\nin prison, with no parole. And, finally, working with other\ngovernments to help crack international drug rings.\nFor years now, drugs have written a sad chapter in the\nAmerican story. Well, I ask you to help write an ending all of\nus can be proud of. For cops -- like teachers -- can't do it\nalone. Nor can the addict weary of abuse. They need your help.\nAnd I know they 11 get it -- just as you've helped handicapped\nkids, donated blood, and spurred good government through programs\nlike Boys State and Girls State.\nToday, for instance, Post Number 65 in Rosemont, Minnesota,\nruns the program \"Drug Talk.\" And in Russelville, Arkansas, I\nespecially like Post Number 20's giveaway of thousands of rulers.\nTheir message says it all. \"You really measure up when you say\n'No' to drugs.\" You know -- as I do that we're in this\ntogether. So let us fight on any front, and every front. Supply\nand demand. Education and rehabiliation. Interdiction and\nenforcement. In the cities, and the towns. Walter Lippman once\n6\nwrite of a \"Nation at the mercy of violence.\" Let us pledge the\nmercy of freeing America from the scourge of crime and drugs.\nThis morning, I have talked about our mission to secure\nfreedom from fear at home. But we also have another mission -- a\nglobal mission -- to free America from the fear of war.\nHalf-a-century ago, Ike, and Nimitz, and Jimmy Doolittle,\nand millions of unsung heroes -- like many here today -- fought\nto end a war. You fought at Guadalcanal and Monte Casino. At\nRhemigan and Bataan. You fought to rid the world of\ntotalitarianism. And to put tyranny in the grave.\nOur challenge may be less dramatic, but just as vital: To\nmake fragile peace strong, and temporary peace permanent. Today,\nours remains a global stage, and America remains its leading\nplayer. And we must use our strength to keep the peace. Well,\nthis we know from World War II: The best way to ensure peace is\nfor America to be militarily strong.\nThankfully, America today is strong. And our strength has\nhelped democracy's tide run in -- even as tyranny's tide runs\nout. In Poland and Hungary, in countries East and West, liberty\nis sweeping the globe. Yet with even hopeful change comes\nuncertainty. And with uncertainty comes the need for vigilance.\nThis is no time to declare freedom's victory before the fact.\nThat is why we need a national defense that ensures a strong\nand secure America. And why I'm pleased that the Senate largely\nagrees. This week, our defense authorization bill moves to\nHouse-Senate conference committee. There's just one problem:\n7\nThe House version is unacceptable. It keeps unneeded programs\nthat would save nearly $20 billion from 1990-94. And it\nlengthens their funding. Holding our defense budget hostage to\npork-barrel projects that will strip money from programs crucial\nto strategic modernization.\nThis modernization is vital -- vital because America must\nbase its procurement decisions not on perestroika and glasnost --\nbut on the future capacity -- the actual weapons -- that any\nSoviet leader might have available. As decades change, so do the\nweapons needed to deter other Nations' first-strike ability.\nThis President -- any President -- would betray his office if --\nyielding to today's headlines -- he viewed America's deterrence\nin a vacuum.\nI don't -- and won't. For we we must maintain America's\ndefense by strengthening its deterrent triad. And by that I\nmean: Submarines, missiles, and the B-2 bomber.\nWe have called for two Trident submarines to be funded in\n1990 and 1991. Today, I renew that call. And reaffirm my\ncommitment to the second part of our triad: strategic land-based\nmissiles. Already, the Soviet Union has two mobile systems. And\nwe need to match them. Not only to modernize our forces into the\n21st Century. But to gain leverage for arms control.\nWhat we're talking about is simple logic. Or as Sam Rayburn\nsaid, \"If a man has common sense, he has all the sense there is.\"\nWe want to ban all mobile missiles in the Strategic Arms\nReduction Talks. But common sense tells us: We won't be in a\n8\nbargaining position to ban any until the Congress makes our level\ncomparable to the Soviets.\nSuch parity can be ensured in two ways: Our new single-\nwarhead ICBM missile -- the Midgetman -- and our MX multi-\nwarhead ICBM. When deployed, the Midgetman will require more\nthan one enemy missile to take out a single warhead. And that\nmakes sense. But the Midgetman won't be ready until 1997. So to\nfill the void, I have asked Congress for funds to shift existing\nMXs to mobile, less vulnerable rail cars.\nThe third part of our deterrent triad -- the B-2 or Stealth\nBomber -- can avoid radar. Its range is perfect for long-range\nmissions. And here's the kicker: the B-2 makes it impossible\nfor any country to destroy a mixed force of bombers and missiles.\nFinally, there's the last part of our defense equation --\nthe Strategic Defense Initiative. SDI will begin the movement\nfrom offensive to defensive deterrence. And deter not merely\nexisting threats but also Nations on the verge of possessing\nnuclear and chemical missiles. And in an attack, it will put\nwould-be aggressors in the dark about what targets had been\ndestroyed. If that's not common sense, I don't like fishing.\nFellow veterans, real peace is not an accident. Not the\nreal peace which evolves from planning and preparedness,\nengagement and reality.\nSo, let us modernize our strategic forces. And, thus,\nencourage arms control. We need the Trident and Midgetman. We\nneed the MX, B-2, and SDI. Yes, each involves short-term funding\n9\npain. But each is crucial to a defense posture that is sane --\nfiscally -- and cohesive -- strategically. We know that when it\ncomes to national defense, finishing second means finishing last.\nThirty-four years ago, Douglas MacArthur returned to the\nPlain at West Point, where he gave a speech to the cadets. \"The\nsoldier,\" he told them, \"above all other people, prays for peace\n-- for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of\nwar\n\"\nEach of us knows the truth of General MacArthur's words.\nYes, at times, war has been inevitable -- at times, even\nnecessary. But not here. Not now. Not if we summon the heart\nand will to build a more secure and peaceful world.\nWhat a wonderful legacy -- for this, and future generations.\nWhat a tribute to the heroes of our history, and of our lore.\nTogether, let us preserve the triumph of democracy. By ensuring\nthe freedom from crime, drugs, and war that will ensure -- for\nourselves, and for our kids -- America's freedom from fear.\nThank you for your support. And for the privilege of\naddressing you. God bless you all, Godspeed to the American\nLegion, and God bless the United States of America.\n#\n#\n#\n#"
}