78-14-A7
- Main Page \ Reagan Radio Commentaries \ 1978
| << Previous Broadcast | Next Broadcast >> |
Rostow II
TranscriptEminent, liberal scholar Eugene Rostow in his July 25th assessment of SALT II, which he called "a soft bargain, a hard sell", said --QUOTE-- "we have had a SALT agreement with the Soviet Union since 1972." And he added, "Far from stabilizing world policies, SALT I has been a part of the most turbulent and dangerous period of the cold war."--UNQUOTE-- What are some of the episodes in this period which was to have been stabilized by that study? Well for one, "the Soviet Union defaulted on its obligations as a guarantor of the peace agreements of 1973 in Indo-China." Those arguments which were so hailed by the world after the long years of bloodshed in Vietnam, that Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, were treated by the Soviets as scraps of paper. As Rostow points out --QUOTE-- "The final North Vietnamese invasions of South Vietnam in 1974 could never have taken place without Soviet equipment and other help." --UNQUOTE-- Another episode was the Soviet promise in May of 1972 to cooperate with the United States in seeking peace in the Middle East. Again, as Rostow points out --QUOTE-- "It violated those promises by supplying, planning, encouraging, and even participating in the Arab aggression against Israel of October 1973". He goes on to say, "The intention was not only to crush Israel, but also to outflank NATO, to neutralize Europe and to drive us out of Europe and the Mediterranean. For the moment, the Soviet plan was defeated by the brilliant victory of Israel's armed forces, backed by supplies from the U.S." But Rostow adds, "The Soviets patiently pursue their strategic goal." --UNQUOTE-- Secretary of State Rogers testified to our Senate that we had made a number of unilateral interpretations of the first SALT treaty and that we should regard any breach of these policies by the Soviet Union as a violation of the "spirit" of the treaty. All these unilateral interpretations of the treaty were violated by the Soviet Union, and we did nothing. Professor Rostow says --QUOTE-- "The point is obvious and by now beyond dispute. The Soviet Union is engaged in a policy of imperial expansion all over the world, despite the supposedly benign influence of SALT I and its various commitments of cooperation in the name of detente. The Soviet Union is pursuing that course with accelerating momentum." --UNQUOTE-- He called attention to the most recent manifestations of that momentum in Yemen and Afghanistan--far away places many of us might not be able to locate immediately on a world map. but places of unquestioned importance to anyone bent on world conquest. Rostow says the Soviet moves in those countries result from two related forces --QUOTE-- "the startling buildup of Soviet strategic and conventional forces during the last 16 years and the paralyzing impact on American policies of our collapse in Vietnam. " --UNQUOTE-- This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
Details
| |||||||||||
Added Notes |
