Editing 78-08-A2 (section)

= National Security =

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=== Transcript ===
For some time now we have made it increasingly difficult for the F.B.I. and the
C.I.A. to gather information about the Soviet Union. Now a security windfall drops
in our lap and it seems as if we are trying to pretend it hasn't happened.

The top ranking Soviet official at the United Nations, Arkady Shevchenko, a 
47-year-old protégé of Foreign Minister Gromyko has defected and refused to return to Russia.
Shevchenko is privy to the Kremlin's foreign policy secrets and its espionage efforts
aimed at us and our allies.

Our experts in this field say this could be the biggest and most important 
breakthrough for us since World War II. In their opinion Shevchenko is probably fully informed
of Russia's strategy and its worldwide goals. He is, in addition, fully informed as to
what the Soviets hope to achieve in the strategic arms limitation talks - SALT II.

From what he has revealed so far we can demolish Russia's claim that the Backfire
bomber is only a medium range, not a strategic bomber. He has knowledge of Russia's use
of Cuban troops and its plans for Africa. How much is it worth to us to have laid out
for us the Soviet plans for using Cuba as a base?

The concern of our intelligence forces is that policymakers in the State department
may try to hush up Shevchenko's revelations possibly because they'll expose the weakness
of our own policies - expose them not to the Russians who already know about them, but to
us - the American people. There is also the possibility that we can't continue trying
to buddy up to the Russians if we learn too much about what they have planned for us.
There have already been off-the-record statements that this neatly tied gift of great
value couldn't have come at a worse time. It's almost as if someone was complaining that
he'd almost made friends with a fellow and was sorry to learn the fellow was stealing his
wallet.

I suppose we must always be on guard against a Soviet plant who will feed us misinformation,
but surely we can check this against our own knowledge of KGB agents and
operations. As a matter of fact since his defection we have arrested two Soviet United
Nations employees as spies.

Who knows, Shevchenko might have information of possible ties between the Weathermen
Underground and the Soviet Union which could prove that the F.B.I. agents the Justice
department is prosecuting were right in doing what they did a few years ago. Those
agents have based their defense on proving the Weathermen were working closely with Soviet
agents.

With defense budgets being debated, arguments going on about the B-1 Bomber and the
neutron weapon why shouldn't the American people hear Shevchenko's story? 

This is Ronald Reagan.

Thanks for listening.
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=== Details ===
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<TR><TD WIDTH="150">Batch Number</TD><TD WIDTH="150">{{PAGENAME}}</TD></TR>
<TD>Production Date</TD><TD>06/05/[[Radio1978|1978]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Book/Page</TD><TD>[[Radio_Commentary_Books#Reagan.27s_Path_to_Victory|RPtV-304]]</TD></TR>
<TD>Audio</TD><TD></TD></TR>
<TD>Youtube?</TD><TD>No</TD></TR>
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===Added Notes===

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