Summary: Ronald Reagan knew that the journey to arms reduction would not be short or easy. He also knew it had to begin with an increase of arms. As he wrote in his autobiography, “It was obvious that if we were ever going to get anywhere with the Russians in persuading them to reduce armaments, we had to bargain with them from strength, not weakness.” He spoke of his goals for reducing arms and nuclear weapons in a November 18, 1981 speech to the members of the National Press Club. Let’s listen.
