Hello, im bret baier. Whathat scene turned out to be was the dramatic opening act in a clash of images, words, and ideas that signal to the world that the cold war was all but one back. I write about it in my new book. Ronald reagan and the fall of the soviet empire. Its an epic story with an unlikely hero. Or so it once seemed. Hard to believe, but as a young man the greatest of warriors was so left wing the fbi suspected he was a communist. In 1946 communists and the Screen Actors Guild threatened to add to his acting career by pouring acid on his face. Repulsed by such totalitarian tactics, he began taking notice of communist expansion overseas. We have met some years ago, a similar program. That was under the kaiser. We met were recently under nazism under hitler. We are meeting under the name of communism and its national expansion. He was relentless. How would be the challenge depends on you. No critic was more forceful, more uncompromising than reagan. Our freedom from the threat of the bomb. By committing immorality soea great as saying to a human beings now enslaved behind the iron curtain, give up your dreams. To save our own skins were like to make a deal. In the 70s he composed. Is one of making. We give them something they want very badly. We dont ask anything in return. Neither the summits nor arm control stop the spread of communism as america looked to be slowly losing the cold war. After his loss to gerald ford in 1976, reagan spoke movingly about the stakes. Not simply the future of civilization, the survival of civilization. Someone asked me to write a letter for a time capsule thats going to be opened t in los angeles a hundred years from now. I thought to myself, who live in a world in which the great powers have aimed at each other horrible missiles of destruction that can add a matter of minutes arrived in each others country and destroy. Noise would readth this letter will know whether those missiles were fired. They will know whether we met our challenge. For laws to jimmy carter. Satellite states in asia, africa, and south america. 19en he ran again in 1980 is anticommunism seemed to many out of step with the times. He won in a landslide using his First Press Conference as president to again denounce communism. What do you see as the longrange intentions of the soviet union . I dont know leader of the soviet union that has not more than once repeated their determination that their goal must be the promotion of World Revolution and one world socialist or communist state. Tt an assassination attempt intensified his zeal. Not merely to fight the cold war, but to win it. He and Pope John Paul ii who also miraculously survived an assassins bullet six weekss after reagan. They agreed god spared them so they could add communism the collapse of the soviet union. It will transcend communism. When i came in in 1982, he was in full throated denunciation of the soviet uni soviet union. He was still very much playing the cold war era. Im describing a plan to help for the long term. The march of freedom and democracy which will lead marxism, leninism on the ash heap of history. If you shared his belief that the cold war was winnable l. It was a huge argument. People of the Defense Department and they see a thought he soviet union thats life. Get along. The American Public seem to agree. Three quarters favored a Nuclear Freeze by the United States and soviet union. I urge you to beware the temptation of pride. The temptation of declaring yourselves above it all. Thats part has most forceful criticism never of the soviet union. To avoid the facts of history and the aggressive impulses, to call the arms race a giant misunderstanding and thereby remove yourself from the and wrongetween right and good and evil. I was at the speech where he talked about the evill empire it was studying. Even by his standards, that was blunt and wrong. I remembered asking myself, what did he have in mind when he called them the evil empire . It was a praising statement. We decided he really felt he could make things better. Ronald reagan wanted to win the cold war from beginning of his time in office. You once called him a principal practice. His strongest suit, knowing what he believed and what he believea it. He had a system. Be realistic. Number two, bee strong. Military strength. Economic strength. More than that, strength of purpose. Figure it out, what you want . Do sit down and negotiate. Before he was ready to play that hand, he dramatically upped the ante. So the whole world looks different. The unbeatable strength of advil. What pain . Robin hood and little john runnin through the forest laughin back and forth at what the otherne has to say theres a booking for every resolution. Book yours at booking. Com most people thinking as a reliable phone company. But to businesses, were a reliable partner. 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The human spirit must be capable of rising above dealing with other nations in human beings by threatening their existence. March 23rd 1983. Two weeks after he dumped the soviet union the evil empire. Because we are launching ane effort which holds the promise of change in the course of human history. There will be risks and results. I believe we can do it. One of his friends was a scientist who was here at the hoover institution, edward teller. He began telling the president about the possibility of a strategic defense that could defend the United States from incoming ballistic missiles. P these things go up into space before they come down, you can knock them off course destroy them. Has idea was dismissed immediately as star wars. Critics that it would never work. N this is a pipe dream. I for one didnt understand what a big deal this was. How much president reagan believed tenant. A lot of people thought this was a Political Tool to say no, i dont want to. Son believed he was risking nuclear war by abandoning the delicate balance that had thus far provided armageddon. Pico once had launched the first strike. The other side would have enough Nuclear Weapons to launch a devastating second strike. F Ronald Reagan never felt comfortable with this because he rested entirely on keeping the soviets scared enough so that they would into anything catastrophic. It was not a genuine defense. It seemed sdi was a big, big focus. If you could defend yourself against ballistic missiles, it changes the whole dynamic. If i can shoot out your missile, i dont have to worry about it. He overturned all American Nuclear policy and Ronald Reagan did that on his own initiative. Members of the cabinet were not performed until very shortly before. It would not be the last time he surprised them. My fellow americans, im pleased to tell you i signed legislation that will all along russia forever. August 11th, he cracked a joke into a microphone he did know was on. It was a joke. Itsok comic premise was based n cold war rhetoric. People noted he was going to be the first modern american president to never have sat down with a russian leader. Not that reagan was to blame. Want you negotiating with the soviet Union Leadership . He is to say, how can i . To keep tying on me. They work a bunch of old men. He comes into the picture. Hes i different. Absolutely. You cannot overstate how different locale gorbachev was spirit there was a sense of a new soviet leader and new possibilities. He launched efforts to reform the soviet union merit he agreed to meet him in switzerland, the world didnt know what to expe expect. How is the press coverage of that considering all the anticommunist and evil empire stuff. There was a sense that the soviets were on the offensive questions about whether the United States could respond. He was a different kind of russian leader. Could he keep up with that . He is younger andnd smarter. He is more willing to engage. He is also the last room believer and marxist ideology. While soviet central casting they had boarded up a new style leader, the Wardrobe Department didnt get the memo. Gorbachev pulls up and although hes the younger man by quite aou bit, gorbachev looks older. He is wearing extremely heavy russianin overcoat. He looks grim and defensive and old. Suddenly reagan comesom out, and hes wearing a beautifully tailored suit. No cat, cat or wool coat. Much younger, he looks older. The american system produces a leader who was far more full of life that image goes out around thege world. The old man. People were doubting, could he keep up with gorbachev . Suddenly he stole the first scene. Away from the cameras gorbachev was ready to play hardball. He doesnt come to geneva ready. They soviets had made a terrible mistake, not at all. The first thing he wants to do is push. He pushed especially hard against fdi claiming its true aim was not defensive, but offensive. An effort to neutralize any soviet weapon and render them helpless against a u. S. Attack. He said to gorbachev, you cant win back his cold war. Gorbachev said, why do you say that . Reagan said, because we will outspend you every time. People ask me later about reagan at that moment. Did he really think that there was going to be an end to the soviet union . I always say yes. I really thought this was going to change. He hoped it was on his watch. 2 liters, two different views of the cold war. Reagan knew in his gut at the soviet union was flimsy and would crumble. He marxist gorbachev fervently believed communism would ultimately prevail. At least they were at the tableg their first conversation lasting longer than any of the aides he dissipated. Did you want to interrupt . There is always a guys job stand up. He comes around and says, you go in. The longer they spent together, the better it is. They recognized in each other human beings. There are some basic Human Connection between those two men that gets made at geneva. Everything else follows. They agreed to meet again in reykjavik iceland. We had no idea what was going to happen there. Gorbachev came with a whole menu of items that had been nonnegotiable. They stunned negotiators with his willingness to give up several classes of missiles a long hope to eliminate. Ab gorbachev lays it on the table. It was astonishing. Reagan started interrupting, ice and let him talk. Hes coming ourr way. There was a catch. Reagan had to give upre star wars. The whole Nuclear Arsenal was on the table if mr. President , you will get rid of sdi. Here in america we are being cascaded in every corner for wanting star wars. Meanwhile gorbachev was willing to give away his entire Nuclear Arsenal and we would give up star wars. Reagan said no. They can reach an agreement on those terms. The tax on the part. They saw it as a colossal blunder. Given the chance to perhaps start to where the nations of all Nuclear Weapons. Reagan opted to cling to his star wars dream. Sdi. Even reagan wasnt sure he done the right thing. It took a few hours. George schultz realized, this was a breakthrough. Even though that agreement broke down. Once you put something on the table, you can really take it back. Furthermore gorbachev is now able to go back to moscow and say, i went nose to nose with him. He would not give us the agreement we needed. At that moment both sides realized, its done. They know the old game had end ended. Reagan would underscore tht in front of the berlin wall. Tough as a knot rocking the stage and we never gonna stop all strength, no sweat. Just in case you forgot all strength. No sweat s yah, its just a cold. Its not just a cold if you have high blood pressure. Most cold medicines may raise blood pressure. Coricidin hbp is the. 1 brand that gives. Powerful cold relief without raising your blood pressure. Wean air force veteran made of doing whats right,. Not whats easy. So when a hailstorm hit, usaa reached out before he could even inspect the damage. Thats how you do it right. Usaa insurance is made just the way martins family needs it with hasslefree claims, he got paid before his neighbor even got started. Because doing right by our members, thats whats right. Usaa. What youre made of, were made for. Usaa live from americas newest headquarters. Withdrawing now from the u. S. Embassy in baghdad following two days of unrest. They storm the embassy on tuesday upset over u. S. Air strike and killed 25 civilians. They have had targets in iraq and syria and response of the killings of an American Contractor last week. President trump has ordered the immediate deployment of an additional 750 troops to their region. The meantime, pope francis apologizing for this. Hitting the hand of a wellwishers who grabbed him and pulled him towards her. And his wishes he confessed to losing his patience. Camera shows the woman grabbing him and pulling him violently towards her. Back to three days in moscow. In 1987, the anniversary of berlin. Germany invited World Leaders to the city to mark the occasion reagan saw an opportunity to challenge gorbachev from communisms most symbolic platform. The berlin wall. The berlin wall, the barricade that more vividly than a purge illustrates the failure of communism. Every day passes along the barricade with want to break for freedom. Expressions of men determinati determination, to find tyranny in any form one of the things i think made reagan a historical figure was he had thiss uncanny ability to catch the crest of change in history. The berlin speech is a good example. I went over to west berlin as we called it in those days to do some research. The first stop is at the berlinn wall. Over here is the German Parliament building. Standing there, if you close your eyes you can hear the incoming shell fire from the battle of berlin. You open your eyes you can see a free world. Turn and look at the communist world. And west berlin where democracy rolls, these pictures speak for themselves. The citizens well clad walk freely. Hes berlin reveals itself to the camera. Streets are empty. Drive is the word that describes it see the spirit its color and gray. Its motion and nothingness. N officials appealed to the white house to pick another location. They worried reagan might provoke gorbachev. I paid a visit and he was full of ideas of what Ronald Reagan should not say. Dont have Ronald Reagan come here and sound like some anticommunist cowboy. Dont make a big deal out of the wall. They had gotten used to it now. Robbins i discovered the german people had not. I went out to a residential suburb still in west berlin where i met a dozen or 50 germans. I said, is it true . You got used to the wall . One man pointed and said a my sister lives a few kilometers and that direction, but i havent seen her more than 20 years. How do you think we feel about the wall . Ki one woman crystallized for robinson the speech you want to do right. Lovely woman, she became angry. She said of this man gorbachev his hearers with his talk, if he is serious he can come here and take on that wall. Robinson found that reaganask. They built a speech or on the skull to tear down the wall. I said i learned cumberland that on the communist side of the wall they will hear the speeches model. Is there anything you want to say . The communist side of the wall . He thought for a moment and he said, theres that passage about turned on the wall. Thats what i want to say tot them. Wn other agents try to kill the line. There were several objections. One was i didnt sound right with the Foreign Policy apparatus. The concern that by naming gorbachev, mr. Gorbachev, tearld down this wall. That would put him in a difficult position. The world had come to admire him as a man of peace. Reagan was still widely seen as a w warmonger. This wouldnt help. Wouldnt reagan be raising false expectations . Who knew what that wall would comeme down . Our lifetime. He did know how or one. It was time for them to speak out. G he kept the line. Its the right thing to do. Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the soviet union and eastern europe. If you speak liberalization, come here to this kate, mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. [cheers and applause] mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall he was a man of commitment, vision, purpose. He knew we needed to be said. It was a moment of destiny. When you look at what could havh not happened had he not said that, the world may have been a different place. Et this much is certain. Reagan read the situation much more sagely than the Foreign Policy experts. Gorbachev did walk away, six months after berlin he came to washington to sign the nuclear forces, i am after 80. It would lead to the elimination of nuclear and conventional missiles. Famously on that trip, gorbachev surprised and drowned americans. He jumped out of his limo, waited into a throng of admire admirers. Reagan would have his own surprise when the two leaders would meet for their loss i met just three days in moscow. Vaporize sore throat pain with Vicks Vapocool drops and try new vapocool spray. Creais back at red lobster. Ast with new creations to choose from; like rich, butterpoached Maine Lobster and crispy crabstuffed shrimp rangoon. How will you pick just 4 of 10 . It wont be easy. Better hurry in. s im your 70lb st. Bernard puppy, and my lack of impulse control, is about to become your problem. Ahh no, come on. I saw you eating poop earlier. Hey my focus is on the road, and thats saving me cash with drivewise. Whos the dummy now . Whoof whoof so get allstate where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. Sorry hes a baby as he entered his last year in office, some of his doubters conceded he understood the cold war better than they did. I think along the way the president clearly underestimated. One had a sense he had the upper hand in his relationship with the soviets. He had gotten the range missiles not only out of europe, but the whole world. They were arguing on his agenda. He was setting the terms. Not gorbachev, not the russians. That was quite different than what it had been. Nobody including reagan could know how close he was to push in the soviet empire to h collapse. They didnt know it at that point. Moscow was still a superpower. There were whispers, plenty of them that reagan, 77 years of them that reagan, 77 years what to expect from his last summit . Three days and moscow. Great theater at the very least. The trip to moscow road itself. The great cold warriore Ronald Reagan in the heart of the evil empire, literally in red square. You knew this was going to be very special. I remember president reagan getting on marie one and somebody else a question, whatan are you hoping for . He says something like, sometimes the final act is the best act. You always have to no one to leave center stage thats his other line. Its a summation type summit. I believe this much, for all the talk about perestroika, gorbachev was getting himself if he thought he could turn the soviet union into a free, economically productive society. He also sense that even though the soviet leaders when im ready for real change, the soviet people were. He intended to make his case to them. They wanted to send a message. Not just america, but the russian people as well. That began day one. Nancy says, ronald, he wants to go for a walk along the people. There is a Commercial Area near the embassy. The secret service will go. They pointed out that the leaders there dont go walking through crowds. Even though gorbachev did it and america. Mrs. Reagan said, were going to do it. We want to do it in 15 minutes. On the russians realize the president was on their merits, pandemonium ensued. The secret service as that site,e were gone. They grabs the president and headeheaded back to the embassy. Helen thomas, the correspondent will play the role throughout his two terms. Suddenly a kgb guy reached in and shoved her. Helen started to go down. This is reagan turned around and grabbed her and said, come with me. She said, what did you think of that . I said, we just missed her last best chance to get rid of helens thomas. [laughter] in terms of the president making his point, it was golden. He went on another walk. This time through red square. With gorbachev. There was a metaphor for the extraordinary journey that reagan had taken t personally journey u. S. In the survey union had taken with a relationship. That are not to be the high point. It wasnt scripted. There are people around with ken saying hello. Hurry down like it was very informal and nice. Many of those regular russians were apparently kgb operative spared a reporter asked the big question, greg and charlie knew it was coming. Do still think were an evil empire . No. That was another time and another era. He put his arm around gorbachevb he doesnt get any better than that. He wanted to do that walk. No longer believe believe this is the evil empire. Had his mind really changed . Certainly not as much as the soviet leadership had hoped. Gorbachev was going tomi learn that the climactic third day in moscow. Youre made of trillions of cells. They Work Together doing important stuff. The hitch . Like you, your cells get hungry. Feed them. With centrum® micronutrients. s restoring your awesome. Daily. Feed your cells with centrum® micronutrients today. Great riches will find you when Liberty Mutual customizes your car feedinsurance, with so you only pay for what you need. Wow. Thanks, zoltar. How can i ever repay you . Maybe you could free zoltar . Thanks, lady. Taxi only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Hey. Hey. You must be stevens phone. Now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network. Only with xfinity xfi. Download the xfi app today. What was the critical turning point to end the cold war . Some say the Geneva Summit when they first met face to face and directed the scaffolding of their future negotiations. Others named reykjavik, the two sides had reached agreements on important points. Il still others point to the washington summit. Not only because that was where a treaty had been signed, butan because it had enhanced their relationship and friendship between the two men in their nations. Avin my book, i say may been a culmination of all of that. In the moscow summit. Its timing, its tone, its moral achievement. Those three days in moscow to to more than anything. What made the summit to release and . Reagan speech at moscow state university. Not surprising he would choose to go to university. We believe here in america that everything is on the next generation. Thats important to him. To really engage in people. The speech at moscow university. The president wanted to talk about freedom of speech. When i walked in the door i looked up, theres this this huge statue of london. Elector and set up for reagan was right in front of it. Im thinking thats a horrible thing. President reagan was smiling. He sat as an opportunity to deliver this w message. Under lenins eye. His joke later was, how great was it to have lenin staring at my backside for an hour and a half . [laughter] it turned out to be a perfect form for him to deliver his message. The students filed in and settle down. Reagan warmed up his audience by wishing them success in their own language. I know you must be busy this week. Let me just say. [speaking russian] weamericans make no mistake r freedom, you will see children being taught at declaration of independence. Their endowment by their creator by rights. Among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. No government can justly deny it. He spoke to them as if they were bound together in a common destiny. I have often said nations do not distrust each other because they are armed. They are armed because they distrust each other. Peace between nations must be an enduring goal. Not a tactical stage in a continuing conflict. The students listen the rhetorical gift that americans had long appreciated. His outer authenticity. The words more convincing because they were spoken from the heart. America as a nation made up of hundred nationalities. Ties of kinship, they come from every part of this vast continent. From every continent to live in harmony. Seeking a place where each Cultural Heritage is respected. Each is valued for its diverse strength and beauty. The richness that brings our lives. I think the big difference, the big turning point is that up to that point, the president had talked in a negative sense about the soviet union. What i didnt have. And that speech heen held out te hope for what they could have. People in russia wanted freedom, religious freedom, political freedom, human rights i people all over the world. In this moscow spring, this may have 1998, we may be allowed that hope. That freedom like the fresh green sapling planted over tolstoys grave. It will blossom the first at last in the rich, fertile soil of your people and your culture. Thank you very much. [speaking russian] god bless you. The entire speech at a feeling of well gone. It had an invitation. Its an explanation about how human liberty and freedom works. A beautiful speech. Its at a historic moment. The United States has won, but its gracious. After the speech he did something very unusual. He took questions from the audience. [speaking russian] you could see people were a little uncomfortable. They lovedt it. I could be looking out at americans duty tom mack student body. I can tell the difference. Taking the q a really opened a lot of peoples eyes. It exposed reagan to them and them to reagan. He didnt come in as an adversary. He came in as someone willing to have a conversation and willing to go directly to them and talk about their future. Their future reflected ours as well. While the students perception of the president may have changed, reagans resolve to do never attempt to defeat communism did not. Gorbachev learned that the next morning when they reconvened to say their goodbyes. Y be your detergent. Thats why more dishwasher brands recommend cascade platinum. 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Now with boneless wings. s for 40 years no critic have been more forceful than Ronald Reagan. Even when other president s talked of americas fear of communism,om he declared that hs view of the cold war was we win, they lose. As his term in office was winding down and as he befriended the genial russian leader gorbachev, at the 77yearold soft and his views . Had he changed his mind . Is prepared to leave mosco, staff was in serious negotiations in the joint statement he would deliver with gorbachev. The soviets wanted to deliver and message, peaceful coexistence was a universal principle of international relationship. George scholz believed it was a sneaky way of returning to the 1970s detente that reagan despised. When he rejected the language, the soviet leader retched up the pressure. Gorbachev got angry. He said dont listen to george. Make up your own mind. He was sitting right in front of me right beside the president. I saw him take out a piece of paper and write something on it and pass it to reagan under the table. Reagan looked at it and laid it on the table and said, no. Were not making any changes. Gorbachev blinked. You could see he was defeated. He dropped his shoulders. It was over. When he looked up, he smiled. He said lets go to the press conference. After that the wall comes down under george h. W. Bush. I dont think to happen and made a teddy eight. Clearly dynamics had been set in motion that led inexorably to the fall of the soviet union and the end of the cold war. It wasnt gorbachev who tore down the wall, was the People Living under communism. Like those reagan spoke to during his momentous three days in moscow. And all of that time, i had a nickname, the great communicator. I never thought it was my style. It was the content. I was in a great communicator. I communicated great things. He had a different take. Gorbachev wrote, the 40th president will go down in history for his rare perception. What reagan perceived, the clarity of no other statesman was that the soviet empire was neither strong nor durable. It was rickety and unsustainable. Reagan knew all america needed to defeat communism was to be h unyielding lee hostile toward it. Do never except that it wasac permanent. Which brings me back to that tale from the last day in moscow. The argument over peaceful coexistence that slip of paper he had to to the president. Did you find out what was on the paper . That said, you agree never to criticize the russians. That was something reagan did not want to do. He would not do that and a million years. That was it. The game was over then. Early in his administration when reagan had consigned the system to the shape of history. Many people, especially the soviets had misunderstood hisod words. He had been saying that the soviet system was already collapsing. History was already marching past them. By the time of the moscow summit, that fact was evident to everyone. Including the soviets themselves. Reagans prediction was coming true as he, if none others had always known it would. Tucker good evening. Happy new year. Welcome to Tucker Carlson tonight. With every new year comes resolutions to make ourselves better. Tonight we have a special on sobriety, fitting for the holiday. Millions of americans struggle with addiction to alcohol, illegal drugs, painkillers. Addiction has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. Tonight we wont just talk about how the price happened, will discuss how to escape it. Well talk to people will turn their own lives around. First up, dennis rodman