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Historic breakthrough arms reduction arrangement. but in the end, the soviets insisted that president reagan must drop his "star wars" program to get the deal. president reagan wouldn't do that. >> the soviets feared that sdi was a lot more real than it was that the strategic defense nsht initiative could really protect the united states. it wasn't mutually assured destruction at that point, it was assured destruction of the soviet union but assured protection of the united states. so they went crazy about the sdi. >> translator: the president insisted until the end on retaining for the united...

Superpowers, but we have moral superiority because democracy is inherently good and sovietism is inherently bad. >> the only morality they recognize is what will further their cause, meaning they reserve unto themselves the right to commit any crime, to lie, to cheat. i think when you do business with them, even at a detente, you keep that in mind. >> and everybody was like, oh, this cowboy is shooting from the hip, actor, doesn't he understand that's not diplomat? boy did he get the soviets' attention, but there was tush-tushing about whether this was appropriate for the president to say. >> ...

Here was a soviet leader who was not going by the script. here was a guy that wanted to do business. >> the first indication that some progress may have been made at today's talks at reykjavik came at a white house briefing a few minutes ago. there's no prediction yet on the outcome of the talks, but they give rise to some optimism. >> i was up there as the clock was ticking down. they had worked and worked and worked on an arms control agreement and at the last minute it fell apart. >> mr. president. >> do you have an agreement, mr. president? >> do we have an agreement, sir? >> will you meet...

Said to be in a government guest house, not under arrest, but dozens of polish activists and dissidents were locked up along with former leaders of the communist government. >> have you said anything to the russians, mr. president? >> we've made it plain how seriously we would view any interference by them. >> there was concern the soviets were going to invade and that the poles in their drive for self-determination were going to go beyond whatever mental threshold the soviet leadership had. >> at the vatican today, pope john paul ii expressed concern for the worsening situation in his native ...

>> a reagan administration move to sign an arms deal with the soviets was criticized today by former president nixon and former secretary of state henry kissinger. they said it would be a profound mistake to allow medium range missiles in europe. >> many conservatives thought that reagan had been charmed by gorbachev, and reagan actually had more problem dealing with his hard-right than he did the left. so reagan had to constantly let the right know, i know what i'm doing. >> reagan was being accused already of getting soft on communism, but he hadn't forgotten the problems we still had. europ...