President Ronald Reagan addresses the Nation to accept responsibilities for his part in the Iran-Con — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:02my fellow Americans I have spoken to you
2. 0:05from this historic office on many
3. 0:06occasions and about many things the
4. 0:09power of the presidency is often thought
5. 0:11to reside within this Oval Office yet it
6. 0:14doesn't rest here it rests in you the
7. 0:16American people and in your trust your
8. 0:19trust is what gives a president his
9. 0:21powers of leadership and his personal
10. 0:23strength and it's what I want to talk to
11. 0:25you about this evening for the past 3
12. 0:28months I've been silent on the re ations
13. 0:30about Iran and you must have been
14. 0:32thinking well why doesn't he tell us
15. 0:34what's happening why doesn't he just
16. 0:36speak to us as he has in the past when
17. 0:37we've faced troubles or tragedies others
18. 0:40of you I guess were thinking what's he
19. 0:43doing hiding out in the White House well
20. 0:45the reason I haven't spoken to you
21. 0:47before now is this you deserve the truth
22. 0:50and as frustrating as the waiting has
23. 0:52been I felt it was improper to come to
24. 0:54you with sketchy reports or possibly
25. 0:56even erroneous statements which would
26. 0:58then have to be correct Ed creating even
27. 1:01more doubt and confusion there's been
28. 1:03enough of that I paid a price for my
29. 1:06silence in terms of your trust and
30. 1:08confidence but I've had to wait as you
31. 1:11have for the complete story that's why I
32. 1:13appointed Ambassador David Abshire as my
33. 1:16special counselor to help get out the
34. 1:18thousands of documents to the various
35. 1:21investigations and I appointed a special
36. 1:23review board the tower board which took
37. 1:25on the chore of pulling the truth
38. 1:27together for me and getting to the
39. 1:29bottom of the things it has now issued
40. 1:31its
41. 1:32findings I'm often accused of being an
42. 1:35optimist and it's true I had to hunt
43. 1:38pretty hard to find any good news in the
44. 1:40board's report as you know it's well
45. 1:43stocked with criticisms which I'll
46. 1:44discuss in a moment but I was very
47. 1:47relieved to read this
48. 1:49sentence the board is convinced that the
49. 1:52president doesn't deed want the full
50. 1:56story to be told and that will continue
51. 1:59to be my pledge to you as the other
52. 2:01investigations go forward I want to
53. 2:03thank the members of the panel former
54. 2:05John Senator John Tower former Secretary
55. 2:08of State Edmund musky and former
56. 2:10National Security adviser Brent
57. 2:12skof they have done the nation as well
58. 2:15as me personally a great service by
59. 2:17submitting a report of such integrity
60. 2:19and depth they have my genuine and
61. 2:22enduring gratitude I've studied the
62. 2:24board's report its findings are honest
63. 2:27convincing and highly critical and I
64. 2:29accept them and tonight I want to share
65. 2:32with you my thoughts on these findings
66. 2:34and report to you on the actions I'm
67. 2:36taking to implement the board's
68. 2:39recommendations first let me say I take
69. 2:41full responsibility for my own actions
70. 2:44and for those of my
71. 2:46Administration as angry as I may be
72. 2:48about activities undertaken without my
73. 2:50knowledge I am still accountable for
74. 2:53those activities as disappointed as I
75. 2:56may be in some who served me I am still
76. 2:58the one who must answer answer to the
77. 3:00American people for this behavior and as
78. 3:03personally distasteful as I find secret
79. 3:05bank accounts and diverted funds what as
80. 3:08the Navy would say this happened on my
81. 3:10watch let's start with the part that is
82. 3:13the most
83. 3:14controversial a few months ago I told
84. 3:16the American people I did not trade arms
85. 3:18for hostages my heart and my best
86. 3:21intentions still tell me that's true but
87. 3:24the facts and the evidence tell me it is
88. 3:26not as the tower board reported what
89. 3:30began as a strategic opening to Iran
90. 3:32deteriorated in its implementation into
91. 3:35trading arms for hostages this runs
92. 3:38counter to my own beliefs to
93. 3:40Administration policy and to the
94. 3:43original strategy we had in mind there
95. 3:46are reasons why it happened but no
96. 3:48excuses it was a mistake I undertook the
97. 3:52original Iran initiative in order to
98. 3:54develop relations with those who might
99. 3:55assume leadership in a postom government
100. 3:59it's clear from the board's report
101. 4:01however that I let my personal concern
102. 4:03for the hostages spill over into the
103. 4:05geopolitical strategy of reaching out to
104. 4:08Iran I asked so many questions about the
105. 4:11hostages welfare that I didn't ask
106. 4:14enough about the specifics of the total
107. 4:16Iran plan let me say to the hostage
108. 4:19families we have not given up we never
109. 4:22will and I promise you we'll use every
110. 4:25legitimate means to free your loved ones
111. 4:27from captivity but I must also caution
112. 4:30that those Americans who freely remain
113. 4:32in such dangerous areas must know that
114. 4:35they're responsible for their own
115. 4:37safety now another major aspect of the
116. 4:40board's findings regards the transfer of
117. 4:42funds to the Nicaraguan cont the tower
118. 4:45board wasn't able to find out what
119. 4:47happened to this money so the facts here
120. 4:49will be left to the continuing
121. 4:51investigations of the courta appointed
122. 4:53independent Council and the two
123. 4:55Congressional investigating committees
124. 4:57I'm confident the truth will come come
125. 4:59out about this matter as well as I told
126. 5:03the tower board I didn't know about any
127. 5:05diversion of funds to the cont but as
128. 5:08president I cannot Escape
129. 5:11responsibility much has been said about
130. 5:13my management style style that's worked
131. 5:16successfully for me during eight years
132. 5:18as governor of California and for most
133. 5:20of my presidency the way I work is to
134. 5:23identify the problem find the right
135. 5:26individuals to do the job and then let
136. 5:28them go to it
137. 5:30I found this invariably brings out the
138. 5:32best in people they seem to rise to
139. 5:34their full capability and in the long
140. 5:37run you get more done when it came to
141. 5:40managing the NSC staff let's face it my
142. 5:43style didn't match its previous track
143. 5:45record I've already begun correcting
144. 5:47this as a start yesterday I met with the
145. 5:50entire professional staff of the
146. 5:52National Security Council I Define for
147. 5:54them the values I want to guide the
148. 5:57national security policies of this
149. 5:58country I told them that I wanted a
150. 6:01policy that was as justifiable and
151. 6:03understandable in public as it was in
152. 6:06secret I wanted a policy that reflected
153. 6:09the will of the Congress as well as of
154. 6:11the White House and I told them that
155. 6:13there'll be no more freelancing by
156. 6:14individuals when it comes to our
157. 6:16national security you've heard a lot
158. 6:19about the staff of the National Security
159. 6:21Council in recent months well I can tell
160. 6:23you they are good and dedicated
161. 6:25government employees who put in long
162. 6:27hours for the nation's benefit
163. 6:29they are eager and anxious to serve
164. 6:31their country one thing still upsetting
165. 6:34me however is that no one kept proper
166. 6:36records of meetings or
167. 6:39decisions this led to my failure to
168. 6:41recollect whether I approved an armed
169. 6:43shipment before or after the fact I did
170. 6:46approve it I just can't say specifically
171. 6:50when but rest assured there's plenty of
172. 6:53record keeping now going on at 1600
173. 6:55Pennsylvania Avenue