Ronald Reagan Expresses Regret over the Iran Contra Scandal (Part 1 of 2) — Transcript

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1. 0:00fellow Americans I have spoken to you
2. 0:02from this historic office on many
3. 0:03occasions and about many things the
4. 0:06power of the presidency is often thought
5. 0:08to reside within this Oval Office yet it
6. 0:11doesn't rest here it rests in you the
7. 0:13American people and in your trust your
8. 0:16trust is what gives a president his
9. 0:18powers of leadership and his personal
10. 0:20strength and it's what I want to talk to
11. 0:22you about this evening for the past
12. 0:24three months I've been silent on the
13. 0:26revelations about Iran and you must have
14. 0:29been thinking about why doesn't he tell
15. 0:30us what's happening why doesn't he just
16. 0:32speak to us as he has in the past when
17. 0:34we've faced troubles or tragedies others
18. 0:37of you I guess were thinking what's he
19. 0:40doing hiding out in the White House well
20. 0:42the reason I haven't spoken to you
21. 0:44before now is this you deserve the truth
22. 0:47and as frustrating as the waiting has
23. 0:49been I felt it was improper to come to
24. 0:51you with sketchy reports or possibly
25. 0:53even erroneous statements which would
26. 0:55then have to be corrected creating even
27. 0:58more doubt and confusion there's been
28. 1:00enough of that I paid a price for my
29. 1:03silence in terms of your trust and
30. 1:05confidence but I've had to wait as you
31. 1:07have for the complete story that's why I
32. 1:10appointed Ambassador David Abshire as my
33. 1:13special counselor to help get out the
34. 1:15thousands of documents to the various
35. 1:17investigations and I appointed a special
36. 1:20review board the tower board which took
37. 1:22on the chore of pulling the truth
38. 1:24together from me and getting to the
39. 1:26bottom of things it has now issued its
40. 1:28findings
41. 1:30I'm often accused of being an optimist
42. 1:33and it's true I had to hunt pretty hard
43. 1:35to find any good news in the board's
44. 1:37report as you know it's well stocked
45. 1:40with criticisms which I'll discuss in a
46. 1:42moment but I was very relieved to read
47. 1:45this
48. 1:46sentence the board is convinced that the
49. 1:49president does in indeed want the full
50. 1:52story to be told and that will continue
51. 1:56to be my pledge to you as the other
52. 1:58investigations go forward I want to
53. 2:00thank the members of the panel former
54. 2:02John Senator John Tower former Secretary
55. 2:05of State Edmund musky and former
56. 2:07National Security adviser Brent
57. 2:09scorro they have done the nation as well
58. 2:12as me personally a great service by
59. 2:14submitting a report of such integrity
60. 2:16and depth they have my genuine and
61. 2:19enduring gratitude I've studied the
62. 2:21board's report its findings are honest
63. 2:24convincing and highly critical and I
64. 2:26accept them tonight I want to share with
65. 2:29you my thoughts on these findings and
66. 2:31report to you on the actions I'm taking
67. 2:34to implement the board's
68. 2:36recommendations first let me say I take
69. 2:38full responsibility for my own actions
70. 2:41and for those of my
71. 2:42Administration as angry as I may be
72. 2:45about activities undertaken without my
73. 2:47knowledge I am still accountable for
74. 2:50those activities as disappointed as I
75. 2:52may be in some who serve me I am still
76. 2:55the one who must answer the American
77. 2:57people for this behavior and as as
78. 3:00personally distasteful as I find secret
79. 3:02bank accounts and diverted funds as the
80. 3:05Navy would say this happened on my watch
81. 3:08let's start with the part that is the
82. 3:10most
83. 3:11controversial a few months ago I told
84. 3:13the American people I did not trade arms
85. 3:15for hostages my heart and my best
86. 3:18intentions still tell me that's true but
87. 3:21the facts and the evidence tell me it is
88. 3:23not as the tower board reported what
89. 3:26began as a strategic opening to Iran
90. 3:29deteriorated in its implementation into
91. 3:32trading arms for hostages this runs
92. 3:35counter to my own beliefs to
93. 3:37Administration policy and to the
94. 3:39original strategy we had in mind there
95. 3:42are reasons why it happened but no
96. 3:45excuses it was a mistake I undertook the
97. 3:49original Iran initiative in order to
98. 3:50develop relations with those who might
99. 3:52assume leadership in a postom government
100. 3:56it's clear from the board's report
101. 3:57however that I let my personal concern
102. 4:00for the hostages spill over into the
103. 4:02geopolitical strategy of reaching out to
104. 4:05Iran I asked so many questions about the
105. 4:08hostages welfare but I didn't ask enough
106. 4:11about the specifics of the total Iran
107. 4:14plan let me say to the hostage families
108. 4:17we have not given up we never will and I
109. 4:20promise you we'll use every legitimate
110. 4:22means to free your loved ones from
111. 4:24captivity but I must also caution that
112. 4:27those Americans who freely remain in
113. 4:29such Danger dangerous areas must know
114. 4:31that they're responsible for their own
115. 4:34safety now another major aspect of the
116. 4:37board's findings regards the transfer of
117. 4:39funds to the Nicaraguan count the tower
118. 4:42board wasn't able to find out what
119. 4:44happened to this money so the facts here
120. 4:46will be left to the continuing
121. 4:48investigations of the courta appointed
122. 4:50independent councel and the two
123. 4:52Congressional investigating committees
124. 4:54I'm confident the truth will come out
125. 4:57about this matter as well as I told the
126. 5:00tower board I didn't know about any
127. 5:02diversion of funds to the conference but
128. 5:04as president I cannot Escape
129. 5:07responsibility much has been said about
130. 5:10my management style style that's worked
131. 5:13successfully for me during eight years
132. 5:14as governor of California and for most
133. 5:17of my presidency the way I work is to
134. 5:20identify the problem find the right
135. 5:22individuals to do the job and then let
136. 5:25them go to it I found this invariably
137. 5:28brings out the best people they seem to
138. 5:31rise to their full capability and in the
139. 5:34long run you get more done when it came
140. 5:36to managing the NSC staff let's face it
141. 5:39my style didn't match its previous track
142. 5:42record I've already begun correcting
143. 5:44this as a start yesterday I met with the
144. 5:47entire professional staff of the
145. 5:48National Security Council I defined for
146. 5:51them the values I want to guide the
147. 5:53national security policies of this
148. 5:55country I told them that I wanted a
149. 5:57policy that was as just justifiable and
150. 6:00understandable in public as it was in
151. 6:02secret