'A Distinctly
                                   American Internationalism'
                                   
                                   It is an honor to be with you at the Reagan Library.
                                   Thank you Secretary Shultz for your decades of service
                                   to America - and for your kindness and counsel over the
                                   last several months. And thank you Mrs. Reagan for this
                                   invitation - and for your example of loyalty and love
                                   and courage.

                                   My wife Laura says that behind every great man there is
                                   a surprised woman. But, Mrs. Reagan, you were never
                                   surprised by the greatness of your husband. You
                                   believed it from the start. And now the rest of the world
                                   sees him as you always have - as a hero in the
                                   American story. A story in which a single individual can
                                   shape history. A story in which evil is real, but courage
                                   and decency triumph. 

                                   We live in the nation President Reagan restored, and
                                   the world he helped to save. A world of nations reunited
                                   and tyrants humbled. A world of prisoners released and
                                   exiles come home. And today there is a prayer shared
                                   by free people everywhere: God bless you, Ronald
                                   Reagan. 

                                   Two months ago, at the Citadel in South Carolina, I
                                   talked about American defense. This must be the first
                                   focus of a president, because it is his first duty to the
                                   Constitution. Even in this time of pride and promise,
                                   America has determined enemies, who hate our values
                                   and resent our success - terrorists and crime syndicates
                                   and drug cartels and unbalanced dictators. The Empire
                                   has passed, but evil remains. 

                                   We must protect our homeland and our allies against
                                   missiles and terror and blackmail. 

                                   We must restore the morale of our military -
                                   squandered by shrinking resources and multiplying
                                   missions - with better training, better treatment and
                                   better pay.

                                   And we must master the new technology of war - to
                                   extend our peaceful influence, not just across the world,
                                   but across the years. 

                                   In the defense of our nation, a president must be a
                                   clear-eyed realist. There are limits to the smiles and
                                   scowls of diplomacy. Armies and missiles are not
                                   stopped by stiff notes of condemnation. They are held
                                   in check by strength and purpose and the promise of
                                   swift punishment. 

                                   But there is more to say, because military power is not
                                   the final measure of might. Our realism must make a
                                   place for the human spirit.

                                   This spirit, in our time, has caused dictators to fear and
                                   empires to fall. And it has left an honor roll of courage
                                   and idealism: Scharansky, Havel, Walesa, Mandela. The
                                   most powerful force in the world is not a weapon or a
                                   nation but a truth: that we are spiritual beings, and
                                   that freedom is "the soul's right to breathe." 

                                   In the dark days of 1941 - the low point of our modern
                                   epic - there were about a dozen democracies left on the
                                   planet. Entering a new century, there are nearly 120.
                                   There is a direction in events, a current in our times.
                                   "Depend on it," said Edmund Burke. "The lovers of
                                   freedom will be free."

                                   America cherishes that freedom, but we do not own it.
                                   We value the elegant structures of our own democracy -
                                   but realize that, in other societies, the architecture will
                                   vary. We propose our principles, we must not impose
                                   our culture. 

                                   Yet the basic principles of human freedom and dignity
                                   are universal. People should be able to say what they
                                   think. Worship as they wish. Elect those who govern
                                   them. These ideals have proven their power on every
                                   continent. In former colonies -- and the nations that
                                   ruled them. Among the allies of World War II - and the
                                   countries they vanquished. And these ideals are equally
                                   valid north of the 38th parallel. They are just as true in
                                   the Pearl River Delta. They remain true 90 miles from
                                   our shores, on an island prison, ruled by a revolutionary
                                   relic. 

                                   Some have tried to pose a choice between American
                                   ideals and American interests-between who we are and
                                   how we act. But the choice is false. America, by
                                   decision and destiny, promotes political freedom - and
                                   gains the most when democracy advances. America
                                   believes in free markets and free trade - and benefits
                                   most when markets are opened. America is a peaceful
                                   power - and gains the greatest dividend from
                                   democratic stability. Precisely because we have no
                                   territorial objectives, our gains are not measured in the
                                   losses of others. They are counted in the conflicts we
                                   avert, the prosperity we share and the peace we
                                   extend. 

                                   Sometimes this balance takes time to achieve - and
                                   requires us to deal with nations that do not share our
                                   values. Sometimes the defenders of freedom must show
                                   patience as well as resolution. But that patience comes
                                   of confidence, not compromise. We believe, with
                                   Alexander Hamilton, that the "spirit of commerce" has a
                                   tendency to "soften the manners of men." We believe,
                                   with George Washington, that "Liberty, when it begins
                                   to take root, is a plant of rapid growth." And we firmly
                                   believe our nation is on the right side of history - the
                                   side of man's dignity and God's justice. 

                                   Few nations have been given the advantages and
                                   opportunities of our own. Few have been more powerful
                                   as a country, or more successful as a cause. But there
                                   are risks, even for the powerful. "I have many reasons
                                   to be optimistic," said Pericles in the golden age of
                                   Athens. "Indeed, I am more afraid of our own blunders
                                   than of the enemy's devices." 

                                   America's first temptation is withdrawal - to build a
                                   proud tower of protectionism and isolation. 

                                   In a world that depends on America to reconcile old
                                   rivals and balance ancient ambitions, this is the
                                   shortcut to chaos. It is an approach that abandons our
                                   allies, and our ideals. The vacuum left by America's
                                   retreat would invite challenges to our power. And the
                                   result, in the long run, would be a stagnant America and
                                   a savage world. 

                                   American foreign policy cannot be founded on fear. Fear
                                   that American workers can't compete. Fear that America
                                   will corrupt the world - or be corrupted by it. This fear
                                   has no place in the party of Reagan, or in the party of
                                   Truman. In times of peril, our nation did not shrink from
                                   leadership. At this moment of opportunity, I have no
                                   intention of betraying American interests, American
                                   obligations and American honor. 

                                   America's second temptation is drift - for our nation to
                                   move from crisis to crisis like a cork in a current. 

                                   Unless a president sets his own priorities, his priorities
                                   will be set by others - by adversaries, or the crisis of
                                   the moment, live on CNN. American policy can become
                                   random and reactive - untethered to the interests of
                                   our country. 

                                   America must be involved in the world. But that does
                                   not mean our military is the answer to every difficult
                                   foreign policy situation - a substitute for strategy.
                                   American internationalism should not mean action
                                   without vision, activity without priority, and missions
                                   without end - an approach that squanders American will
                                   and drains American energy.

                                   American foreign policy must be more than the
                                   management of crisis. It must have a great and guiding
                                   goal: to turn this time of American influence into
                                   generations of democratic peace. 

                                   This is accomplished by concentrating on enduring
                                   national interests. And these are my priorities. An
                                   American president should work with our strong
                                   democratic allies in Europe and Asia to extend the
                                   peace. He should promote a fully democratic Western
                                   Hemisphere, bound together by free trade. He should
                                   defend America's interests in the Persian Gulf and
                                   advance peace in the Middle East, based upon a secure
                                   Israel. He must check the contagious spread of weapons
                                   of mass destruction, and the means to deliver them. He
                                   must lead toward a world that trades in freedom. And
                                   he must pursue all these goals with focus, patience and
                                   strength. 

                                   I will address these responsibilities as this campaign
                                   continues. To each, I bring the same approach: A
                                   distinctly American internationalism. Idealism, without
                                   illusions. Confidence, without conceit. Realism, in the
                                   service of American ideals. 

                                   Today I want to talk about Europe and Asia... the
                                   world's strategic heartland... our greatest priority. Home
                                   of long-time allies, and looming rivals. Behind the
                                   United States, Eurasia has the next six largest
                                   economies. The next six largest military budgets. 

                                   The Eurasian landmass, in our century, has seen the
                                   indignities of colonialism and the excesses of
                                   nationalism. Its people have been sacrificed to brutal
                                   wars and totalitarian ambitions. America has
                                   discovered, again and again, that our history is
                                   inseparable from their tragedy. And we are rediscovering
                                   that our interests are served by their success.

                                   In this immense region, we are guided, not by an
                                   ambition, but by a vision. A vision in which no great
                                   power, or coalition of great powers, dominates or
                                   endangers our friends. In which America encourages
                                   stability from a position of strength. A vision in which
                                   people and capital and information can move freely,
                                   creating bonds of progress, ties of culture and
                                   momentum toward democracy. 

                                   This is different from the trumpet call of the Cold War.
                                   We are no longer fighting a great enemy, we are
                                   asserting a great principle: that the talents and dreams
                                   of average people - their warm human hopes and loves
                                   - should be rewarded by freedom and protected by
                                   peace. We are defending the nobility of normal lives,
                                   lived in obedience to God and conscience, not to
                                   government. 

                                   The challenge comes because two of Eurasia's greatest
                                   powers - China and Russia - are powers in transition.
                                   And it is difficult to know their intentions when they do
                                   not know their own futures. If they become America's
                                   friends, that friendship will steady the world. But if not,
                                   the peace we seek may not be found. 

                                   China, in particular, has taken different shapes in
                                   different eyes at different times. An empire to be
                                   divided. A door to be opened. A model of collective
                                   conformity. A diplomatic card to be played. One year, it
                                   is said to be run by "the butchers of Beijing." A few
                                   years later, the same administration pronounces it a
                                   "strategic partner." 

                                   We must see China clearly -- not through the filters of
                                   posturing and partisanship. China is rising, and that is
                                   inevitable. Here, our interests are plain: We welcome a
                                   free and prosperous China. We predict no conflict. We
                                   intend no threat. And there are areas where we must try
                                   to cooperate: preventing the spread of weapons of
                                   mass destruction... attaining peace on the Korean
                                   peninsula.

                                   Yet the conduct of China's government can be alarming
                                   abroad, and appalling at home. Beijing has been
                                   investing its growing wealth in strategic nuclear
                                   weapons... new ballistic missiles... a blue-water navy
                                   and a long-range airforce. It is an espionage threat to
                                   our country. Meanwhile, the State Department has
                                   reported that "all public dissent against the party and
                                   government [has been] effectively silenced" - a tragic
                                   achievement in a nation of 1.2 billion people. China's
                                   government is an enemy of religious freedom and a
                                   sponsor of forced abortion - policies without reason and
                                   without mercy.

                                   All of these facts must be squarely faced. China is a
                                   competitor, not a strategic partner. We must deal with
                                   China without ill-will - but without illusions.

                                   By the same token, that regime must have no illusions
                                   about American power and purpose. As Dean Rusk
                                   observed during the Cold War, "It is not healthy for a
                                   regime ... to incur, by their lawlessness and aggressive
                                   conduct, the implacable opposition of the American
                                   people."

                                   We must show American power and purpose in strong
                                   support for our Asian friends and allies - for democratic
                                   South Korea across the Yellow Sea... for democratic
                                   Japan and the Philippines across the China seas ... for
                                   democratic Australia and Thailand. This means keeping
                                   our pledge to deter aggression against the Republic of
                                   Korea, and strengthening security ties with Japan. This
                                   means expanding theater missile defenses among our
                                   allies. 

                                   And this means honoring our promises to the people of
                                   Taiwan. We do not deny there is one China. But we
                                   deny the right of Beijing to impose their rule on a free
                                   people. As I've said before, we will help Taiwan to
                                   defend itself. 

                                   The greatest threats to peace come when democratic
                                   forces are weak and disunited. Right now, America has
                                   many important bilateral alliances in Asia. We should
                                   work toward a day when the fellowship of free Pacific
                                   nations is as strong and united as our Atlantic
                                   Partnership. If I am president, China will find itself
                                   respected as a great power, but in a region of strong
                                   democratic alliances. It will be unthreatened, but not
                                   unchecked. 

                                   China will find in America a confident and willing trade
                                   partner. And with trade comes our standing invitation
                                   into the world of economic freedom. China's entry into
                                   the World Trade Organization is welcome, and this
                                   should open the door for Taiwan as well. But given
                                   China's poor record in honoring agreements, it will take
                                   a strong administration to hold them to their word.

                                   If I am president, China will know that America's values
                                   are always part of America's agenda. Our advocacy of
                                   human freedom is not a formality of diplomacy, it is a
                                   fundamental commitment of our country. It is the
                                   source of our confidence that communism, in every
                                   form, has seen its day. 

                                   And I view free trade as an important ally in what
                                   Ronald Reagan called "a forward strategy for freedom."
                                   The case for trade is not just monetary, but moral.
                                   Economic freedom creates habits of liberty. And habits
                                   of liberty create expectations of democracy. There are
                                   no guarantees, but there are good examples, from Chile
                                   to Taiwan. Trade freely with China, and time is on our
                                   side.

                                   Russia stands as another reminder that a world
                                   increasingly at peace is also a world in transition. Here,
                                   too, patience is needed - patience, consistency, and a
                                   principled reliance on democratic forces.

                                   In the breadth of its land, the talent and courage of its
                                   people, the wealth of its resources, and the reach of its
                                   weapons, Russia is a great power, and must always be
                                   treated as such. Few people have suffered more in this
                                   century. And though we trust the worst is behind them,
                                   their troubles are not over. This past decade, for
                                   Russia, has been an epic of deliverance and
                                   disappointment.

                                   Our first order of business is the national security of our
                                   nation - and here both Russia and the United States
                                   face a changed world. Instead of confronting each other,
                                   we confront the legacy of a dead ideological rivalry --
                                   thousands of nuclear weapons, which, in the case of
                                   Russia, may not be secure. And together we also face
                                   an emerging threat - from rogue nations, nuclear theft
                                   and accidental launch. All this requires nothing short of
                                   a new strategic relationship to protect the peace of the
                                   world.

                                   We can hope that the new Russian Duma will ratify
                                   START II, as we have done. But this is not our most
                                   pressing challenge. The greater problem was first
                                   addressed in 1991 by Senator Lugar and Senator Sam
                                   Nunn. In an act of foresight and statesmanship, they
                                   realized that existing Russian nuclear facilities were in
                                   danger of being compromised. Under the Nunn-Lugar
                                   program, security at many Russian nuclear facilities has
                                   been improved and warheads have been destroyed. 

                                   Even so, the Energy Department warns us that our
                                   estimates of Russian nuclear stockpiles could be off by
                                   as much as 30 percent. In other words, a great deal of
                                   Russian nuclear material cannot be accounted for. The
                                   next president must press for an accurate inventory of
                                   all this material. And we must do more. I'll ask the
                                   Congress to increase substantially our assistance to
                                   dismantle as many of Russia's weapons as possible, as
                                   quickly as possible. 

                                   We will still, however, need missile defense systems -
                                   both theater and national. If I am commander-in-chief,
                                   we will develop and deploy them.

                                   Under the mutual threat of rogue nations, there is a
                                   real possibility the Russians could join with us and our
                                   friends and allies to cooperate on missile defense
                                   systems. But there is a condition. Russia must break its
                                   dangerous habit of proliferation.

                                   In the hard work of halting proliferation, the
                                   Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is not the answer. I've
                                   said that our nation should continue its moratorium on
                                   testing. Yet far more important is to constrict the
                                   supply of nuclear materials and the means to deliver
                                   them - by making this a priority with Russia and China.
                                   Our nation must cut off the demand for nuclear weapons
                                   - by addressing the security concerns of those who
                                   renounce these weapons. And our nation must diminish
                                   the evil attraction of these weapons for rogue states -
                                   by rendering them useless with missile defense. The
                                   Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty does nothing to gain
                                   these goals. It does not stop proliferation, especially to
                                   renegade regimes. It is not verifiable. It is not
                                   enforceable. And it would stop us from ensuring the
                                   safety and reliability of our nation's deterrent, should
                                   the need arise. On these crucial matters, it offers only
                                   words and false hopes and high intentions - with no
                                   guarantees whatever. We can fight the spread of
                                   nuclear weapons, but we cannot wish them away with
                                   unwise treaties.

                                   Dealing with Russia on essential issues will be far
                                   easier if we are dealing with a democratic and free
                                   Russia. Our goal is to promote, not only the appearance
                                   of democracy in Russia, but the structures, spirit, and
                                   reality of democracy. This is clearly not done by
                                   focusing our aid and attention on a corrupt and favored
                                   elite. Real change in Russia - as in China - will come
                                   not from above, but from below. From a rising class of
                                   entrepreneurs and business people. From new leaders in
                                   Russia's regions who will build a new Russian state,
                                   where power is shared, not controlled. Our assistance,
                                   investments and loans should go directly to the Russian
                                   people, not to enrich the bank accounts of corrupt
                                   officials. 

                                   America should reach out to a new generation of
                                   Russians through educational exchanges and programs
                                   to support the rule of law and a civil society. And the
                                   Russian people, next month, must be given a free and
                                   fair choice in their election. We cannot buy reform for
                                   Russia, but we can be Russia's ally in self-reform.

                                   Even as we support Russian reform, we cannot excuse
                                   Russian brutality. When the Russian government
                                   attacks civilians - killing women and children, leaving
                                   orphans and refugees - it can no longer expect aid from
                                   international lending institutions. The Russian
                                   government will discover that it cannot build a stable
                                   and unified nation on the ruins of human rights. That it
                                   cannot learn the lessons of democracy from the
                                   textbook of tyranny. We want to cooperate with Russia
                                   on its concern with terrorism, but that is impossible
                                   unless Moscow operates with civilized self-restraint.

                                   Just as we do not want Russia to descend into cruelty,
                                   we do not want it to return to imperialism. Russia does
                                   have interests with its newly independent neighbors.
                                   But those interests must be expressed in commerce and
                                   diplomacy - not coercion and domination. A return to
                                   Russian imperialism would endanger both Russian
                                   democracy and the states on Russia's borders. The
                                   United States should actively support the nations of the
                                   Baltics, the Caucasus and Central Asia, along with
                                   Ukraine, by promoting regional peace and economic
                                   development, and opening links to the wider world. 

                                   Often overlooked in our strategic calculations is that
                                   great land that rests at the south of Eurasia. This
                                   coming century will see democratic India's arrival as a
                                   force in the world. A vast population, before long the
                                   world's most populous nation. A changing economy, in
                                   which 3 of its 5 wealthiest citizens are software
                                   entrepreneurs. 

                                   India is now debating its future and its strategic path,
                                   and the United States must pay it more attention. We
                                   should establish more trade and investment with India
                                   as it opens to the world. And we should work with the
                                   Indian government, ensuring it is a force for stability
                                   and security in Asia. This should not undermine our
                                   longstanding relationship with Pakistan, which remains
                                   crucial to the peace of the region. 

                                   All our goals in Eurasia will depend on America
                                   strengthening the alliances that sustain our
                                   influence-in Europe and East Asia and the Middle East. 

                                   Alliances are not just for crises -- summoned into action
                                   when the fire bell sounds. They are sustained by
                                   contact and trust. The Gulf War coalition, for example,
                                   was raised on the foundation of a president's vision and
                                   effort and integrity. Never again should an American
                                   president spend nine days in China, and not even
                                   bother to stop in Tokyo or Seoul or Manila. Never again
                                   should an American president fall silent when China
                                   criticizes our security ties with Japan. 

                                   For NATO to be strong, cohesive and active, the
                                   President must give it consistent direction: on the
                                   alliance's purpose; on Europe's need to invest more in
                                   defense capabilities; and, when necessary, in military
                                   conflict.

                                   To be relied upon when they are needed, our allies must
                                   be respected when they are not.

                                   We have partners, not satellites. Our goal is a
                                   fellowship of strong, not weak, nations. And this
                                   requires both more American consultation and more
                                   American leadership. The United States needs its
                                   European allies, as well as friends in other regions, to
                                   help us with security challenges as they arise. For our
                                   allies, sharing the enormous opportunities of Eurasia
                                   also means sharing the burdens and risks of sustaining
                                   the peace. The support of friends allows America to
                                   reserve its power and will for the vital interests we
                                   share. 

                                   Likewise, international organizations can serve the
                                   cause of peace. I will never place U.S. troops under U.N.
                                   command - but the U.N. can help in weapons
                                   inspections, peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts. If I
                                   am president, America will pay its dues - but only if the
                                   U.N.'s bureaucracy is reformed, and our disproportionate
                                   share of its costs is reduced. 

                                   There must also be reform of international financial
                                   institutions - the World Bank and the IMF. They can be
                                   a source of stability in economic crisis. But they should
                                   not impose austerity, bailing out bankers while
                                   impoverishing a middle class. They should not prop up
                                   failed and corrupt financial systems. These
                                   organizations should encourage the basics of economic
                                   growth and free markets. Spreading the rule of law and
                                   wise budget practices. Promoting sound banking laws
                                   and accounting rules. Most of all, these institutions
                                   themselves must be more transparent and accountable.

                                   All the aims I've described today are important. But
                                   they are not imperial. America has never been an
                                   empire. We may be the only great power in history that
                                   had the chance, and refused - preferring greatness to
                                   power and justice to glory. 

                                   We are a nation that helped defeat Germany in 1945 -
                                   which had launched a war costing 55 million lives. Less
                                   than five years later we launched an airlift to save the
                                   people of Berlin from starvation and tyranny. And a
                                   generation of Germans remember the "raisin bombers"
                                   that dropped candy and raisins for children.

                                   We are a nation that defeated Japan - then distributed
                                   food, wrote a constitution, encouraged labor unions and
                                   gave women the right to vote. Japanese who expected
                                   retribution received mercy instead. Over the entrance of
                                   one American army camp, there was a banner that read,
                                   "Be neat. Be soldierly. Be proud. Behave. Be American."

                                   No one questioned what those words meant: "Be
                                   American." They meant we were humble in victory. That
                                   we were liberators, not conquerors. And when American
                                   soldiers hugged the survivors of death camps, and
                                   shared their tears, and welcomed them back from a
                                   nightmare world, our country was confirmed in its
                                   calling. 

                                   The duties of our day are different. But the values of
                                   our nation do not change. Let us reject the blinders of
                                   isolationism, just as we refuse the crown of empire. Let
                                   us not dominate others with our power - or betray them
                                   with our indifference. And let us have an American
                                   foreign policy that reflects American character. The
                                   modesty of true strength. The humility of real
                                   greatness. 

                                   This is the strong heart of America. And this will be the
                                   spirit of my administration.

                                   I believe this kind of foreign policy will inspire our
                                   people and restore the bipartisanship so necessary to
                                   our peace and security. 

                                   Many years ago, Alexander Solzhenitzyn challenged
                                   American politicians. "Perhaps," he said, "some of you
                                   still feel yourselves just as representatives of your
                                   state or party. We do not perceive these differences.
                                   We do not look on you as Democrats or Republicans,
                                   not as representatives of the East or West Coast or the
                                   Midwest.... Upon [you] depends whether the course of
                                   world history will tend to tragedy or salvation."

                                   That is still our challenge. And that is still our choice. 

                                   Thank you.

