Cheney Marks 25th Anniversary of Strategic Defense Initiative
Rob Bluey /
Vice President Cheney commemorated the 25th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative in a speech tonight to The Heritage Foundation (video below). Reagan’s nationally televised address from the Oval Office on March 23, 1983, changed the course of history, challenging scientists to build a missile defense system to protect America from foreign attack.
Looking back on Reagan’s famous speech, Cheney noted that opinion leaders and some American politicians dismissed Reagan’s vision at the time. Only years later, however, did the speech’s impact become clear — rattling Communist enemies in the Soviet Union and accelerating the end of the Cold War.
There was simply no way the Soviet Union was going to defeat an America so confident in its purposes and so determined to defend itself against nuclear terror. This outcome alone is enough to place Ronald Reagan among our greatest presidents.
Cheney opened tonight’s speech on a lighter note, poking fun at himself.
An invitation from the Heritage Foundation obviously is very special, only more so when it provides an opportunity to talk about Ronald Reagan’s visionary Strategic Defense Initiative. I’m sure Ed Feulner thought, well, if we’re going to talk about Star Wars, we might as well invite Darth Vader.