Ronald Reagan Quotes
The American people, the most generous on earth, who created the highest standard of living, are not going to accept the notion that we can only make a better world for others by moving backwards ourselves. Those who believe we can have no business leading the nation.
Time to Recapture our Destiny
Detroit, Michigan, July 17, 1980
According to ABC News, Libyan Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril announced that dictator Moammar Gadhafi has been killed. The following is from the report:
The flamboyant tyrant who terrorized his country and much of the world during his 42 years of despotic rule was reportedly cornered by insurgents in the town of Sirte, where Gadhafi was born and which was a stronghold of his supporters.
National Transition Council leaders said Gadhafi’s son, Motassim, was also killed though another son, Saif Al-Islam, fled Sirte in a convoy. Three of Gadhafi’s children are in Algeria, and NTC leaders say they will ask the neighboring country to send them back.
“We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Moammar Gadhafi has been killed,” Jibril said at a news conference in Tripoli.
He added that the rebel government will wait until later today or Friday to officially declare what it calls a state of liberation.
The National Transition Council earlier today said that its fighters found and shot Gadhafi in Sirte, which finally fell to the rebels today after weeks of tough fighting. Rebels now control the entire country.
An NTC fighter who says he shot Gadhafi told reporters the eccentric leader was carrying a golden pistol and pleaded to him not to shoot.
Word of Gadhafi’s death triggered celebrations in the streets of Tripoli with insurgent fighters waving their weapons and dancing jubilantly.
The White House and NATO said they were unable to confirm reports of his death.
Al Jazeera aired video of what appeared to be the dead leader, which showed Gadhafi lying in a pool of blood in the street, shirtless, and surrounded by people.
Libya’s Information Minister Mahmoud Shammam told the Associated Press that Gadhafi was in a convoy when he was attacked by rebels.
A NATO official said that its jet fighters struck two military vehicles “which were part of a larger group that was maneuvering in the vicinity of Sirte conducting military operations that presented a clear threat to civilians.” But NATO would not confirm whether Gadhafi was part of that convoy.
Gadhafi had been on the run for weeks after being chased out of the capital Tripoli by NATO bombers and rebel troops.
He was believed to be hiding in the vast Libyan desert while calling on his supporters to rise up and sweep the rebel “dogs” away. But his once fearsome power was scoffed at by Libyans who had ransacked his palace compound and hounded him into hiding.
While reports of Gadhafi’s death have been met with jubilation, Libya now faces a new challenge of establishing a government.
“Let us recognize immediately that this is only the end of the beginning,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
Gadhafi, 69, ruled Libya with an iron fist for almost 42 years. He seized control of the country in Sept., 1969 in a bloodless coup when he was just 27 years old. The then young and dashing army captain and his small band of military officers overthrew the monarch King Idris, setting up a new Libyan Arab Republic that over the years became increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.
Gadhafi became an advocate of Arab and African unity, and openly declared his vision for a “United States of Africa.” But his relationship with the western world was strained and Gadhafi instead became known as the top sponsor of terrorism and for harboring international fugitives.
At the height of his ability to threaten terrorism, President Ronald Reagan dubbed Gadhafi the “mad dog of the Middle East.”
He was accused of backing the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco popular with American soldiers, reportedly funding the hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro in 1985, and the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which resulted in the U.N. and United States imposing sanctions on Libya.
For years, Gadhafi refused to take responsibility for the bombing, but that changed in 2003 when he acknowledged his role and tried to make amends.
Western nations established diplomatic relations with Libya in 2003 after Gadhafi agreed to give up weapons of mass destruction.
The eccentric leader, who amassed power and wealth by controlling the nation’s oil industry, held the title of being the longest-serving leader in Africa and the Arab world.
Over the years, Gadhafi earned an international reputation for his outlandish apparel and much-ridiculed phobias and proclivities.
In U.S. diplomatic cables recently released by WikiLeaks, Gadhafi was described as a “mercurial and eccentric figure who suffers from severe phobias, enjoys flamenco dancing and horse racing, acts on whims and irritates friends and enemies alike.”
He was “obsessively dependent on a small core of trusted personnel,” especially his longtime Ukrainian nurse Galyna, who has been described as a “voluptuous blonde,” according to the cables.
Among his other unusual behaviors, the Libyan leader reportedly feared flying over water, didn’t like staying on upper floors and traveled with a “pistol packing’ posse” of female bodyguards.
As mentioned in the article above, Gadhafi was responsible for backing the 1986 bombing of a Berlin disco popular with American soldiers. Big mistake. Big, big mistake. In response to this, on April 14, 1986 shortly before 7 p.m. EST (2 a.m., April 15 in Libya), The U.S. launched air strikes against Libya. Five military targets and “terrorism centers” were hit, including the headquarters of Gadhafi.
Even before the operation had ended, President Reagan went on national television to discuss the air strikes. “When our citizens are abused or attacked anywhere in the world,” he said, “we will respond in self-defense. Today we have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again.”
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In honor of Memorial Day weekend, let’s not forget what it is really about. Here is one of Ronald Reagan’s greatest speeches – June 6, 1984 commemorating the 40th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy:
“While I take Inspiration from the past, like most Americans, I look to the future.”
As Bon Jovi said in a recent song – “The more things change, the more they stay the same”. As next week marks the 25th anniversary of the Bombing of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi is remarkably still in power, and fighting in Libya is once again the news of the day.
Before I continue, I would like to know – Am I the only one who is confused on how to spell this wackjob’s name? I’ve seen Gaddafi, Qaddafi, al-Qaddafi, and Khadafi – all in different publications. Uggh! For this article, I will just use “Gaddafi”.
During the 1970s and ’80s, Gaddafi’s government financed a wide variety of Muslim and anti-U.S. and anti-British terrorist groups worldwide. In response, the U.S. imposed sanctions against Libya. So relations were never good. In 1981, Libya fired at a U.S. aircraft that passed into the Gulf of Sidra, which Gaddafi had claimed in 1973 as Libyan territorial waters. That year, the U.S. uncovered evidence of Libyan-sponsored terrorist plots against the United States, including planned assassination attempts against U.S. officials and the bombing of a U.S. embassy-sponsored dance in Khartoum, Sudan.
In December 1985, five American citizens were killed in simultaneous terrorist attacks at the Rome and Vienna airports. Libya was blamed, and President Ronald Reagan ordered expanded sanctions and froze Libyan assets in the United States. On March 24, 1986, U.S. and Libyan forces clashed in the Gulf of Sidra, and four Libyan attack boats were sunk.
Then on April 5, 1986 was the straw that broke the camel’s back. A West Berlin dance hall, the LaBelle discotheque, which was popular with U.S. servicemen was bombed by terrorists. One U.S. serviceman and a Turkish woman were killed, and more than 200 people were wounded, including 50 other U.S. servicemen. U.S. intelligence had intercepted radio messages sent from Libya to its diplomats in East Berlin ordering the attack on the dance hall.
In response to all of this, on April 14, 1986 shortly before 7 p.m. EST (2 a.m., April 15 in Libya), The U.S. launched air strikes against Libya. Five military targets and “terrorism centers” were hit, including the headquarters of Muammar Gaddafi. Gaddafi was able to escape from being killed because he received a phone call from Italian politician Bettino Craxi warning him that aircraft were flying over Maltese airspace heading south towards Tripoli. However, his 15-month-old adopted daughter was killed in the attack on his residence, and two of his young sons were injured.
The United States was denied overflight rights by France, Spain and Italy as well as the use of European continental bases, forcing the Air Force portion of the operation to be flown around France, Spain and through the Straits of Gibraltar, adding 1,300 miles each way and requiring multiple aerial refuelings.
During the raid, the French Embassy was narrowly missed.
Even before the operation had ended, President Reagan went on national television to discuss the air strikes. “When our citizens are abused or attacked anywhere in the world,” he said, “we will respond in self-defense. Today we have done what we had to do. If necessary, we shall do it again.”
Parts of Reagan’s speech can be heard towards the end of Def Leppard’s “Gods of War”.
After the bombing, there was no other major terrorist attack linked to Libya until the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland. All 259 passengers and crew of that flight were killed, and 11 people on the ground perished.
Gaddafi shocked the world when he became one of the first Muslim heads of state to denounce al-Qaida after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
In October 2008 Libya paid $1.5 billion to be used to compensate the relatives of the Lockerbie bombing victims, American victims of the 1986 Berlin discotheque bombing, American victims of the 1989 UTA Flight 772 bombing, and Libyan victims of the 1986 US bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi.
It was in recongition of this that the Congress passed a law forbidding strikes by government employees against the public safety. Let me read the solemn oath taken by each of these employees, a sworn affidavit, when they accepted their jobs: “I am not participating in any strike against the Government of the United States or any agency thereof, and I will not so participate while an employee of the Government of the United States or any agency thereof.”
It is for this reason that I must tell those who fail to report for duty this morning they are in violation of the law, and if they do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.
Ronald Reagan’s first year as president continued to be eventful. On August 3, 1981, federal air traffic controllers went on strike. They were seeking better working conditions, better pay and a 32-hour workweek. However, by the union declaring a strike, they were violating a law that banned strikes by government unions. Ronald Reagan declared the PATCO strike a “peril to national safety” and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Only 1,300 of the nearly 13,000 controllers returned to work. Reagan held a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, where he stated that if the air traffic controllers “do not report for work within 48 hours, they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated.”
Even though members of President Reagan’s cabinet were worried about political backlash, Reagan fired 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored his order to return to work, busting the PATCO union. He banned them from federal service for life. According to Charles Craver, a labor law professor at George Washington University Law School, the move gave Americans a new view of Reagan, who “sent a message to the private employer community that it would be all right to go up against the unions”.
The FAA then had to hire and train enough air traffic controllers to replace those that had been fired. This was challenging because it normally took 3 years to train a new controller. The fired controllers were initially replaced with nonparticipating controllers, supervisors, staff personnel, some nonrated personnel, and in some cases by controllers transferred temporarily from other facilities. Some military controllers were also used until replacements could be trained. The FAA had initially claimed that staffing levels would be restored within two years; however, it would take closer to ten years before the overall staffing levels returned to normal. PATCO was decertified on October 22, 1981. Some former striking controllers were allowed to reapply after 1986 and were rehired; they and their replacements are now represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which was organized in 1987 and had no connection with PATCO.
The lifetime ban that President Reagan placed on the striking air traffic controllers was rescinded by President Bill Clinton in 1993.
Here are Ronald Reagan’s Remarks and Question and Answer Session held on August 3, 1981.
“You can tell a lot about a fella’s character by whether he picks out all of one color or just grabs a handful.” -explaining why he liked to have a jar of jelly beans on hand for important meetings
The following is from the Ronald Reagan Library:
Soon after Ronald Reagan became Governor of California in 1967, he began eating “pectin” jelly beans made by Herman Goelitz Candy Company, in order to help him give up a pipe-smoking habit. When Herman Goelitz’s Jelly Bellies first appeared on the market in 1976, Reagan quickly switched to them.
Three-and-a-half tons of Jelly Bellies were shipped to the White House for the 1981 Inaugural festivities. Blueberry, one of the most popular current flavors, was developed for President Reagan’s inauguration so that there would be red, white and blue jelly beans at the festivities. A jar of Jelly Bellies on the Cabinet table.
Before Reagan became President, his Jelly Bellies were supplied by Herman Roland, who lived in Los Angeles, and who was a cousin of the two Goelitz brothers who founded the candy company in 1869. After Reagan moved to the White House, his Jelly Bellies were apparently supplied directly from Goelitz headquarters in the Chicago area.*
President Reagan’s favorite Jelly Belly flavor was licorice.
* From 1978 to 2001 Jelly Bellies were jointly manufactured by two companies, based in northern California and the Chicago area respectively. In 2001 the two companies, Herman Goelitz Candy Company (California) and Goelitz Confectionery Company (Chicago area), combined into one corporation named Jelly Belly Candy Company.
“Well, I learned a lot….I went down to (Latin America) to find out from them and (learn) their views. You’d be surprised. They’re all individual countries”
We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them — this morning, as they prepared for their journey, and waved good-bye, and “slipped the surly bonds of earth” to “touch the face of God.”
– Speech about the Space Shuttle disaster (1/28/86)
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