 I'm going to stay but I'm guesting on a TV program tonight. Well I know all of you are here on very short notice and some inconvenience and I thank you. Later tonight in that speech from the Oval Office I plan to concentrate on the Soviet military threat and the U.S. defense program. I hope to increase the American people's understanding of the reasons for our defense modernization program and the need to sustain a substantial defense effort despite the economic costs that it contains. I hope we can rise above a sterile debate about this or that level of defense spending to concentrate on the threats that we face and the steps needed to conquer them. As a matter of fact I hope for more than that. I hope that we can set this nation and the world on a new course for peace. Consistent with our obligations under the ABM Treaty recognizing the need for close consultation with our allies I am directing a comprehensive and intensive effort to define a long-term research and development program for defense against strategic nuclear weapons. This could move us a long step toward our ultimate goal of eliminating the threat posed by these weapons as well as the weapons themselves. Our objective is a world of lasting peace one in which no one country could shatter the future by the insane launch of a nuclear attack on another. As most of you know all too well U.S. defense policy over the last two decades has been based on what some call the balance of terror. Deterrence between the United States and the Soviet Union has been achieved by a perception that both sides have sufficient nuclear capability to inflict unacceptable damage on the other. In other words there would be no winners. So far this concept has served as well but I've always been deeply disturbed as I think you must be too at the thought that this would be a permanent solution. For many reasons it is now time to look toward a long-term solution. It's time to start lowering the risk. People of the world are demanding it and future generations have every right to expect it. We need your help and I hope your support in carrying out this long-term shift away from offensive nuclear weapons and toward greater reliance on defense against attack. Although we now have the scientific capability to begin this ambitious project we all know the task we set for ourselves is extremely difficult. We're taking on what could be the most difficult technological challenge that we ever faced. But wouldn't it be a fitting application of the technology of the last four decades if we did use that technology for this purpose. Now I want to emphasize that we're talking about a process that may not reach fruition until the turn of the century or beyond. This will have to be an American commitment that transcends more than a few national administrations. During that time we'll still have to rely on high priority strategic programs such as the MX and the B-1 to protect us until we can more fully depend on strategic defensive systems and we will certainly continue our strong attempts to negotiate nuclear arms reductions during that same period. I'd like to think this could be the beginning of a modern crusade for peace in the days ahead and then in the years ahead. The government and citizens of this century will turn to you and your colleagues for guidance. This quest for a safer world needs your expertise and your wisdom if it's to succeed. Please join with us and help us make this happen. Now I know that I don't know whether they're here yet but I know Bud McFarland and Jay Keyworth will be along in a moment to provide you with some details and answer any questions you may have and in their absence, Bill, should I call on you? All right but I know I can't greet all of you and as I say I see many people I want to shake hands with and say hello to out there but I understand that after you've eaten and I've eaten and I've broadcast and you've watched I'm coming back and have a cup of coffee with you so then we'll say hello.