 Thank you very much. Well, see you. This is our own outfit. Can I put my little recorder on too? You sure can. And if you don't get it all, you can call on us. Yes. You have spent perhaps more time than any previous and ever present with our Queen. I was wondering what interested you most about her. Oh, well. There was no surprise, first of all. Nancy had, as you know, the presence of a great deal when she was there for the wedding. And then her gracious invitation to us at Windsor arrived together and all. There, so it wasn't any surprise that it was only just reinforced and strengthened as to what a truly fine, gracious lady she is. And I think so, unlike what most people would have of kind, separate, unruly, but he's a delightful person. If I may switch to a different subject. Your Orlando speech, in your Orlando speech, you talked about the confrontation on the United States and the Soviet Union as a confrontation of good and evil and darkness and light. And that gave the impression, at least, that there is really no logical conclusion except war and that reconciliation would be very difficult between the two parties. And I'm just wondering how you reconcile that outlook with your aims for peace. Well, Henry, I don't think that those who were there for the entire speech would take it that way. I think it is somehow lifting that out in the context of this line and this description as the focus of evil and so forth. Certainly, their entire beliefs, beginning with the disbelief in God, their entire beliefs are so contrary to what we accept as morality. Witness, acampuchee, Afghanistan and so forth. But no, what I was pointing out there, and I still believe as time-tested and proven is not the inevitability of war, but a recognition and a willingness to face up to what these differences are in our views and between us to be realistic about it. But let me just point out a couple of things. We've seen, under the guise of diplomacy and detente and so forth in the past, efforts to kind of sweep the differences under the rug and pretend they don't exist. I have stated very frankly what I believe the differences are. But at the same time, I have expressed my determination and my belief that peace is achievable. I'm very concerned with those people who somehow seem to think they just, without their realizing they're thinking that they're building in their mind that kind of war is inevitable. I can't subscribe to that at all, but look at the proof. The start negotiations. They have already come down to a lower figure for weapons than was supposed to be the Great Triumph in salt too. Several hundred they've agreed to less than the salt to a treaty. In the INF, they came immediately to the table, no objecting, no protesting to negotiate, and while their offer was not acceptable because of some other terms, from some 350-odd SS-20 missiles, they made a proposal and brought them down to 162. So I think that this just proves that maybe being willing frankly to recognize the differences between us and what our view is has proven that it's successful. Talking about missiles, the number of European leaders from Mrs. Thatcher to Charles LeCoe have been trying to persuade you to put forward a new initiative of an interim solution and we're still with the zero option as the ultimate goal but come forward with an interim solution. I gather that you are very seriously considering such a rule. Well, let me say that, Henry, this is a difficult thing to answer and I'm sure they know this also because we do stay in constant consultation and we aren't going to do anything without continuing consultation with them and I must say they have all expressed great appreciation for the fact that unlike some previous times when we acted unilaterally that we do recognize our responsibility as allies, the difficulty in answering is when you're at a negotiating table and often on I spend about 25 years in labor management relations at a negotiating table, you can't talk openly about your strategy or what you're going to do and I can only point to this fact that from the very beginning when I announced the total elimination, the zero option, I said at the same time we will negotiate in good faith any legitimate or reasonable proposal and that remains true today but to get into a discussion of where you're going or what you're going to do that just is bad negotiating strategy Yeah, but haven't these European leaders already more or less laid their cards on the table? Except that all of them are still openly supportive of our deployment of missiles, our own missiles there as was originally decided in 1979 so that's a little different than advocating a position and wanting an open agreement. If you ever did such a thing that then becomes the beginning point for negotiation. Our beginning point for negotiation was total elimination. Well, I understand that there are two views more or less two views in the administration one that feels that you should wait until the missiles are beginning to be put in place in Europe because then the Soviet Union will be under pressure to make concessions or that you should come forward with your own initiative take the lead and come forward with something that proposes equality but is something less than zero, zero option. Well, again, as I say, I don't think that there are any divisions in the sense of splits here and one faction against another faction on this obviously in discussing all ramifications there are going to be people with different ideas than others and a variety of viewpoints as to timing or numbers or things of that kind there is one thing which we're total agreement on and that is that the ultimate goal should continue to be the zero base the elimination of that whole class of weapons for the sake of the world, if nothing else we're also in agreement on the fact that there must be no change in our plan to begin deployment on schedule. But can you tell me in which direction you're leaving because the Dutch prime minister who saw you the other day made some after he had left you indicated that you are going to come forward with a new initiative. Well, what I said then and what I have just said here is we have announced our ultimate goal and we will, as I said from the very first we're ready to negotiate in good faith an unreasonable proposal Suggest on the way to the ultimate goal. I understand that you're beginning to come under pressure to now talking about US-Argentine relations to give the kind of certification that would be necessary for the United States to sell arms to the Argentine time again. I haven't had no proposal or no discussion has been held with me at all on any such subject. We're watching of course very closely and from the very first as we've always hoped we hope that there will be a peaceful resolution on that problem. What would you advise now in terms of the next step? Well, I think that would be a little presumptuous. I think this is a result of the action taken there. This is something to be determined between the United Kingdom and Argentina. But you're not planning to play the role of the mediator as you did during the war. On the extent that someone would ask our help if we could be helpful. We'd be pleased at any time that we might lend aid to bringing about peace. You've now had talks with King Hussein with the Foreign Minister of Israel and Lebanon. I wonder how do you foresee now the situation developing and you foresee that negotiations of your own plan will perhaps begin soon? Well, I'm very hopeful. I think that we have made some progress toward the first step that we believe is absolutely necessary getting into that and that is the withdrawal of all the foreign forces, the PLO, the Syrians and the Israelis from Lebanon and give the new government of Lebanon a chance to establish its own sovereignty and heal the wounds that have been opened there for so long and the faction wisdom and so forth. I think that is absolutely vital and we want to cooperate in any way we can to help bring that about. As I say with the Foreign Minister, Shamir has been here and then the Foreign Minister of Lebanon, Salem and the senior statesman and the older statesman there and so on, the former prime minister. And we continue, Phil Habib is going back now again, we continue to try and help them toward an elimination of the differences and the differences have grown less. So as I say, we're optimistic and then I believe that once that's accomplished that Hussein will offer himself as the negotiator to then continue the peace negotiations involving all the other Middle East problems. After the Lebanese situation has resolved and there are a lot of Middle Eastern experts who believe that unless you put certain pressures on Israel if there would be no moratorium on the building of settlements in the West Bank, how do you feel about that? Well, the West Bank there certainly is no illegality to the building that based on the Camp David agreement and the period of discussion was supposed to then take place with no one having a claim for or against doing such things. This of course would be where the negotiations then would begin to where the peace negotiations with presumably King Hussein involved in those negotiations. And I think, as I said before, what really has to be resolved is an arrangement involving on one side land, territory, and on the other the need for security. And this is what has to be worked out that one can finally, Israel, have a security that they don't have to remain an armed camp but the great expense that it has been to their economy. And this is going to take compromise with regard to territory on the other side and the resolution of the Palestinian problem which you've got many human beings there that you just can't pretend they don't exist. I mean, do you think that in spite of what Prime Minister Begin has said in public that, as you say, compromise is possible without you exerting sufficient pressure? That's where, that's the reason for the negotiations. And again, just as I was talking about our own negotiations with regard to arms, negotiations sometimes in labor management may describe it, they've been presented as one side asked for the moon and the other side offers green cheese and they then talk their way to appoint someplace between those two extremes and settle it. I know you're not talking about your future plans but if you decided to run for another term what would be your objectives that you feel you haven't been able to achieve in the first four years for the next? Oh, right. I think we have a long way to go in two major departments. One of them the restoration of our ability to be secure nationally, field of national defense and so forth and the other however is the economic situation. Now, so far we haven't begun to get all that we asked for in our plan but I think that now after all the criticism and all the sniping and all the sneering and what they call Reaganomics there is so much evidence that the plan even partially employed was successful that I'm beginning to wonder if they won't decide to look for another name rather than Reaganomics that it's going to be a successful plan and not a failure. But the economy and looking ahead for the balance of this decade to get back to a balanced budget and I would still like to see that then affirmed in the Constitution so that we can never again go down that road that we have in these last few decades that we could begin paying back on the national debt reducing that when you stop to think that the interest alone on our national debt is greater than the total cost of the United States government not too many years ago. We need to do that and to recognize that there is a certain level as to the percentage of gross national product that government takes for itself and takes from the people in taxes but if you go beyond that level you then do disrupt the economy and cause the kind of problems that we've had to eliminate total inflation that has been going through the longest sustained period of inflation in the history of mankind and this recession is worldwide and that is a great danger. This country can actually affect the economy worldwide and I think our conquering so far not completely conquered let us say our winning over inflation so far to take it down from double digits from 12.4 and sometimes reaching as high as 13 and 14 to where for the last six months it's only been running 1.4 percent but the job isn't going to be finished for a while as you look at the projections out through the years there is a lot yet to be done but we have embarked on a different course I can remember when the people on our side the Republicans and you realize I'm talking the party not personal over these years what needs to be done the Republican Party and the Democratic Party the debate they engaged in was kind of a rear guard action in the part of the Republicans against the ever increasing desire of government to spend to intervene in the marketplace to become even more powerful and thus eventually oppressive in the people much of what you've seen happen in your own country the debate today in government is not that debate anymore of the trying to hold back on that increase the debate is both sides agreeing to reduced spending and reduced government and the argument is only about how much to reduce it and I think that's quite a triumph I wondered because of the decline in the oil price that will be a little benefit the majority of countries in the world but it will be to the detriment of two or three countries like Mexico and Nigeria I wonder whether you've at all considered the possibility of taking the advantages that the majority of the countries have accrued to them could be used to sustain and help the countries that are suffering from the decline of the oil price well, we have been of help and we have been with our contributions to the international banks those funding agencies but also in direct help for example as I told our friends and allies in the summit meeting in Versailles discussion of the third world and our view is that you help them develop their own economies not constantly be mendicants with their hands out waiting for someone to give them something we every year buy more of the production of those countries than all the rest of the world put together and we think that this is a way to go we think also that if we are able to order the economic situation that some of those same countries have the highest rates of inflation in the world and thus even though it's going to be there's going to be a temporary readjustment of those reduced revenues but if on the other hand the whole world economic picture they see their own cost going down this will be served to make that adjustment for them and they too will wind up better off but no, we're not going to retreat from the help that we've been able to give and as we resolve some of our own problems we're able to help more Do you think there's the need for reviewing the possibility of an international monetary a new international monetary system? I can't say that I have a hard and fast view on that I think it is something for all of us to look at maybe that would be one of the subject of discussion in the Williamsburg Summit this spring But do you think that the world situation makes such a revival of some new system desirable? I can only say that I think we need to look at it I don't believe that that the monetary system has been the disruptive factor in bringing on this economic recession we've been in I think inflation is what led to the high interest rates the lender has to get back when the loan is repaid he has to have gotten back in interest all the depreciated value of the money that he loaned that is going to be repaid in inflation in money of lesser value than when he had loaned it and so go the interest rates I think right now they're higher than they need to be the real interest rates I think what we're seeing because of our own rate of inflation they should be much lower but I think what we're seeing is timidity they're not quite sure yet that we're going to stay the course and that this is going to continue they've been through in our own country seven recessions I guess this was eight since World War II and every one of them as they came out resulted in higher inflation and each time higher than the last so that we've been on an ever increasing scale that way I think that there is beginning to be this confidence that this time the recovery that we're bringing about is based on sound economic policies and not artificial stimulants when they're aware of that I think we'll see further reductions in the interest rates and as a result of that we'll see further prosperity You, after three and a half years in office you look at younger than perhaps that you enter and I was wondering what is the secret of your pacing yourself Well, one thing I recognize that it would be awfully easy I've always been an outdoorsman to use that expression I've always lived in California been able to get to a ranch ride a lot and so forth but it would be very easy here to sit at that desk and you go home in an elevator the end of the day go back to work in an elevator it's very difficult to get outside at all it would be very easy to let that become your lifestyle but fortunately we resisted and we had a little gymnasium upstairs there and I have a daily routine to work out at the end of every day and frankly I have to say physically I think I feel better than I did a couple of decades ago marvelous Do you feel, I mean as you described it a little now you feel a bit insulated here in the White House Not as much as people think You're insulating the sense that if you decide to leave the grounds you're a group quite a group you can't just go out and walk down the street and drop in at a drug store for a bottle of aspirin or something but on the other hand you have much more contact with people than anyone is kind of believed first of all you're surrounded not just by senior staff but by an awful lot of people who are working here in different capacities and you get to know and you know about their families and their problems and so forth but also the the effort that I make to get out when you go out on say a speaking engagement not the Orlando trip that you mentioned you have a contact with people I stay in touch with all the people that I know and having a ranch is another way because there's a whole circle of acquaintances and people and workmen and so forth How many telephone calls do you take a day? Well I'm available maybe I make more than I take and that is another thing the people that I've known back over the years and former schoolmates and so forth I stay in touch with both my correspondents and the other and then I've done something that I did when I was governor I realize I can't read all my mail several hundred thousand letters a month I instructed there and I've instructed here and a wonderful lady there in charge of that mail department does a good job of knowing the kind of mail that I want to see and not just the friendly letters the ones that have got a challenge letters from young people and constantly sends me a representative sampling and not only for me to read but usually the letters I answer myself so I don't feel out of touch Do you foresee a meeting with Mr. Andropov from this year or? Yes I can see that I think what I would resist is a kind of get acquainted meeting just to have a meeting because I think such a meeting raises people's expectations so high that then to just be able to say well we got acquainted and said hello and not have any result but we are in touch constantly we're not out of touch with the Soviet government and we are seeking areas where we can put together a meeting in which could be beneficial to both sides but you're not making any preconditions what you want really is just preparation that's right no one you never have such a meeting with a precondition on what's going to result you could have determined in advance the subjects that you think should be discussed between do you think it will be in the fall or I can't honestly say whether it be this year or next I I know that there are no no plans immediately or in the near future but I would expect that there would be such a meeting before the first term is out success for us thank you very much I hope you will decide to stay out I can't answer that I know well, it's good to see you thank you very much