 Well, gentlemen, please be seated. I'm very pleased that it was possible for us to get together this morning so I can express my deep conviction about the importance of NATO to the United States national security. It's no accident that we've seen an unprecedented period of peace in Europe for the last 40 years. The difference is NATO and the undiminished principle of collective security embodied in the NATO treaty. Let no one have any doubt the United States considers the continued deterrence of war in Europe and the continued health of NATO as fundamental and unalterable parts of our own national security. As part of that commitment to our security, I'm proud of the leadership that we've And I'd like to exercise a privilege as a host and relate to you my pride in the United States armed forces that make up a significant portion of the forces available to NATO. Over the last five years, we've worked hard to improve our military forces. I'm very happy to be able to say that those efforts are showing very positive results. Outstanding young men and women are serving with justifiable pride, doing an inspired and professional job of honing skills that go beyond anything money could buy, but that dedication and old fashioned patriotism make an everyday reality. We've devoted great effort to restoring credibility and deterrence, capability to our strategic nuclear forces, effort that is worth every dollar it's cost. Lest there be any chance of misunderstanding, let me repeat again the purpose of our strategic nuclear forces. They are to deter war, not to fight one. I've said many times that a nuclear war cannot be won and so must never be fought. But I understand that the only way to attain that goal is to be strong enough that our opponents are never tempted to start such a war. I spoke earlier of the collective security principle which is the bedrock of NATO. It's not just United States forces and weapons that provide such collective security. As the report Secretary Weinberger makes to Congress each year eloquently states, you contribute most significantly to NATO and over the past years these contributions have grown enormously. We're aware of that. However, I'm sure I tell you nothing new when I point out that the Warsaw Pact has been engaged for 20 years in an uninterrupted buildup of its forces, a buildup that far exceeds any reasonable need for defense of its own security. This simple fact forces us to the realization that if we're going to maintain NATO's record of the last 40 years, we must continue to make the sacrifices necessary to redouble our efforts. It's not a matter of choice, it's a matter of necessity. In this country, we have an old expression that roughly means that someone in making arguments and stressing points to an audience that already believes your conclusions and knows the situation as well as you do. And that expression we have is called preaching to the choir. Well, I fear that I've been busy preaching to the choir just now, but I want each one of you to know that we in the United States do understand the fundamental value of NATO to our own peace and security. We're dedicated to keeping the record of the last 40 years intact, and we appreciate your dedication to the same purpose. Welcome to our country, and we're delighted to have you here. Mr. President, may I, on behalf of all my brother, Chiefs of Defense, show our deep appreciation for the honor you've done us, and what I know for you, even in your busy schedule, it's a particularly busy day to find the time to welcome us. We really are really grateful it's got our tour off to an absolutely marvelous time. And I also say, on behalf of all my colleagues, how delighted we are to see you back in full health and bigger again. It's a very nice time. Thank you very much. And can we just endorse the words you've said from the engine room, we would like to assure you that we see NATO in good shape as well, with a lot of very real progress being made in a great many fields of the conventional defense improvements, the military framework, concept framework. All of this is excellent work, which is, I think, steadily improving the credibility and capability that are, and we know how much we have to yield your government in this process of improvement. And as you said yourself, sir, it isn't a guidance that we've had 40 years of peace. We're all determined to keep it that way. And if we'd shown some of this unity of purpose in the past, we might not have brought the trouble that we've been in. And I hope you will view our visit as an indication of this great unity of purpose. And thank you, sir, very much for starting it all from such a magnificent and marvelous note. We're very grateful. Thank you. I might say I need no thanks for being here. The way deep buried within me is the second lieutenant of horse cavalry that I once was to be able to sit here and keep gentlemen of your rank quiet while I spoke. I couldn't resist the temptation. Could I introduce each one of these to you, sir? Yes. This is Field Marshal Ramo, who's the United Kingdom and the chairman of the medical department. This is General Fordiagra, who's the chairman of the military. This is General Jerry Terrio, we're going to Canada. Hello, folks, for this tour. We're going to Canada as well as the United States. We were out, pleased to see Spain. We enjoyed our recent visit there very much. General Jesenberg, Maurice Jesenberg from Belgium. Good comies, Bart Lucci from Spain. Happy time today. General Sparrow from Portugal. Yes, sir. He's the person of the Communist Party working out from where you dealt with it. Walter Burke from the Federal Republic of Germany. Nicholas Lyfe from Luxembourg. Andrew Coley, pleased to have you. Frederick Little-Ronson from Norway. How do you do this? I'm Robert O'Rourke from France. Lava Lin from Denmark. Hope Heiser from the Netherlands. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Honored to see you. Pleased to have you here. Oh, it's good to join us. Turkey, his chief wouldn't make the trip. His wife became unexpected. I expected the yield. I'm pleased to have you here. And this is the Supreme Commander Allen from the Forest of Atlantic. He's one of ours. Once he belongs, then you are. Thank you, sir. Pleased to be here. Pleased to have you all here. Thanks very much. Thank you very much, Mr. President. That's a lot of good stuff. We're going to take them out and show them that strategic nuclear deterrent force that you talked about. It's an appreciation. This does the positive role of the nuclear force. Including the Canadians. If you should remember the next time for the rest of the Jesus yeah. I am telling my story about Colonel Hitler. I just lived with a sense of guilt. I did one very important part of the story. When I mentioned that I thought that his having the dinner was because of Hollywood and so forth. I forgot to tell you that I had learned that it wasn't at all when I learned such a question was that in his first appointment to the President of the United States, as a second lieutenant, he had a very, I guess, unhappy experience. He resolved that if ever he was in the other position, he would make sure that any newly assigned person was greeted that way. Then I left that out, and after that I thought, oh, you know, it wasn't fair to current bookers. I will relay that story to them, so alright. Okay. I'll get a section of the new officer's manual. Yes. That site gets there. Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.