27th anniversary of the "Evil Empire" speech

Newt sent out an e-mail today, highlighting the fact that March 1983 was a very important month in the ultimate demise of the Soviet Union.

It has been been twenty-seven years ago today that President Reagan, against the advice of many in his own administration and to the consternation of many internationally, called the murderous regime an "Evil Empire." Looking back, it can be easy to downplay how much courage it took to stand up against the foreign policy establishment and many world leaders.

On the heels of that, "fifteen days later, on March 23, Reagan unveiled his vision for the research, development, and ultimate deployment of a missile defense shield that would one day end the vulnerability of America and her allies to Soviet nuclear attack," writes Gingrich. "While both speeches were widely ridiculed at the time, they are today rightly hailed as having made decisive contributions to bringing about the eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union a little less than nine years later."

Audio of Reagan's two speeches.

Video of Newt's AEI presentation on the two speeches back in March 2008.