[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 38 (Thursday, March 30, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO CASPAR WEINBERGER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JOE WILSON

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 30, 2006

  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, this week, America lost a 
statesman wIth the death of former Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger 
on Tuesday in Bangor, Maine.
  Secretary Weinberger was the architect of President Ronald Reagan's 
vision to establish Peace Through Strength leading to victory in the 
Cold War and liberation of millions of people across Central Europe, 
Eastern Europe, and Asia.
  I am glad to join President Bush's heartfelt praise:

      Statement By The President on The Death of Caspar Weinberger

       Caspar Weinberger was an American statesman and a dedicated 
     public servant. He wore the uniform in World War II, held 
     elected office, and served in the cabinets of three 
     Presidents. As Secretary of Defense for President Reagan, he 
     worked to strengthen our military and win the Cold War. In 
     all his years, this good man made many contributions to our 
     Nation. America is grateful for Caspar Weinberger's lifetime 
     of service. Laura and I send our condolences and prayers to 
     the entire Weinberger family.

  Another fitting tribute was in The Washington Times on March 29, 
2006:

       ``Caspar Weinberger, who died yesterday, was a lifelong 
     Anglophile who embraced Winston Churchill as `one of my great 
     heroes' for forlornly warning in the 1930s that Europe must 
     re-arm against the German threat. Throughout his 
     distinguished seven years of service as Ronald Reagan's 
     defense secretary, Mr. Weinberger warned of `some rather 
     deadly parallels' in the threat from the Soviet Union.
       While Britain and the rest of Europe effectively ignored 
     Churchill's plaintive pleas, helping to set the stage for 
     World War II, Americans responded to Mr. Reagan's warnings by 
     electing him president. Mr. Weinberger, who earlier served in 
     the Reagan gubernatorial administration during the 1960s, was 
     promptly selected to be the architect of the largest American 
     peacetime military build-up in history. That strategy 
     culminated in American victory in the nearly five-decade-long 
     Cold War.
       Barely six weeks into Mr. Reagan's first presidential term, 
     Mr. Weinberger delivered to Congress the administration's 
     first defense budget, which: resurrected the B-1 bomber; 
     greatly expanded the procurement of fighter aircraft for the 
     Navy and Air Force; virtually doubled the purchase of sea-
     launched cruise missiles; significantly increased the 
     production of tanks and other Army weapons systems; and 
     reactivated World War II battleships as a first step toward 
     building the fabled 600-ship Navy, which would eventually 
     feature 12 aircraft-carrier battlegroups and dozens of the 
     world's most powerful ballistic-missile-carrying 
     submarines.
       During Mr. Weinberger's tenure, America spent $1.7 trillion 
     on national defense (or $3 trillion in today's dollars). By 
     any fair-minded calculation, it was a bargain. Less than a 
     month after Mr. Weinberger left the Pentagon in November 
     1987, the world witnessed the first fruits (many others would 
     follow) of his seven-year tenure. On Dec. 8, 1987, Mr. Reagan 
     and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the Intermediate 
     Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, which required the destruction 
     of about 425 single-warhead intermediate-range U.S. nuclear 
     missiles based in Western Europe and 650 triple-warhead 
     intermediate-range Soviet SS-20 nuclear missiles capable of 
     striking Europe and Asia. Following steady Soviet deployment 
     of SS-20s beginning in the 1970s, NATO began installing the 
     U.S. missiles in Europe in late 1983. Self-styled peace 
     groups on both sides of the Atlantic, including congressional 
     Democrats who preferred the Soviets' self-serving nuclear-
     freeze offer, pilloried Mr. Weinberger and Mr. Reagan for the 
     missile deployment in Europe. History has recorded who was 
     right.
       Known as ``Cap the Knife'' during his budget-cutting days 
     in the Nixon administration, Mr. Weinberger became ``Cap the 
     Saber'' in 1981, indispensably helping the president rattle 
     the nation to the cause of its defense. When the Soviet Union 
     imploded in 1991, it did so with a very able assist from 
     Caspar Weinberger. Winston Churchill would have been very 
     proud.''

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