10/13/1983
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu...
"I'd rather lose."
"Defeat for the contras would mean a second Cuba on the mainland of North America."
"I think it would place in jeopardy the survival of each of those small and fragile democracies now in Central America."
"Defending freedom over the long haul requires that we get, as it is sometimes put, 'the most bang for every buck.'"