05/09/1984
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu...
"I'd rather lose."
"I think it would place in jeopardy the survival of each of those small and fragile democracies now in Central America."
"Defeat for the contras would mean a second Cuba on the mainland of North America."
"Defending freedom over the long haul requires that we get, as it is sometimes put, 'the most bang for every buck.'"