quickly that khrushchev wanted to go further. chris: here's the line about testing in the atmosphere. >> to make clear our good faith and colonel emconvictions in that matter, i now declare that the united states does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so [applause] we will not be the first to resume. such a declaration is no substitute for a formal binding treaty, but i hope it will help us achieve one. nor will such a treaty be a substitute for disarmament but i hope it will help us achieve it. chris: the extraordinary thing is we got through the cold war without a nuclear war. both sides had nuclear weapons, lots of them. and this was the most critical period in that time. >> and kennedy figured that if you had a real test ban, if you couldn't test weapons then these arsenals would begin to deteriorate. >> he was also concerned i think about a mistake, a miscalculation. he'd gone through those horrible nine days of the cuban missile crisis five, six months earlier. at any g

that very day to discover spoke to soviet leader nikita khrushchev. systems our working perfectly. i feel excellent. i can hear you. very well your call signal the siegel but let me call you simply valentina are. very happy and proud that our girl a girl from the soviet union is the first woman to fly into space and to operate such cutting edge equipment. but not everything was quite so perfect with that cutting edge equipment. i spoke several times with. i heard she was tired but she wouldn't admit it twice she tried to orient the spacecraft and she honestly said she'd failed to do that. was nervous even though it was only a test procedure. couldn't do it she couldn't operate the spacecraft manually. today the former cosmonaut claims it was because of an engineering fault a ship don't you see there was an error in the program when it was supposed to land instead of descending from orbit the ship was programmed to ascend. i entered the data center from earth into the program and was able to land safely and i might. the doctors had a different opinion because the seagull didn't feel

thanks to nikita khrushchev's intervention and with the tacit approval of surrogate. despite an unfavorable medical commission report valentino a telescope or was appointed the number one cosmonaut among the women valentino social origins played a major part in the decision on the whole she wasn't the best choice. we are loser they choose when. right over do you know why she was a pilot she graduated from law school state university she passed courses in higher mathematics i thought it would be but it turned out to be over. from the highest office she represented her country as head of the soviet women's committee and travelled the world as leader of the friendship society. that was the one moment that could have brought it to an end. the frosty morning of january the twenty second one thousand nine hundred sixty nine this was to be a happy day. a government delegation including to was to welcome cosmonauts returning home from a routine flight they immediately headed for the kremlin. yep assumed you knew i was sitting in the middle of the car you know overly valentino

it was so compelling that nikita khrushchev had it printed in full and said to the u.s.t is the finest speech of a united states president, and seven weeks later, the treaty. and the speech that was just a few days after this was part of a strategy. it was not just an isolated event, it was an incredible well thought, brilliantly led strategy by president kennedy to pull the u.s. and the soviet union back from the brink of nuclear annihilation, which of course was the brink at the cuban missile crisis. and kennedy and khrushchev felt that they had as the two leaders something different has to be done. kennedy took incredible risks and pulled it off. >> and you see the centerpiece as being kennedy's recognition that this kind of nuclear brinksmanship, the nuclear arms race was very dangerous, was something that could result in a catastrophe and that there had to be not simply a tinkering around the edges, but a fundamental shift in the way we were thinking about great power relations with these massive powerful weapons. >> absolutely. and the experts of the day talked abo

were -- it was clear that john kennedy and nikita khrushchev were, and our relationship with the soviets under ronald reagan -- something is odd. >> strikes me as something is very odd, neil. look, ed snowden goes to first china and then to russia. the president doesn't talk to president xi or talk to president putin. now, this is a very sensitive and serious allegation of espionage against ed snowden. no question about it. in my humble pin, borders on treason and probably will end up with treason because he took four computers with him loaded with data, very sensitive classified data. the president made that flippant remark you played at the introduction, that he shouldn't have to call him. and then he later followed that up with he wasn't going to launch fighters for a hacker. snowden is more than a hacker. he was indicted, at least, for espionage and then potentially treason. he is giving the family jewels away. and this is what is so disturbing, because there are a host of other incidents that have also come along. benghazi. need i say anymore. you go and look at syria. we're leading

it was a time of cold war with soviet leader nikita khrushchev desperate to keep the momentum going after garren was first to cross one of the great hurdles of just space race as such the project was kept top secret valentino didn't even tell her own mother what she was doing a break i told her i was in a parachute jumping team and she believed me when her friends congratulated her and she didn't believe them either saying she's not me in the space she's a parachutist it would be two decades ago before the next female cosmonaut went into space and after fifty years only three russian female cosmonauts have ever been in orbit i sense that i'm ok and there are lots of women astronauts and other countries and it's hard to explain why the situation in russia is different this is largely due to russian attitudes to women in space i would call this uncivilized for have they don't trust women enough valentino became a perfect publicist for the soviet union she was banned from flying ever again after good governance death viewed as too valuable a public face to lose along this hall of fame a stat

they caught the essence of it and he had that famous exchange when khrushchev visited at the end of the 50's and said, you know, we have more conventional force in germany and we could overwhelm you there. and eisenhower said if you attack us in germany there will be nothing conventional about our response. and there was well understood that if there's an attack in west berlin for example it would bring in a clear response. and the kennedy johnson administration's undersecretary defense nightmare and secretary clifford adopted the policy of allowing the soviet union to become equal in the military capability within the united states on the theory that then they would negotiate on the basis of the mutually assured destruction and we could stabilize the work. all i did was enable the russians when they got close to surge ahead because they believe in the concept so when mr. nixon was elected he did a job of calling it nuclear sufficiency so he actually reduced the defense budget but produced these multiply targeted warheads so they could have as many as ten independently targeted more han

the john bell division lost for the colonel of the second, ninth, 20th georgia while khrushchev south carolina brigade to more regimental commanders were killed. and another lost the brigade commander who was mortally wounded and died in a farmhouse that still stands on the battlefield along with a colonel of the eighth louisiana in 38 georgia. robert rhodes division saw three colonels killed and seven wounded two of them were also captured. and ambrose's had the worst hits to the senior officers. for a modified if -- four out of 54 wounded. and worst of all every one of the colonels in the north carolina brigade was killed or wounded or captured as were all of those in joe davis mississippi and north carolina brigade. as individuals all of these casualties could be replaced him, but the months and years of experience and familiarity and networking and confidence could not. of course, if we want to measure gettysburg purely by the numbers than the battle imposed even higher cost of the union army. george reader who commanded the army at gettysburg cited 200834 of his own men were kill

the threat made by khrushchev, setting off the nuclear trip wire, starting the countdown to a third world war. this is what berlin meant in 1961 and '62, it's why kennedy said, when he heard the russians put up that berlin wall, quote better a wall than a war. it's why the people of west berlin were so exuberant when kennedy came to visit in june of '63. the american people were determined to stand their ground in defending the berliners. more than that, it was our country's statement to the rising third world at the time. this was the choice they faceds in building their own societies. a free west berlin or a society that needed walls to keep its own people in. >> there are many people in the world who really don't understand or say they don't, what is a great issue between the free world and the communist world. let them come to berlin. >> john kennedy's speech was for all those reasons the finest statement of the cold war. when the conflict was about, what the stakes were, what the rising new world should learn from it. nothing in my life was so stirring historically than to stand on t

. >> like when kennedy met with khrushchev and came back and said i was savaged. it's terrible. in a way this could be another introduction to the cold war. with the situation the way it is. does he really think he is going to be able to deal with putin and syria? >> syria has been a client state of the soviet union since the baathists took over back since forever in the cold war. let me ask you about democracy. do you think we should vote about whether or not we get in involved in wars or not? should somebody vote or should we just do it? getting involved with the syrian war. >> it should be a vote. >> they're not voting. >> we don't seem to learn the lessons of a lot of wars in the past. you know, i don't think you can make the same comparison with vietnam. but i just wonder sometimes when you look at history if we had just had the courage, some of our presidents, to say, i'm not stepping into this. if we didn't step -- if during vietnam, johnson, who was tortured by it had suddenly stepped back and said i'm getting out. >> by the way, you play a politician i believe in. i lov

we're talking about history, i guess it looks a little bit better when you think of kennedy and khrushchevg each other over the wall. i should mention how grateful we all are and how lucky we are to have tom there at the wall the night it came down. often in history we're not so lucky. but after that, you know, there was such a feeling, tom has written about this, that you would have no more competition between moscow and washington, that they could collaborate on things like the middle east. in a way this is a big symbol that that idea is working. >> since you bring that up, we have that tape. the moment, tom, let's see what happened that night. you were there to anchor "nightly news" live and at 6:30 eastern time in the united states. the most amazing thing happened behind you. watch. >> young east germans have rushed through the brandenberg gate undeterred by water cannons fired at them by east german police. they have been pulled up on this wall by other young west germans who have come from this side on this day when the announcement went forward that there would be no more checking f

in a letter to president kennedy that khrushchev would take berlin.ting off the nuclear trip wire starting the countdown to a third world war. this is what berlin meant. it's why kennedy said when he heard they put up that wall, quote, better a wall than a war. it's why the people of berlin were so exuberant when kennedy came to visit. 50 years ago next week. it's because the american people were defending the berliners. especially the newly independent countries of africa that this was the choice they faced in building their own societies. a free west berlin or a society that needed walls to keep its own people in. >> there are many people in the world who really don't understand or say they don't what is the great issue between the free world and the communist world. let them come to berlin. >> kennedy's speech was the finest staimt of the cold war. what the conflict was about, what the stakes were, what the rising new world should learn from it. nothing in my life was thrilling as historically than to stand on this eastern side of that gate and ask

being an underground church and the persecutions became more and more severe, peaking under the khrushchev era. many of us sitting here all praised and rejoiced at the way that john paul the great, ronald in reagan, and margaret thatcher helped to bring down communism. what we do not know is the role and that the christian church played. in 1988, it was the millennial year. mikhail gorbachev and all those things were at play and decided in it would be a good thing to lift the lid off at least for one year. guess what -- it was not going back. this is not ancient history for us. this is very recent history. only since the early 1990's have a we christians been able to find our voice once again and become players. in what are often called the old countries among we also recognize that in america we are numerically small, but we are growing, moving in the right direction, and we are finding both the confidence to bea players in our society among, and a but also we are anxious to share in our story and to seek with all of you the religious liberties that protect our right toare worship god as

i distinctly remember nikita khrushchev in the 1960's taking his shoe off and banging the heel at the united nations. the united nations in new york city threatened thermonuclear war against the united states, we are going to wipe you out. yet just a month and a half ago, he now calls himself the supreme leader of north korea, he will destroy the u.s. with thermonuclear war. likee not heard rhetoric that since the 1960's. that is just the highlights. tensions territorial and lots of things going on around the world. i was in the u.k. last week speaking to command staff and talking with some of my french brothers about mali and what is happening there. a very courageous stance from my perspective on what the french have done. sooner or later, the international community is going to have to address some of these thorny, nasty, tacky things going on around the world. we may think we are done with them, but they don't necessarily the -- they are not done with us. let me switch from that and talk a little bit about what we do with this environment. now we have this brought down, this tensi

and khrushchev heard this speech and said it's the finest speech by an american president since fdr.weeks later the nuclear test band treaty. it's an incredible story actually. it was a world changing story but the words were so per persuasive. these are human beings on each side and we share a common difference. even if we can't now end our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity and the insight is stunning. and the success is stunning. what i also like so much about these events, kennedy was not only a soaring visionary at that moment but a politician. he had to pass it through the senate. how are we going to get two-thirds vote in the senate when hardliners will be yelling. he got 80 votes in the senate at a time of the height of the cold war changed history. >> mike barnicle? >> what's additionally truly impressive about a series of speeches that the president gave that are in this book over a period of ten months or a year is context of the times. at the time these things occurred, you're not thinking about the times that we're living in but this speech --

back we went to being underground with their persecution to become more and more severe under the khrushchev era. many of us sitting here in this room today of praise and rejoice at the way john paul the great and ronald reagan and margaret thatcher helped to bring down communism but what we largely don't know is the role the orthodox church played in 1988 it was the millennial year of the baptism and gorbachev and perestroika were inflated decided it would be a good thing to lift the lid for one year and guess what? like toothpaste out of the two but was not going back. this is not ancient history. it is very, very recent basically only since the early '90s have they been able to find their voice again that is called the old country and in america we are small, but we your growing in moving in the right direction in amir finding both the confidence and we're anxious to share our story and to seek with all of you the religious liberties that protect a right to worship god and we are anxious to protect religious liberties as it is expressed in the foundation of the country to stand shoulder t