Read this passage from a speech given by President Ronald Reagan in 1987: Beginning 10 years ago, the Soviets challenged the
Western alliance with a grave new threat, hundreds of new
and more deadly SS-20 nuclear missiles, capable of
striking every capital in Europe. The Western alliance
responded by committing itself to a counter-deployment
unless the Soviets agreed to negotiate a better solution;
namely, the elimination of such weapons on both sides.
For many months, the Soviets refused to bargain in
earnestness. As the alliance, in turn, prepared to go
forward with its counter-deployment, there were difficult
days-days of protests like those during my 1982 visit to
this city-and the Soviets later walked away from the table.
But through it all, the alliance held firm. And I invite those
who protested then-I invite those who protest today-to
mark this fact: Because we remained strong, the Soviets
came back to the table. And because we remained strong,
today we have within reach the possibility, not merely of
limiting the growth of arms, but of eliminating, for the first
time, an entire class of nuclear weapons from the face of
the earth. 1
Which aspect of Reagan's plan to end communism is evident in this passage?