Read this passage from a speech by Ronald Reagan in 1983.I urge you to beware the temptation of . . . [labeling] both sides equally at fault, to ignore the facts of history and the aggressive impulses of an evil empire, to simply call the arms race a giant misunderstanding.

Reagan warns against treating both sides as equally responsible or describing the arms race as a misunderstanding. By referring to the Soviet Union as an “evil empire” with “aggressive impulses,” he argues that the Soviet Union bears blame for the conflict. Choice C best captures that view, although “started the Cold War” is stronger than the passage states directly.

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