Eisenhower's Address on his Foreign Policy Goals

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June 24, 1952

My Fellow Citizens: In the quiet of my room here in Denver, I would like to talk to you this evening in your home. I want to discuss simply and seriously the problem that is closest to all our heart: the problem of peace. Since the time we thought peace had been won in 1945, the tragedy of the death of a son on a distant battlefield has been visited upon thousands of our homes. The prayer of the American family is that their son will be spared. I want to talk tonight especially to those families. I want to talk to the young man facing his turn to serve in the armed forces; to the student whose studies may be interrupted; to the young husband separated from his family and to his wife who is left alone. Secondly, these people should know something of the aims and aspirations and programs that can justify their heavy sacrifices. May I make this one personal observation? I have entered upon a serious political undertaking. Among the reasons which led me to take that step, one consideration that weighed heavily on me was the argument of my friends that the responsibilities entrusted to me through the last ten critical years and the knowledge derived from that experience would enable me to serve my country, effectively, in the cause of peace. No other cause could so completely enlist my energies. In brief, I occupy my present position in this political primarily because I believe that peace may well be at stake. 'We Can Have Peace' our race Let me first affirm for you my deep faith. I believe we can have peace. I believe we can diminish the likelihood of global war; that we can dispel the clouds over the future and lift many of the heavy burdens now laid upon us. But I would not be honest if I led you to believe that there is any easy way to peace. There is none. There is no painless political short cut; no glib solution. our But on our success depends the achievement of almost all objectives; the elimination of casualty lists; the easing of our heavy tax load; the stemming of inflation that raises the cost of everything we buy; the dispelling continued ad- of pessimism; vancement in living standards. Clearly, our foreign policy must based, as is that of other nations, upon our own enlightened self-interest. Before every step we must ask: Is this good for the United States; does it promote our security, our well-being? This is not selfishness. It is recognition of the fact that a strong, confident, peaceful America is the great hope of the free world. In this problem of security there is one central fact from which all our reckonings must proceed. That central fact is a shrunken world in which distance has been almost obliterated and there has developed an unprecedented interdependence among the nations. By inventions, by advanced methods of production and the skills of labor, each portion of the world, including mighty America, depends upon other parts for materials it must have. Today, into this interdependent world has come a threatening force-the force of aggressive communism. It is cunning, it is Godless, it aims to destroy all freedom-and most of all yours and mine because America is its final and chief target. The men who direct that force have a vast power. Already, without a scratch on a single Russian soldier, they have swept nation after nation into slavery. They have moved closer to sources of supply on which our existence depends. Their strategy is to continue to close in until, finally, they can destroy our economy and our freedom. The Communist threat against the free world creates a need for political and military arrangements that will preserve the safety of all and assure the continuance of vital commerce. Because of the fact of the world situation, I should like to say something to you with all the earnestness I can summon. Those who assert that America can live solely within its own borders; those who seem to think we have little or no stake in the rest of the world and what happens to it; those who act as though we had no need for friends to share in the defense of freedom-such persons are taking an unjustified gamble with peace. They are no friends of America's security. Theirs is 'not the counsel of enlightened self-interest. It is the counsel of eventual self-destruction. And the American people have shown time and again that they will not support this stupid and myopic doctrine. The bleak scene of an America surrounded by a savage wolf pack could be our lot if we heed the false prophets of living alone -who preach that we need do nothing except maintain a destructive retaliatory force for use in the event the Russian army should march. Why should armies march if the Communists can count more and more political conquests such as they achieved in Czechoslovakia? This will be the result of a retreat by us into isolationism. But it will not happen if we firmly maintain a real collective security. I can give you this evening only the briefest outline of the practical program which I believe fits the situation. First, we must make sure that every nation ourselves, our friends and the Iron Curtain countries understand the sincerity of our devotion to peace. We reject all talk of preventive war-there is no such thing. Live men and happy families-not synthetic doves-are the symbols of our purpose.

No Wavering on U. N. Second, there must be no wavering in our support of the United Nations. Some regard the United Nations in terms of its shortcomings; and would reduce our support for it to a reluctant minimum. True, the United Nations, in seven years of life has fallen short of its peace objectives. But the whole world has fallen short-and for reasons which are plain. Should we then surrender our objective? Of course not. For our objective is peace. The United Nations is an instrument of peace. Our aim must be to make it more vital and effective. There must be no wavering in our support for the North Atlantic Alliance. Even those who blindly opposed its launching admit that it has stopped the spread of communism in Europe and the Mediterranean. Our security agreements with other American countries and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific must be similarly supported. Third, we must state our purposes in positive terms, rather than in terms of negative containment. We cannot always be picking ourselves up off the floor. We must cease hand-to-mouth operations in foreign affairs. Only through positive pronouncement of our long term intentions in the international field can we ourselves be sure of our nation's aims. We should boldly announce that we will never lose interest in a people who want to be free-who live unwillingly behind the Iron Curtain.

Strong U. S. Is Required This means the launching of a concerted political program that will establish our peaceful intent; encourage our Allies; and assure all the world that as long as any nation is enslaved we shall never be indifferent to its people's lot. Fourth, we must be strong! I look forward to the day when, from a position of unassailable security, we will be able to present to the masters of the Kremlin a just and practical plan for freeing the world from the burden of armaments. When we are that strong, they will probably see in such a proposal their own self-interest and will feel obliged to accept, even if grudgingly and slowly. This would be a true plan for peace and disarmament. To be strong, we must have an unshakeable spiritual strength. Let us constantly proclaim to all peoples our belief in God and our devotion to the ideals and causes that spring from such belief. For you and for me and for our children the cause we support is that of freedom; the right of each of us to live and work and speak and worship according to the dictates of our conscience. That community of belief, of aspiration and of striving is, I deeply believe, our strongest bulwark and our best defense.

Increased Production Urged Along with spiritual strength, we must, at all costs, increase our power to produce what we need for ourselves and an additional margin for the support of our armed forces and for necessary military assistance to our Allies. To retain our economic soundness we must be watchful that we get the maximum return on every dollar spent for defense. A bankrupt America is a defenseless America. Another necessary element is military power. Manifestly the United States cannot station its troops all over the world to protect every area in which we have a vital interest. The essence of collective security as rapidly as possible to lodge the responsibility for the defense of those areas upon their own populations. Finally, we must lead the free world-East and West-toward a unity of purpose that we ourselves must exemplify. There is unity in the world of communism-a singleness of performance based upon fear and terror. Sometimes in contrast our own apparent disunities seem so serious as to be the mark of a fatal weakness. Our unity must be voluntary. We need a broadly based, inspired leadership that will promote understanding of all these issues. It must preach faith instead of cynicism; courage and confidence instead of defeatism; hope instead of despair.

Peace Called Living Force I know something about war: its strategy, its requirements, its tragic cost in blood and treasure, its criminal waste. I shall not rest as long as I believe I can contribute to the cause of peace. The peace America seeks is not a matter of formula alone. It is a vital, living, driving force. That kind of peace will come if we work for it persistently and intelligently. When it does then our sons can return to tasks of constructive achievement. Then all our people of every color, race and creed can be free to follow their opportunities for the full life to which all among us is entitled and to which every true American is dedicated. My fellow Americans, this can be done. We can begin now to make sure that it is done. No other people can take the lead. Just as we are the ultimate Communist objective, so the ultimate answer lies with us. It lies with us because here, in this land of ours, free men have built for freedom such strong support as the world has never seen before. Faced with momentous issues, confronting danger, it is not in our American character to fail. We will not fail now. Hope, faith and work will see us through.

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