On January 20, 1953, when I took office, the United States was at war.
Since the signing of the Korean Armistice in 1953, Americans have lived in
peace in highly troubled times.
During the 1956 Suez crisis, the United States government strongly
supported United Nations' action--resulting in the ending of the
hostilities in Egypt.
Again in 1958, peace was preserved in the Middle East despite new discord.
Our government responded to the request of the friendly Lebanese Government
for military help, and promptly withdrew American forces as soon as the
situation was stabilized.
In 1958 our support of the Republic of China during the all-out bombardment
of Quemoy restrained the Communist Chinese from attempting to invade the
off-shore islands.
Although, unhappily, Communist penetration of Cuba is real and poses a
serious threat, Communist dominated regimes have been deposed in Guatemala
and Iran. The occupation of Austria has ended and the Trieste question has
been settled.
Despite constant threats to its integrity, West Berlin has remained free.
Important advances have been made in building mutual security
arrangements--which lie at the heart of our hopes for future peace and
security in the world. The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization has been
established; the NATO alliance has been militarily strengthened; the
Organization of American States has been further developed as an instrument
of inter-American cooperation; the Anzus treaty has strengthened ties with
Australia and New Zealand, and a mutual security treaty with Japan has been
signed. In addition, the CENTO pact has been concluded, and while we are
not officially a member of this alliance we have participated closely in
its deliberations.
The "Atoms for Peace" proposal to the United Nations led to the creation of
the International Atomic Energy Agency. Our policy has been to push for
enforceable programs of inspection against surprise attack, suspension of
nuclear testing, arms reduction, and peaceful use of outer space.
The United Nations has been vigorously supported in all of its actions,
including the condemnations of the wholesale murder of the people of Tibet
by the Chinese Communists and the brutal Soviet repression of the people of
Hungary, as well as the more recent UN actions in the Congo.
The United States took the initiative in negotiating the significant treaty
to guarantee the peaceful use of vast Antarctica.
The United States Information Agency has been transformed into a greatly
improved medium for explaining our policies and actions to audiences
overseas, answering the lies of communist propaganda, and projecting a
clearer image of American life and culture.
Cultural, technological and educational exchanges with the Soviet Union
have been encouraged, and a comprehensive agreement was made which
authorized, among other things, the distribution of our Russian language
magazine Amerika and the highly successful American Exhibition in Moscow.
This country has continued to withhold recognition of Communist China and
to oppose vigorously the admission of this belligerent and unrepentant
nation into the United Nations. Red China has yet to demonstrate that it
deserves to be considered a "peace-loving" nation.
With communist imperialism held in check, constructive actions were
undertaken to strengthen the economies of free world nations. The United
States government has given sturdy support to the economic and technical
assistance activities of the UN. This country stimulated a doubling of the
capital of the World Bank and a 50 percent capital increase in the
International Monetary Fund. The Development Loan Fund and the
International Development Association were established. The United States
also took the lead in creating the Inter-American Development Bank.
Vice President Nixon, Secretaries of State Dulles and Herter and I
travelled extensively through the world for the purpose of strengthening
the cause of peace, freedom, and international understanding. So rewarding
were these visits that their very success became a significant factor in
causing the Soviet Union to wreck the planned Summit Conference of 1960.
These vital programs must go on. New tactics will have to be developed, of
course, to meet new situations, but the underlying principles should be
constant. Our great moral and material commitments to collective security,
deterrence of force, international law, negotiations that lead to
self-enforcing agreements, and the economic interdependence of free nations
should remain the cornerstone of a foreign policy that will ultimately
bring permanent peace with justice in freedom to all mankind. The
continuing need of all free nations today is for each to recognize clearly
the essentiality of an unbreakable bond among themselves based upon a
complete dedication to the principles of collective security, effective
cooperation and peace with justice.