Kennedy Calls For Peace Efforts

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30155, 12 June 1963, Page 17

Kennedy Calls For Peace Efforts

(N.Z P.A .-Reuter—Copyright)

WASHINGTON, June 11.

“I have chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived—yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace,” President Kennedy said in an address at Washington University yesterday.

He meant neither a “pax Americana” enforced on the world by American weapons of war, nor the peace of the grave nor the security of the slave.

“I am talking about genuine peace—the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living—the kind that ables men and nations to grow’ and to hope and to build a better life for their children—not merely peace for Americans, but peace for all men—not merely peace in our time, but peace for all time,” he said. "Total war makes no sense in an age when Great Powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost 10 times the explosive force delivered by all of the Allied air forces in the Second World War. "It makes no sense in an age w’hen the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations unborn.” the President said. Idle Stockpiles “Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons, acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them, is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles—which can only destroy and can never create—is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace. “I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realise that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war—and frequently the words of the* pursuer fall on weary ears. But we have no more urgent task. “Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law’ or world disarmament, and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them to do it. But I also believe that we must re-examine our own attitude —as individuals and as a nation—for our attitude is as essential as theirs,” Mr Kennedy said. Every thoughtful citizen who despaired of war and wished to help bring peace should begin by looking inward—by examining his own a’titude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward 'the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace at home. Attitude To Peace "First: let us re-examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable, that mankind is doomed, that we are gripped by forces we cannot control “We need not accept that view.” he said. “No problem of human destiny is beyond the reach of human beings. Man’s reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable and we believe they can do it again.” The President said he was not referring to the absolute infinite concept of universal peace and goodwill, but to a "more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions —on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements. ‘Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each generation.” With such a peace, there would still be quarrels and conflicting interests. World peace, like community peace, did not require that each man love his neighbour. It required only that they live together with mutual tolerance. submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. Lesson Of History “History teaches us that enmities between nations as between individuals, do not last forever.” he said ‘So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable—and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly—by making it seem more manageable and less remote—we can help all peoples to see it. to draw hope from it and to move irresistibly toward it. •'Second: let us re-exam-ine our attitude toward the Soviet Union.” he said. “It is discouraging to think that their leaders may actually believe what their propagandists continually write “It is sad to read these Soviet statements—to realise the extent of the gulf between us. But it is also a warning—to the American people not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets, not to see only a distorted and despera’e view of the other side, not to see conflict as inevitable, accommodation as impossible and communication as nothing more than an exchange of epithets and threats. “No government or social

system is so evil that its people must be considered to be lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity “Bud we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage. Common Traits “Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. Almost unique among the major world Powers, we have never been at wair with each other. And no na>tion in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Russians suffered In the cause of the Second World War. “At least 20 million lost their lives. Countless millions of, homes and farms were burned or sacked. A third of the nation’s territory. including nearly twothirds of its industrial base, was turned into a wasteland —a loss equivalent to the devastation of all this country east of Chicago.” the President said. “Third: let us re-examine our attitude toward the cold war. Let us remember that we are not engaged in a debate seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different. “We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist Bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes the Communists’ interest to agree on a genuine peace. Avoiding Choice “Above all, while always defending our own vital interests. nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which present an adversary with a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. “To secure these ends, America’s weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled. designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self-restraint Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility “We can seek a relaxation of tendons without relaxing our guard,” he said. “We seek to strengthen the United Natrions, to help solve its financial problems, to make it a more effective instrument of peace, to develop it into a genuine world security system capable of resolving disputes on the basis of law, of insuring the security of the large and the small, and of creating conditions under which arms can be finally abolished ” The President said the. United States would make no deal with the Soviet Union at the expense of other nations and other peoples, “not merely because they are our partners. but because their interests and ours converge.” in defending the frontiers of freedom and pursuing the paths of peace. Cause Of Tension “The Communist drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today,” he said. For there can be no doubt that if all nations could refrain from interfering in the selfdetermination of others, the peace would be much more assured. This would require a new effort to achieve world law. It would require increased understanding and increased contact and communication. One step in this direction was the proposed arrangement for a direct line between Moscow and Washington. to

avoid on each side the dangerous delays, misunderstandings. and misreadings of the other’s action which might occur in a time of crisis. “We have also been talking in Geneva about other first-step measures of arms control, designed to limit the intensity of the arms race and to reduce the risks of accidental war. Disarmament Disarmament had been urgently sought by the last three Administrations, and “however dim the prospects may be today, we intend to continue this effort.” "The one major area of the Geneva disarmament negotiations where the end was in sight—yet where a fresh start was badly needed —was a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. ‘ ‘Therefore, Chairman Khrushchev, Prime Minister Macmillan and I have agreed that high-level discussions will shortly begin in Moscow looking toward early agreement on a comprehensive test ban treaty. Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history—but with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind. “Second: to make clear our good faith and solemn convictions on the 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. 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,” the President said. “Nor would such a treaty be a substitute for disarmament—but I hope it will help us achieve it.” Freedom At Home “Finally, my fellow Americans,” he said. “Let us reexamine our attitude towards peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad. “In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because freedom is incomplete. It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government—local, state and national —to provide and protect that freedom for all citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch ‘ at all levels, wherever that authority, is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land. “All this is not unrelated to world peace. ‘When a man’s ways please the Lord,' the scriptures tell us, ‘he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him’. “And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights—the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation—the right to breathe air as nature provided it —the right of future generations to a healthy existence?” the President said.