Nevertheless, it is clear that the conflict between international communism and freedom has taken on a new complexion.

We know the Communist leaders have often practiced the tactics of retreat and zigzag.  We know that Soviet and Chinese communism still poses a serious threat to the free world.  And in the Middle East recent Soviet moves are hardly compatible with the reduction of international tension.

Yet Communist tactics against the free nations have shifted in emphasis from reliance on violence and the threat of violence to reliance on division, enticement and duplicity.  We must be well prepared to meet the current tactics which pose a dangerous though less obvious threat.  At the same time, our policy must be dynamic as well as flexible, designed primarily to forward the achievement of our own objectives rather than to meet each shift and change on the Communist front.  We must act in the firm assurance that the fruits of freedom are more attractive and desirable to mankind in the pursuit of happiness than the record of Communism.

In the face of Communist military power, we must, of course, continue to maintain an effective system of collective security.  This involves two things—­a system which gives clear warning that armed aggression will be met by joint action of the free nations, and deterrent military power to make that warning effective.  Moreover, the awesome power of the atom must be made to serve as a guardian of the free community and of the peace.

In the last year, the free world has seen major gains for the system of collective security:  the accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Western European Union of the sovereign Federal German Republic; the developing cooperation under the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty; and the formation in the Middle East of the Baghdad Pact among Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.  In our own hemisphere, the inter-American system has continued to show its vitality in maintaining peace and a common approach to world problems.  We now have security pacts with more than 40 other nations.

In the pursuit of our national purposes, we have been steadfast in our support of the United Nations, now entering its second decade with a wider membership and ever-increasing influence and usefulness.  In the release of our fifteen fliers from Communist China, an essential prelude was the world opinion mobilized by the General Assembly, which condemned their imprisonment and demanded their liberation.  The successful Atomic Energy Conference held in Geneva under United Nations auspices and our Atoms for Peace program have been practical steps toward the world-wide use of this new energy source.  Our sponsorship of such use has benefited our relations with other countries.  Active negotiations are now in progress to create an International Agency to foster peaceful uses of atomic energy.