Since the end of the Second World War, America has led other nations in meeting the challenge of mounting Soviet power.  This has not been a simple or a static relationship.  Between us there has been cooperation, there has been competition, and at times there has been confrontation.

In the 1940’s we took the lead in creating the Atlantic Alliance in response to the Soviet Union’s suppression and then consolidation of its East European empire and the resulting threat of the Warsaw Pact to Western Europe.

In the 1950’s we helped to contain further Soviet challenges in Korea and in the Middle East, and we rearmed to assure the continuation of that containment.

In the 1960’s we met the Soviet challenges in Berlin, and we faced the Cuban missile crisis.  And we sought to engage the Soviet Union in the important task of moving beyond the cold war and away from confrontation.

And in the 1970’s three American Presidents negotiated with the Soviet leaders in attempts to halt the growth of the nuclear arms race.  We sought to establish rules of behavior that would reduce the risks of conflict, and we searched for areas of cooperation that could make our relations reciprocal and productive, not only for the sake of our two nations but for the security and peace of the entire world.

In all these actions, we have maintained two commitments:  to be ready to meet any challenge by Soviet military power, and to develop ways to resolve disputes and to keep the peace.

Preventing nuclear war is the foremost responsibility of the two superpowers.  That’s why we’ve negotiated the strategic arms limitation treaties—­Salt I and Salt II.  Especially now, in a time of great tension, observing the mutual constraints imposed by the terms of these treaties will be in the best interest of both countries and will help to preserve world peace.  I will consult very closely with the Congress on this matter as we strive to control nuclear weapons.  That effort to control nuclear weapons will not be abandoned.

We superpowers also have the responsibility to exercise restraint in the use of our great military force.  The integrity and the independence of weaker nations must not be threatened.  They must know that in our presence they are secure.

But now the Soviet Union has taken a radical and an aggressive new step.  It’s using its great military power against a relatively defenseless nation.  The implications of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan could pose the most serious threat to the peace since the Second World War.

The vast majority of nations on Earth have condemned this latest Soviet attempt to extend its colonial domination of others and have demanded the immediate withdrawal of Soviet troops.  The Moslem world is especially and justifiably outraged by this aggression against an Islamic people.  No action of a world power has ever been so quickly and so overwhelmingly condemned.  But verbal condemnation is not enough.  The Soviet Union must pay a concrete price for their aggression.