In Asia, the relentless pressures of the Chinese Communists menace the security of the entire area—­from the borders of India and South Viet Nam to the jungles of Laos, struggling to protect its newly-won independence.  We seek in Laos what we seek in all Asia, and, indeed, in all of the world—­freedom for the people and independence for the government.  And this Nation shall persevere in our pursuit of these objectives.

In Africa, the Congo has been brutally torn by civil strife, political unrest and public disorder.  We shall continue to support the heroic efforts of the United Nations to restore peace and order—­efforts which are now endangered by mounting tensions, unsolved problems, and decreasing support from many member states.

In Latin America, Communist agents seeking to exploit that region’s peaceful revolution of hope have established a base on Cuba, only 90 miles from our shores.  Our objection with Cuba is not over the people’s drive for a better life.  Our objection is to their domination by foreign and domestic tyrannies.  Cuban social and economic reform should be encouraged.  Questions of economic and trade policy can always be negotiated.  But Communist domination in this Hemisphere can never be negotiated.

We are pledged to work with our sister Republics to free the Americas of all such foreign domination and all tyranny, working toward the goal of a free hemisphere of free governments, extending from Cape Horn to the Arctic Circle.

In Europe our alliances are unfulfilled and in some disarray.  The unity of NATO has been weakened by economic rivalry and partially eroded by national interest.  It has not yet fully mobilized its resources nor fully achieved a common outlook.  Yet no Atlantic power can meet on its own the mutual problems now facing us in defense, foreign aid, monetary reserves, and a host of other areas; and our close ties with those whose hopes and interests we share are among this Nation’s most powerful assets.

Our greatest challenge is still the world that lies beyond the Cold War—­but the first great obstacle is still our relations with the Soviet Union and Communist China.  We must never be lulled into believing that either power has yielded its ambitions for world domination—­ambitions which they forcefully restated only a short time ago.  On the contrary, our task is to convince them that aggression and subversion will not be profitable routes to pursue these ends.  Open and peaceful competition—­for prestige, for markets, for scientific achievement, even for men’s minds—­is something else again.  For if Freedom and Communism were to compete for man’s allegiance in a world at peace, I would look to the future with ever increasing confidence.

To meet this array of challenges—­to fulfill the role we cannot avoid on the world scene—­we must reexamine and revise our whole arsenal of tools:  military, economic and political.

One must not overshadow the other.  On the Presidential Coat of Arms, the American eagle holds in his right talon the olive branch, while in his left he holds a bundle of arrows.  We intend to give equal attention to both.