Home
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
Latest activity
Members
Current visitors
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Home
Forums
Brown Cafe Community Center
Current Events
Cross of Iron
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="wkmac" data-source="post: 306806" data-attributes="member: 2189"><p><strong><span style="font-size: 18px">Cross of Iron Speech (Part 2)</span></strong></p><p> </p><p>The world knows that an era ended with the death of Joseph Stalin. The extraordinary 30-year span of his rule saw the Soviet Empire expand to reach from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan, finally to dominate 800 million souls.</p><p> </p><p>The Soviet system shaped by Stalin and his predecessors was born of one World War. It survived the stubborn and often amazing courage of second World War. It has lived to threaten a third.</p><p> </p><p>Now, a new leadership has assumed power in the Soviet Union. It links to the past, however strong, cannot bind it completely. Its future is, in great part, its own to make.</p><p> </p><p>This new leadership confronts a free world aroused, as rarely in its history, by the will to stay free.</p><p> </p><p>This free world knows, out of bitter wisdom of experience, that vigilance and sacrifice are the price of liberty. </p><p> </p><p>It knows that the defense of Western Europe imperatively demands the unity of purpose and action made possible by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, embracing a European Defense Community. </p><p> </p><p>It knows that Western Germany deserves to be a free and equal partner in this community and that this, for Germany, is the only safe way to full, final unity. </p><p> </p><p>It knows that aggression in Korea and in southeast Asia are threats to the whole free community to be met by united action. </p><p> </p><p>This is the kind of free world which the new Soviet leadership confront. It is a world that demands and expects the fullest respect of its rights and interests. It is a world that will always accord the same respect to all others. </p><p> </p><p>So the new Soviet leadership now has a precious opportunity to awaken, with the rest of the world, to the point of peril reached and to help turn the tide of history. </p><p> </p><p>Will it do this? </p><p> </p><p>We do not yet know. Recent statements and gestures of Soviet leaders give some evidence that they may recognize this critical moment. </p><p> </p><p>We welcome every honest act of peace. </p><p> </p><p>We care nothing for mere rhetoric. </p><p> </p><p>We are only for sincerity of peaceful purpose attested by deeds. The opportunities for such deeds are many. The performance of a great number of them waits upon no complex protocol but upon the simple will to do them. Even a few such clear and specific acts, such as the Soviet Union's signature upon the Austrian treaty or its release of thousands of prisoners still held from World War II, would be impressive signs of sincere intent. They would carry a power of persuasion not to be matched by any amount of oratory. </p><p> </p><p>This we do know: a world that begins to witness the rebirth of trust among nations can find its way to a peace that is neither partial nor punitive. </p><p> </p><p>With all who will work in good faith toward such a peace, we are ready, with renewed resolve, to strive to redeem the near-lost hopes of our day. </p><p> </p><p>The first great step along this way must be the conclusion of an honorable armistice in Korea. </p><p> </p><p>This means the immediate cessation of hostilities and the prompt initiation of political discussions leading to the holding of free elections in a united Korea. </p><p> </p><p>It should mean, no less importantly, an end to the direct and indirect attacks upon the security of Indochina and Malaya. For any armistice in Korea that merely released aggressive armies to attack elsewhere would be fraud.</p><p> </p><p>We seek, throughout Asia as throughout the world, a peace that is true and total.</p><p> </p><p>Out of this can grow a still wider task-the achieving of just political settlements for the otherserious and specific issues between the free world and the Soviet Union.</p><p> </p><p>None of these issues, great or small, is insoluble-given only the will to respect the rights of all nations.</p><p> </p><p>Again we say: the United States is ready to assume its just part.</p><p> </p><p>We have already done all within our power to speed conclusion of the treaty with Austria, which will free that country from economic exploitation and from occupation by foreign troops.</p><p> </p><p>We are ready not only to press forward with the present plans for closer unity of the nations of Western Europe by also, upon that foundation, to strive to foster a broader European community, conducive to the free movement of persons, of trade, and of ideas.</p><p> </p><p>This community would include a free and united Germany, with a government based upon free and secret elections.</p><p> </p><p>This free community and the full independence of the East European nations could mean the end of present unnatural division of Europe.</p><p> </p><p>As progress in all these areas strengthens world trust, we could proceed concurrently with the next great work-the reduction of the burden of armaments now weighing upon the world. To this end we would welcome and enter into the most solemn agreements. These could properly include:</p><p> </p><p>The limitation, by absolute numbers or by an agreed international ratio, of the sizes of the military and security forces of all nations. </p><p>A commitment by all nations to set an agreed limit upon that proportion of total production of certain strategic materials to be devoted to military purposes. </p><p>International control of atomic energy to promote its use for peaceful purposes only and to insure the prohibition of atomic weapons. </p><p>A limitation or prohibition of other categories of weapons of great destructiveness. </p><p>The enforcement of all these agreed limitations and prohibitions by adequate safe-guards, including a practical system of inspection under the United Nations. </p><p>The details of such disarmament programs are manifestly critical and complex. Neither the United States nor any other nation can properly claim to possess a perfect, immutable formula. But the formula matters less than the faith-the good faith without which no formula can work justly and effectively.</p><p> </p><p>The fruit of success in all these tasks would present the world with the greatest task, and the greatest opportunity, of all. It is this: the dedication of the energies, the resources, and the imaginations of all peaceful nations to a new kind of war. This would be a declared total war, not upon any human enemy but upon the brute forces of poverty and need.</p><p> </p><p>The peace we seek, founded upon decent trust and cooperative effort among nations, can be fortified, not by weapons of war but by wheat and by cotton, by milk and by wool, by meat and by timber and by rice. These are words that translate into every language on earth. These are needs that challenge this world in arms.</p><p> </p><p>This idea of a just and peaceful world is not new or strange to us. It inspired the people of the United States to initiate the European Recovery Program in 1947. That program was prepared to treat, with like and equal concern, the needs of Eastern and Western Europe.</p><p> </p><p>We are prepared to reaffirm, with the most concrete evidence, our readiness to help build a world in which all peoples can be productive and prosperous.</p><p> </p><p>This Government is ready to ask its people to join with all nations in devoting a substantial percentage of the savings achieved by disarmament to a fund for world aid and reconstruction. The purposes of this great work would be to help other peoples to develop the underdeveloped areas of the world, to stimulate profitability and fair world trade, to assist all peoples to know the blessings of productive freedom.</p><p> </p><p>The monuments to this new kind of war would be these: roads and schools, hospitals and homes, food and health.</p><p> </p><p>We are ready, in short, to dedicate our strength to serving the needs, rather than the fears, of the world.</p><p> </p><p>We are ready, by these and all such actions, to make of the United Nations an institution that can effectively guard the peace and security of all peoples.</p><p> </p><p>I know of nothing I can add to make plainer the sincere purpose of the United States.</p><p> </p><p>I know of no course, other than that marked by these and similar actions, that can be called the highway of peace.</p><p> </p><p>I know of only one question upon which progress waits. It is this:</p><p> </p><p>What is the Soviet Union ready to do?</p><p> </p><p>Whatever the answer be, let it be plainly spoken.</p><p> </p><p>Again we say: the hunger for peace is too great, the hour in history too late, for any government to mock men's hopes with mere words and promises and gestures.</p><p> </p><p>The test of truth is simple. There can be no persuasion but by deeds.</p><p> </p><p>Is the new leadership of Soviet Union prepared to use its decisive influence in the Communist world, including control of the flow of arms, to bring not merely an expedient truce in Korea but genuine peace in Asia?</p><p> </p><p>Is it prepared to allow other nations, including those of Eastern Europe, the free choice of their own forms of government?</p><p> </p><p>Is it prepared to act in concert with others upon serious disarmament proposals to be made firmly effective by stringent U.N. control and inspection?</p><p> </p><p>If not, where then is the concrete evidence of the Soviet Union's concern for peace?</p><p> </p><p>The test is clear.</p><p> </p><p><strong><u>End of Part 2 </u></strong></p><p> </p><p><strong>Note: The President's address was broadcast over television and radio from the Statler Hotel in Washington.</strong></p><p> </p><p><em>Address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower "The Chance for Peace" delivered before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16,1953. </em></p><p> </p><p style="text-align: left"><a href="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9743.htm" target="_blank"><strong>http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9743.htm</strong></a></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="wkmac, post: 306806, member: 2189"] [B][SIZE=5]Cross of Iron Speech (Part 2)[/SIZE][/B] The world knows that an era ended with the death of Joseph Stalin. The extraordinary 30-year span of his rule saw the Soviet Empire expand to reach from the Baltic Sea to the Sea of Japan, finally to dominate 800 million souls. The Soviet system shaped by Stalin and his predecessors was born of one World War. It survived the stubborn and often amazing courage of second World War. It has lived to threaten a third. Now, a new leadership has assumed power in the Soviet Union. It links to the past, however strong, cannot bind it completely. Its future is, in great part, its own to make. This new leadership confronts a free world aroused, as rarely in its history, by the will to stay free. This free world knows, out of bitter wisdom of experience, that vigilance and sacrifice are the price of liberty. It knows that the defense of Western Europe imperatively demands the unity of purpose and action made possible by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, embracing a European Defense Community. It knows that Western Germany deserves to be a free and equal partner in this community and that this, for Germany, is the only safe way to full, final unity. It knows that aggression in Korea and in southeast Asia are threats to the whole free community to be met by united action. This is the kind of free world which the new Soviet leadership confront. It is a world that demands and expects the fullest respect of its rights and interests. It is a world that will always accord the same respect to all others. So the new Soviet leadership now has a precious opportunity to awaken, with the rest of the world, to the point of peril reached and to help turn the tide of history. Will it do this? We do not yet know. Recent statements and gestures of Soviet leaders give some evidence that they may recognize this critical moment. We welcome every honest act of peace. We care nothing for mere rhetoric. We are only for sincerity of peaceful purpose attested by deeds. The opportunities for such deeds are many. The performance of a great number of them waits upon no complex protocol but upon the simple will to do them. Even a few such clear and specific acts, such as the Soviet Union's signature upon the Austrian treaty or its release of thousands of prisoners still held from World War II, would be impressive signs of sincere intent. They would carry a power of persuasion not to be matched by any amount of oratory. This we do know: a world that begins to witness the rebirth of trust among nations can find its way to a peace that is neither partial nor punitive. With all who will work in good faith toward such a peace, we are ready, with renewed resolve, to strive to redeem the near-lost hopes of our day. The first great step along this way must be the conclusion of an honorable armistice in Korea. This means the immediate cessation of hostilities and the prompt initiation of political discussions leading to the holding of free elections in a united Korea. It should mean, no less importantly, an end to the direct and indirect attacks upon the security of Indochina and Malaya. For any armistice in Korea that merely released aggressive armies to attack elsewhere would be fraud. We seek, throughout Asia as throughout the world, a peace that is true and total. Out of this can grow a still wider task-the achieving of just political settlements for the otherserious and specific issues between the free world and the Soviet Union. None of these issues, great or small, is insoluble-given only the will to respect the rights of all nations. Again we say: the United States is ready to assume its just part. We have already done all within our power to speed conclusion of the treaty with Austria, which will free that country from economic exploitation and from occupation by foreign troops. We are ready not only to press forward with the present plans for closer unity of the nations of Western Europe by also, upon that foundation, to strive to foster a broader European community, conducive to the free movement of persons, of trade, and of ideas. This community would include a free and united Germany, with a government based upon free and secret elections. This free community and the full independence of the East European nations could mean the end of present unnatural division of Europe. As progress in all these areas strengthens world trust, we could proceed concurrently with the next great work-the reduction of the burden of armaments now weighing upon the world. To this end we would welcome and enter into the most solemn agreements. These could properly include: The limitation, by absolute numbers or by an agreed international ratio, of the sizes of the military and security forces of all nations. A commitment by all nations to set an agreed limit upon that proportion of total production of certain strategic materials to be devoted to military purposes. International control of atomic energy to promote its use for peaceful purposes only and to insure the prohibition of atomic weapons. A limitation or prohibition of other categories of weapons of great destructiveness. The enforcement of all these agreed limitations and prohibitions by adequate safe-guards, including a practical system of inspection under the United Nations. The details of such disarmament programs are manifestly critical and complex. Neither the United States nor any other nation can properly claim to possess a perfect, immutable formula. But the formula matters less than the faith-the good faith without which no formula can work justly and effectively. The fruit of success in all these tasks would present the world with the greatest task, and the greatest opportunity, of all. It is this: the dedication of the energies, the resources, and the imaginations of all peaceful nations to a new kind of war. This would be a declared total war, not upon any human enemy but upon the brute forces of poverty and need. The peace we seek, founded upon decent trust and cooperative effort among nations, can be fortified, not by weapons of war but by wheat and by cotton, by milk and by wool, by meat and by timber and by rice. These are words that translate into every language on earth. These are needs that challenge this world in arms. This idea of a just and peaceful world is not new or strange to us. It inspired the people of the United States to initiate the European Recovery Program in 1947. That program was prepared to treat, with like and equal concern, the needs of Eastern and Western Europe. We are prepared to reaffirm, with the most concrete evidence, our readiness to help build a world in which all peoples can be productive and prosperous. This Government is ready to ask its people to join with all nations in devoting a substantial percentage of the savings achieved by disarmament to a fund for world aid and reconstruction. The purposes of this great work would be to help other peoples to develop the underdeveloped areas of the world, to stimulate profitability and fair world trade, to assist all peoples to know the blessings of productive freedom. The monuments to this new kind of war would be these: roads and schools, hospitals and homes, food and health. We are ready, in short, to dedicate our strength to serving the needs, rather than the fears, of the world. We are ready, by these and all such actions, to make of the United Nations an institution that can effectively guard the peace and security of all peoples. I know of nothing I can add to make plainer the sincere purpose of the United States. I know of no course, other than that marked by these and similar actions, that can be called the highway of peace. I know of only one question upon which progress waits. It is this: What is the Soviet Union ready to do? Whatever the answer be, let it be plainly spoken. Again we say: the hunger for peace is too great, the hour in history too late, for any government to mock men's hopes with mere words and promises and gestures. The test of truth is simple. There can be no persuasion but by deeds. Is the new leadership of Soviet Union prepared to use its decisive influence in the Communist world, including control of the flow of arms, to bring not merely an expedient truce in Korea but genuine peace in Asia? Is it prepared to allow other nations, including those of Eastern Europe, the free choice of their own forms of government? Is it prepared to act in concert with others upon serious disarmament proposals to be made firmly effective by stringent U.N. control and inspection? If not, where then is the concrete evidence of the Soviet Union's concern for peace? The test is clear. [B][U]End of Part 2 [/U][/B] [B]Note: The President's address was broadcast over television and radio from the Statler Hotel in Washington.[/B] [I]Address by President Dwight D. Eisenhower "The Chance for Peace" delivered before the American Society of Newspaper Editors, April 16,1953. [/I] [LEFT][URL="http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9743.htm"][B]http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9743.htm[/B][/URL][/LEFT] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Home
Forums
Brown Cafe Community Center
Current Events
Cross of Iron
Top