Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
Then and only then can we have a government that is efficient, open, and
truly worthy of our people's understanding and respect. I have promised
that we will have such a government, and I intend to keep that promise.
In our foreign policy, the separation of people from government has been in
the past a source of weakness and error. In a democratic system like ours,
foreign policy decisions must be able to stand the test of public
examination and public debate. If we make a mistake in this administration,
it will be on the side of frankness and openness with the American people.
In our modern world, when the deaths of literally millions of people can
result from a few terrifying seconds of destruction, the path of national
strength and security is identical to the path of peace.
Tonight, I am happy to report that because we are strong, our Nation is at
peace with the world.
We are a confident nation. We've restored a moral basis for our foreign
policy. The very heart of our identity as a nation is our firm commitment
to human rights.
We stand for human rights because we believe that government has as a
purpose to promote the well-being of its citizens. This is true in our
domestic policy; it's also true in our foreign policy. The world must know
that in support of human rights, the United States will stand firm.
We expect no quick or easy results, but there has been significant movement
toward greater freedom and humanity in several parts of the world.
Thousands of political prisoners have been freed. The leaders of the world,
even our ideological adversaries, now see that their attitude toward
fundamental human rights affects their standing in the international
community, and it affects their relations with the United States.
To serve the interests of every American, our foreign policy has three
major goals.
The first and prime concern is and will remain the security of our
country.
Security is based on our national will, and security is based on the
strength of our Armed Forces. We have the will, and militarily we are very
strong.
Security also comes through the strength of our alliances. We have
reconfirmed our commitment to the defense of Europe, and this year we will
demonstrate that commitment by further modernizing and strengthening our
military capabilities there.
Security can also be enhanced by agreements with potential adversaries
which reduce the threat of nuclear disaster while maintaining our own
relative strategic capability.
In areas of peaceful competition with the Soviet Union, we will continue to
more than hold our own.
At the same time, we are negotiating with quiet confidence, without haste,
with careful determination, to ease the tensions between us and to ensure
greater stability and security.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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