>> Senator Kennedy, as a member of the
foreign relations committee you have an opportunity to
get briefed on all of the important foreign
relations problems, what we're trying to do about them.
What do you consider the number one problem
we have today in the field of foreign relations?
>> Well, I think the number one problem of course, is to win the support of all
of the people who are, as of today are uncommitted.
Particularly in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, who are
maintaining a neutral position between the Soviet Union and ourselves.
And they are countries which have been held under colonial domination.
And they desire to be free and they desire to
do something about a very, extremely low standard of living.
And I suppose for the United States to demonstrate our interest in them.
Our desire to help them lift themselves up.
The feeling that
they can win a reasonable place in the world
through democratic procedures rather than turning to the communist.
Now this becomes difficult in cases where countries
are held by western powers under colonial control.
Then our, our problem becomes more difficult.
We want to befriend these people.
We fight against communism when it happens in Hungary.
which we should against Communist Imperialism or colonialism.
We have to show the same policies towards those of our allies who hold
colonial possessions through the world.
In other words, we have to win the support of the people who hold a
balance of power in the world by making
them feel that we're vitally interested in them.
And as a, this is, this power, this desire to be
free and run your own destiny is the best weapon we have.
It is certainly the thing that is going
to cause the greatest discomfort to the Soviet Union.
This, this feeling in Hungary and Poland and
East Germany and Lithuania and Latvia and Estonia,
the desire of these people to be independent, and
to having the communists out of their, their government.
That is the best force we have.
It's the best force within the Soviet Union itself.
People who don't want to be held down by a, a totalitarian system so that we
have to support that force in the West, in Africa, in Asia, behind the iron curtain.
How we do that is to me the great problem that we have in the U.N. and out of it.
But I think that's where we have to direct ourselves, and we have
to hew the line of supporting the desire of people to be independent.
Against the Soviet Union, and against those
of our allies who occasionally may have transgressed.
>> Unfortunately, these segments, of necessity, have to be short.
And the details of history are fascinating.
I would encourage you, not just to read my book, The Kennedy Half Century
But to read many books about John Kennedy when you find out the context
of the times, you can begin to understand what made Jack Kennedy tick.