Newspaper Clipping, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "ABC's of Our Foreign Policy - An Official State Department Booklet"

ST.LOUIS POST-DISPATCH SUNDAY MORNING, GCT ABC's OF OUR FOREIGN OFFIC A Simple Statement of Our National Aims ADMIN Trying to Give Them Effect, Face to Fau S. is a long, h The' Post-Dispatch herewith begins serial publication of the cause there State Department's booklet, "Our Foreign Policy" (Department Foreword by the President of weakness of State Publication 3972, General Foreign Policy Series 26), as a result o prepared at President Truman's suggestion and issued in a world-wide the wars. September as the simple official explanation of the Administra- rest of of weakness tion's course in this highly controversial field. The are an irres the booklet will be printed in daily installments. the Soviet C troubled wa "You Can't HERE is no longer any real distinction between "domestic" and "To ask t "foreign" affairs. to 'say we W Practically everything we do, the way we tax and spend our that you wo national income, the way we run our public and private business, the to deal with he said. "Y way we settle the differences among ourselves and with other na- river-it is tions, what we say in our newspapers, over the air and on public can dam it platforms, our attitudes toward each other and toward other peo- useful purp ples-all these things affect not only our security and well-being at home, but also our influence abroad. All these things go into the our national interests free from Best I making of the character, the per- the threat of destructive forces. sonality and the reputation of the of these torces are inside United States. Out of all these Some the country. They the stem national from Involy things grow the foreign, policies that oppose a groups interests. have with Some Americans ELPINC of the United States. Policies are an expression of view of life that conflicts H world is the basic propositions on which the national interests. our democracy was lounded. 1950. ? That is a way of saying that our policies reflect what we are and Some try to profit at the expense agreement 1 of the ireedom or well-being of what we want. This polie others. General Character Constant. carry out th Some hostile forces have been ed Nations During the 175 years since we outside our country. They have Nations orga became a nation, our national in- come from nations or ruiling a powerful terests have changed in some groups bent on waging military a deterrent ways, but their general character or economic war or on dominat- volves actio has remained constant. Here are ing other nations. to build up some of the values that have per- To deal witn tnese forces, the defenses of sisted all through our history: American people have had to sub- other free 1 We are an independent nation ordinate some of their national It involve and we want to keep our inde- interests temporarily, in order to free nation pendence. promote or preserve others. For and develop We attach the highest impor- example, three times in recent a constructi tance to individual freedom, and years we have been forced to dis- It involvo we mean to keep our freedom. rupt our peaceful lives and take enable the We are a peaceful people, and up arms to preserve the indepen- TO MY FELLOW AMERICANS: duce and t we want to get rid of wars and dence and freedom that we value the threat of wars. even more highly. When there is T a time when the duties of citizenship fall heavily on thou- that their p We have a comparatively high a threat of aggression, our vital A untary co-c sands of young Americans, there is a duty that all of us can of a better standard of living." We want interest in peace forces us to tax to raise the standard so that ev- and should impose on ourselves; to be well informed about and their el ourselves heavily to build the eryone in the United States will military and economic defenses the problems that face our country; to weigh the facts, to under- Finally, promote the eventually have a chance to of the free world, at the expense stand the issues, and to form our own opinions and judgments. formation, ( earn a decent and secure living. of our interest in a rising stand- We are a friendly people. We ard of living. This is not an easy undertaking. But it is necessary if we to invigora have no traditional "enemies," Americans, as a people, are to exert our full influence for peace and make t Often Unpleasant Choices. clear to all and we want to be on good So it is that making policy is a and freedom and justice. of the Iron terms with every other people. matter of making choices. Often These are the things on which it is a matter of making hard and The following brief survey of American aims and policies A Great I Americans, with all their differ- unpleasant choices, of deciding was prepared at my suggestion. I think it is sometimes useful to A great ( ent points of view, are most likely which is the lesser of two evils. sum up and set down as simply and clearly as possible what we each of the Sometimes it is possible to are after in our relations with other governments and their great deal 1 to agree. It is the job of the Govern- make policies that are creative Succeeding ment, as the agent of the people, and good in themselves, because people. what has to promote these national inter- they make a bold, new approach It is not possible, of course, to tell the whole story of Amer- needs to ests. to a tough, old problem, or be- Hard Choices to Make. cause they foresee a need before ican foreign relations in these few pages. But if the part of the terms. The poli The Federal Government, as the it arises, or because they head off story that is told here contributes something to your understand- tions of st: agent of the people, continually trouble before it starts. ing, if it leads you to other sources of information, and if it the best re has hard choices to make. It is Recent history provides exam- the job of the Government, as the ples of such policies in lend-lease, helps you to form sound judgments, then it will have served its of Soviet much more agent of ALL the people, to try the United Nations, the Marshall purpose. It is part to harmonize group and sectional Plan, and the Point Four Pro- that grew interests on the one hand with gram of the Am national interests on the other. Politics has been described as second Wor There has never been a time in the art of the possible. To broad- our history when we could go en the area of the possible is the Preservation Coj ence destro able illusic about the business of promoting art of statesmanship. curity. It for all, the ism. Meeting Threat of Red Expansion In the li; Nations; where, people can hope Americans with poverty and can see no way out of their troubles. to create a better \life by their justment ir By Aiding 'Situations of Stre Soviet pressure is usually in- own efforts. came gradu effective where there are "sit- The policy of the United accept the LTHOUGH our basic interests remain the same over th uations of strength." Such sit- States, in meeting the threat could affec A uations exist where people are of Soviet Communist expan- being. A e the policies by which we express and advance those sion, has been to help promote famine or 1 change from generation to generation, and som united behind a popular gov- ernment and determined to situations of strength. tion in Fin even from year to year. They change quite naturally in respou. maintain their independence; For a discussion and an ex- nia all new situations at home and abroad. where people can count on planation of this policy we take trends, goo In 1433 more than 12.000 000 fact, you will find some strong support from other free you now to a press conference tually come the Secretory of State. icon honer