1962 - Cuban Crisis: President Kennedy’s Address On Cuba. 22Oct62 Pt. 4 of 4
Continued... This Nation is prepared to present its case against the Soviet threat to peace, & our own proposals for a peaceful world, at any time & in any forum-in the OAS, in the United Nations, or in any other meeting that could be useful without limiting our freedom of action. We have in the past made strenuous efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. We have proposed the elimination of all arms & military bases in a fair and effective disarmament treaty. We are prepared to discuss new proposals for the removal of tensions on both sides - including the possibilities of a genuinely independent Cuba, free to determine its own destiny. We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union - for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples. But it is difficult to settle or even discuss these problems in an atmosphere of intimidation. That is why this latest Soviet threat, or any other threat which is made either independently or in response to our actions this week, must & will be met w/ determination. Any hostile move anywhere in the world against the safety & freedom of peoples to whom we are committed, including in particular the brave people of West Berlin, will be met by whatever action is needed.
12:21:57 Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty & justice for all. And I have watched & the American people have watched w/ deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed & how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets & agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends & neighbors in the Americas, and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war, the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil.
12:22:55 These new weapons are not in your interest. They contribute nothing to your peace & well-being. They can only undermine it. But this country has no wish to cause you to suffer or to impose any system upon you. We know that your lives & land are being used as pawns by those who deny your freedom. Many times in the past, the Cuban people have risen to throw out tyrants who destroyed their liberty. And I have no doubt that most Cubans today look forward to the time when they will be truly free: free from foreign domination; free to choose their own leaders; free to select their own system; free to own their own land; free to speak & write & worship without fear or degradation. And then shall Cuba be welcomed back to the society of free nations & to the associations of this hemisphere.
12:23:51 My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult & dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice & self-discipline lie ahead, months in which both our patience & our will will be tested, months in which many threats & denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.
12:24:28 The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are but it is the one most consistent w/ our character & courage as a nation & our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, & that is the path of surrender or submission. Our goal is not the victory of might but the vindication of right, not peace at the expense of freedom but both peace & freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved. Thank you & good night. The End.
Missile Crisis; Cold War; Western Hemisphere; Naval Blockade; Quarantine; 1960s; Presidential Speech;
NOTE: Any continuous 10 minutes from entire speech, 12:06:52 - 12:25:34, sold at per reel rate.
Sign in with Google
Similar Sub-themes
1962 - Cuban Crisis: President Kennedy’s Address On Cuba. 22Oct62 Pt. 4 of 4 Continued... This Nation is prepared to present its case against the Soviet threat to peace, & our own proposals for a peaceful world, at any time & in any forum-in the OAS, in the United Nations, or in any other meeting that could be useful without limiting our freedom of action. We have in the past made strenuous efforts to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. We have proposed the elimination of all arms & military bases in a fair and effective disarmament treaty. We are prepared to discuss new proposals for the removal of tensions on both sides - including the possibilities of a genuinely independent Cuba, free to determine its own destiny. We have no wish to war with the Soviet Union - for we are a peaceful people who desire to live in peace with all other peoples. But it is difficult to settle or even discuss these problems in an atmosphere of intimidation. That is why this latest Soviet threat, or any other threat which is made either independently or in response to our actions this week, must & will be met w/ determination. Any hostile move anywhere in the world against the safety & freedom of peoples to whom we are committed, including in particular the brave people of West Berlin, will be met by whatever action is needed. 12:21:57 Finally, I want to say a few words to the captive people of Cuba, to whom this speech is being directly carried by special radio facilities. I speak to you as a friend, as one who knows of your deep attachment to your fatherland, as one who shares your aspirations for liberty & justice for all. And I have watched & the American people have watched w/ deep sorrow how your nationalist revolution was betrayed & how your fatherland fell under foreign domination. Now your leaders are no longer Cuban leaders inspired by Cuban ideals. They are puppets & agents of an international conspiracy which has turned Cuba against your friends & neighbors in the Americas, and turned it into the first Latin American country to become a target for nuclear war, the first Latin American country to have these weapons on its soil. 12:22:55 These new weapons are not in your interest. They contribute nothing to your peace & well-being. They can only undermine it. But this country has no wish to cause you to suffer or to impose any system upon you. We know that your lives & land are being used as pawns by those who deny your freedom. Many times in the past, the Cuban people have risen to throw out tyrants who destroyed their liberty. And I have no doubt that most Cubans today look forward to the time when they will be truly free: free from foreign domination; free to choose their own leaders; free to select their own system; free to own their own land; free to speak & write & worship without fear or degradation. And then shall Cuba be welcomed back to the society of free nations & to the associations of this hemisphere. 12:23:51 My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult & dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can foresee precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice & self-discipline lie ahead, months in which both our patience & our will will be tested, months in which many threats & denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing. 12:24:28 The path we have chosen for the present is full of hazards, as all paths are but it is the one most consistent w/ our character & courage as a nation & our commitments around the world. The cost of freedom is always high, but Americans have always paid it. And one path we shall never choose, & that is the path of surrender or submission. Our goal is not the victory of might but the vindication of right, not peace at the expense of freedom but both peace & freedom, here in this hemisphere and, we hope, around the world. God willing, that goal will be achieved. Thank you & good night. The End. Missile Crisis; Cold War; Western Hemisphere; Naval Blockade; Quarantine; 1960s; Presidential Speech; NOTE: Any continuous 10 minutes from entire speech, 12:06:52 - 12:25:34, sold at per reel rate.