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1962 - Presidential Speech: President Kennedy On Disarmament and Testing. 02Mar62 Pt 2 of 7 Continued... Every alternative was examined. Every avenue of obtaining Soviet agreement was explored. We were determined not to rush into imitating their tests. And we were equally determined to do so, only what our own security required us to do. Although the complex preparations have continued at full speed while these facts were being uncovered, no single decision of this Administration has been more thoroughly or more thoughtfully weighed.
09:16:38 Having carefully considered these findings, having received the unanimous recommendations of the pertinent department & agency heads, and having observed the Soviet Union's refusal to accept any agreement which would inhibit its freedom to test extensively after preparing secretly - I have today authorized the Atomic Energy Commission & the Department of Defense to conduct a series of nuclear tests beginning when our preparations are completed in the latter part of April & to be concluded as quickly as possible (within two or three months) - such series, involving only those tests which cannot be held underground, to take place in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean.
09:17:35 These tests are to be conducted under conditions which restrict the radioactive fallout to an absolute minimum, far less than the contamination created by last fall's Soviet series. By paying careful attention to location, wind & weather conditions, & by holding these tests over the open seas, we intend to rule out any problem of fallout in the immediate area of testing. Moreover, we will hold the increase in radiation in the Northern Hemisphere where nearly all such fallout will occur to a very low level. Natural radioactivity, as everyone knows, has always been a part of the air around us, w/ certain long-range biological effects. By conservative estimate the total effects from this test series will be roughly equal to only 1% of those due to this natural background. It has been estimated in fact that the exposure due to radioactivity from these tests will be less than 1/50 of the difference which can be experienced, due to variations in natural radioactivity, simply by living in different locations in our own country. This will obviously be well within the guides for general population health & safety as set by the federal Radiation Council; and considerably less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the exposure guides set for adults who work w/ industrial radioactivity.
09:19:28 Nevertheless, I find it deeply regrettable that any radioactive material must be added to the atmosphere - that even one additional individual's health may be risked in the foreseeable future. And however remote & infinitesimal those hazards may be, I still exceedingly regret the necessity of balancing these hazards against the hazards to hundreds of millions of lives which would be created by any relative decline in our nuclear strength.
09:20:07 In the absence of any major shift in Soviet policies, no American President - responsible for the freedom & the safety of so many people - could in good faith make any other decision. But because our nuclear posture affects the security of all Americans & all free men - because this issue has aroused such widespread concern, I want to share w/ you & all the world, to the fullest extent our security permits, all of the facts & the thoughts which have gone into this decision. Many of these facts are hard to explain in simple terms; many are hard to face in a peaceful world, but these are facts which must be faced and must be understood. Continued...
Diplomacy; Cold War; Broken Test Ban Agreements; Atmospheric Nuclear Testing Resumption;
NOTE: Any continuous 16 minutes of entire speech 09:10:45 - 09:42:21 sold at per reel rate.
NOTE: FOR ORDERING See: www.footagefarm.co.uk or contact us at: Info@Footagefarm.co.uk
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NOTE: FOR ORDERING See: www.footagefarm.co.uk or contact us at: Info@Footagefarm.co.uk 1962 - Presidential Speech: President Kennedy On Disarmament and Testing. 02Mar62 Pt 2 of 7 Continued... Every alternative was examined. Every avenue of obtaining Soviet agreement was explored. We were determined not to rush into imitating their tests. And we were equally determined to do so, only what our own security required us to do. Although the complex preparations have continued at full speed while these facts were being uncovered, no single decision of this Administration has been more thoroughly or more thoughtfully weighed. 09:16:38 Having carefully considered these findings, having received the unanimous recommendations of the pertinent department & agency heads, and having observed the Soviet Union's refusal to accept any agreement which would inhibit its freedom to test extensively after preparing secretly - I have today authorized the Atomic Energy Commission & the Department of Defense to conduct a series of nuclear tests beginning when our preparations are completed in the latter part of April & to be concluded as quickly as possible (within two or three months) - such series, involving only those tests which cannot be held underground, to take place in the atmosphere over the Pacific Ocean. 09:17:35 These tests are to be conducted under conditions which restrict the radioactive fallout to an absolute minimum, far less than the contamination created by last fall's Soviet series. By paying careful attention to location, wind & weather conditions, & by holding these tests over the open seas, we intend to rule out any problem of fallout in the immediate area of testing. Moreover, we will hold the increase in radiation in the Northern Hemisphere where nearly all such fallout will occur to a very low level. Natural radioactivity, as everyone knows, has always been a part of the air around us, w/ certain long-range biological effects. By conservative estimate the total effects from this test series will be roughly equal to only 1% of those due to this natural background. It has been estimated in fact that the exposure due to radioactivity from these tests will be less than 1/50 of the difference which can be experienced, due to variations in natural radioactivity, simply by living in different locations in our own country. This will obviously be well within the guides for general population health & safety as set by the federal Radiation Council; and considerably less than 1/10 of 1 percent of the exposure guides set for adults who work w/ industrial radioactivity. 09:19:28 Nevertheless, I find it deeply regrettable that any radioactive material must be added to the atmosphere - that even one additional individual's health may be risked in the foreseeable future. And however remote & infinitesimal those hazards may be, I still exceedingly regret the necessity of balancing these hazards against the hazards to hundreds of millions of lives which would be created by any relative decline in our nuclear strength. 09:20:07 In the absence of any major shift in Soviet policies, no American President - responsible for the freedom & the safety of so many people - could in good faith make any other decision. But because our nuclear posture affects the security of all Americans & all free men - because this issue has aroused such widespread concern, I want to share w/ you & all the world, to the fullest extent our security permits, all of the facts & the thoughts which have gone into this decision. Many of these facts are hard to explain in simple terms; many are hard to face in a peaceful world, but these are facts which must be faced and must be understood. Continued... Diplomacy; Cold War; Broken Test Ban Agreements; Atmospheric Nuclear Testing Resumption; NOTE: Any continuous 16 minutes of entire speech 09:10:45 - 09:42:21 sold at per reel rate. NOTE: FOR ORDERING See: www.footagefarm.co.uk or contact us at: Info@Footagefarm.co.uk