But as long as we know what comprises our vital interests and our long-range goals, we have nothing to fear from negotiations at the appropriate time… - John F. Kennedy

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But as long as we know what comprises our vital interests and our long-range goals, we have nothing to fear from negotiations at the appropriate time, and nothing to gain by refusing to take part in them. At a time when a single clash could escalate overnight into a holocaust of mushroom clouds, a great power does not prove its firmness by leaving the task of exploring the other's intentions to sentries or those without full responsibility. Nor can ultimate weapons rightfully be employed, or the ultimate sacrifice rightfully demanded of our citizens, until every reasonable solution has been explored. "How many wars," Winston Churchill has written, "have been averted by patience and persisting good will! .... How many wars have been precipitated by firebrands!"

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About John F. Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy (29 May 1917 – 22 November 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and Jack, was the 35th president of the United States (1961–1963), a United States senator from Massachusetts (1953–1960), and a United States representative (1947–1953). Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his work as president concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. He is the older brother of Robert F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, and the first husband of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. He was shot in the presence of his wife in Dallas on November 22, 1963.

Also Known As

Birth Name: John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Also Known As: Jack
Alternative Names: Kennedy Jack Kennedy President Kennedy J. F. Kennedy JFK John Kennedy John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy JF Kennedy John F Kennedy

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Additional quotes by John F. Kennedy

In these and other ways, let us move up the steep and difficult path toward comprehensive disarmament, securing mutual confidence through mutual verification, and building the institutions of peace as we dismantle the engines of war. We must not let failure to agree on all points delay agreements where agreement is possible. And we must not put forward proposals for propaganda purposes.

I think the basic problem facing the United States is to maintain the peace, maintain our vital interest in our national security, serve as the leader of the cause of freedom around the globe, and attempt to develop in this country sufficient forward motion so that we catch again the imagination of the world as a power and a system of government that represents the kind of government which all people want to endorse, the kind of government under which all people want to live. In other words, if we do well here, we enhance the prestige and power and influence of the cause of freedom around the world. If we fail, the cause of freedom fails. If we succeed, the cause of freedom succeeds. Our responsibility is to throw light and luster around that great cause, around the globe.

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Yesterday a shaft of light cut into the darkness. Negotiations were concluded in Moscow on a treaty to ban all nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. For the first time, an agreement has been reached on bringing the forces of nuclear destruction under international control-a goal first sought in 1946 when Bernard Baruch presented a comprehensive control plan to the United Nations.

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