US Presidency
1963

These domestic tasks do not divert energy from our security they provide the very foundation for freedom's survival and success, Turning to the world outside, it was only a few years ago in Southeast Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, even outer space that communism sought to convey the image of a unified, confident, and expanding empire, closing in on a sluggish America and a free world in disarray. But few people would hold to that picture today. In these past months we have reaffirmed the scientific and military superiority of freedom. We have doubled our efforts in space, to assure us of being first in the future. We have undertaken the most far-reaching defense improvements in the peacetime history of this country. And we have maintained the frontiers of freedom from Viet-Nam to West Berlin. But complacency or self congratulation can imperil our security as much as the weapons of tyranny. A moment of pause is not a promise of peace. Dangerous problems remain from Cuba to the South China Sea.