US Presidency
1964

America's course is not without long provocation. For 10 years three American Presidents President Eisenhower, President Kennedy, and your present President- and the American people have been actively concerned with threats to the peace and security of the peoples of southeast Asia from the Communist government of North Viet-Nam. President Eisenhower sought- and President Kennedy sought the same objectives that I still seek: That the governments of southeast Asia honor the international agreements which apply in the area; That those governments leave each other alone; That they resolve their differences peacefully; That they devote their talents to bettering the lives of their peoples by working against poverty and disease and ignorance. In 1954 we made our position clear toward Viet-Nam. In June of that year we stated we would view any renewal of the aggression in violation of the 1954 agreements with grave concern and as seriously threatening international peace and security. In September of that year the United States signed the Manila pact on which our participation in SEATO is based.