Evening star., 1961-03-12
A LESSON FROM THE SECRETARY
The Essentials Of Our Foreiqn Policy

Some remarks about ''what
foreign policy is all about" and
a guide for conduct Of State
Department employees In carry
ing out the mission Of the
United States in international
affairs, were contained in re-
marks made recently in an ad-
dress by Secrtary Rusk before
pOIicy-making employees Of the
department. A partial text Of
the statement follows:
Older political forms have dis
integrated. New international
forms are coming into being. We
are experiencing enormous pres
sures to achieve economic and So
cial improvement in all parts Of
the world, as masses Of people
who have largely been isolated
from currents of world opinion,
knowledge and information are
coming to realize that their mis-
cries are not a part of an ordained
environment about which nothing
can be done.
We could be passive in rela-
ton to these changes and take
our chances. think the view of
the new administration is that,
were we to be passive, we could
not expect the institutions of
freedom to survive. We could
undertake an active defense Of
the status quo. My own guess
is that, were we to do that, we
would be fighting a losing battle.
We can, on the other hand, at
tempt to take a certain leadership
in change itself; certainly the
world is not as we should like to
see it and the world is not as
peoples elsewhere find tolerable.
Leadership of change is q
theme which we will be wanting
to talk with you about and to have
you keep in mind as We go about
our daily business. It may, in
deed, prove to be impossible to
win the so-called cold war unless
we develop our thoughts, in COLA
boration with our friends abroad,
about what kind Of world we are
reaching for beyond the cold war.
I think another important fac
tor for us to consider as we move
into a new period turns on the
President and his attitude toward
the conduct of foreign relations.
We have a President with great
interest in foreign affairs. We
have a President who will rely
heavily upon the Department Of
State for the conduct Of our for
eign relations. This will not be
a passive reliance, but an active
expectation on his part that this
department will in fact take
charge of foreign policy.
A Few Suggestions
With this enlarged role in mind,
I should like to make a few Sug-
geStionS:
What we in the United States
do or do not do will make q very
large difference in what happens
in the rest Of the world. We in
this department must think about
foreign policy in its total context.
We cannot regard foreign policy
as something left over after de-
fense policy or trade policy or
fiscal policy has been extracted.
Foreign policy is the total in
volvement Of the American people
with peoples and governments
abroad. That means that If we
are to achieve a new standard Of
leadership, we must think in terms
Of total context Of our situation.
1t Is the concern Of the Depart
ment Of State that the American
people are safe and secure-de-
fense is not a monopoly concern
of the Department Of Defense. It
also is the concern Of the Depart
ment Of State that our trading
relationships with the rest of the
world are vigorous, profitable and
active-this is not Just a passing
interest or a matter of concern
only to the Department of Com
merce.
We can no longer rely on
interdepartmental m achinery
somewhere upstairs" to resolve