April 8, 1959
COLD WAR: Gettysburg, 4 – US President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in a speech on foreign policy today, said that Americans have to be aware of their country’s role in supporting all other free nations that see their freedom and human dignity being threatened by atheist dictatorships. He described Russia’s attempt to drive the West out of Berlin as «part of an ongoing effort on the part of the communist conspiracy to achieve its eventual goal of world supremacy.» He also emphasized the West’s desire to avoid a war over Berlin. The Communists, however, are trying to replace law and order with the law of force and replace the negotiating table with the battlefield, he said, adding that, «handing over a city to the Communists would not satisfy them, as they want to draw the entire free world behind the Iron Curtain. If I agreed to sacrifice 2 million free Germans, that would not only disappoint our friends but encourage the Communists to accelerate their campaign to achieve world supremacy. The way of appeasement is not only dishonorable but also the most dangerous course to take,» concluded President Eisenhower.
