From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
The Kennedy speech that Obama hopes to echo
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleAFP offers a look at what President Barack Obama may try to do in his imminent (now 27 minutes delayed) speech at American University.
“In 1963 US President John F. Kennedy traveled the short distance from the White House to American University to muster support for diplomatic engagement with nuclear foe the Soviet Union,” writes the wire service’s Andrew Beatty:
On Wednesday, at the same spot, President Barack Obama will echo Kennedy’s entreaty, arguing for a nuclear deal with Iran — a country described by his predecessor as part of an “axis of evil.”
Kennedy began his speech by addressing the prevailing notion that military might was the most effective way of dampening the Soviet nuclear threat.
Urging Americans to examine their own attitudes, he insisted peace was a better, if more arduous, path than “total war.”
“What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave,” he said, in remarks just months before his assassination shocked America and the world.
“I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children — not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women — not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.”
The vehicle for achieving peace, Kennedy said, was a “gradual evolution in human institutions.”
Kennedy said the starting point was two very concrete steps: A direct hot line between Moscow and Washington and talks toward a comprehensive test ban treaty.
At the same time Kennedy also promised not to hurt existing alliances in the pursuit of peace. “The United States will make no deal with the Soviet Union at the expense of other nations and other peoples,” Kennedy said.
That, like much of the rest of the speech, may resonate well with Obama as he faces bitter Israeli opposition to his Iran deal.
The Times of Israel Community.