Remarks to a Group of Overseas Mission Directors of the Agency for International Development.

I WANT to tell you what I am sure you must be aware of, or you would not be here, and that is the importance of this program and the importance of your work and how much we depend upon your judgment. Aid, the concept of foreign assistance, is not a popular program in the United States. That's a well-known fact. And, therefore, there will not be farewell parades to you as you leave, or parades for you when you come back. But I cannot think of any action which is more important to the effort in which we are engaged than what you are doing, and the military advisory programs which are carried on in the same countries, and the Peace Corps activities which are carried on in some of these countries also. The presence of the United States as a leading power in the free world is involved in your work directly. The people who are opposed to aid should realize that this is a very powerful source of strength for us. It permits us to exert influence for the maintenance of freedom. If we were not so heavily involved, our voice would not speak with such vigor. And as we do not want to send American troops to a great many areas where freedom may be under attack, we send you. And you, working with the people in those countries, to try to work with them in developing the economic thrust of their country so that they can make a determination that they can solve their problems without resorting to totalitarian control, and becoming part of the bloc.

That is the issue. That is why you are very much in the front line of this effort. That is why every President of the United States since 1947--President Truman, President Eisenhower, and myself--have strongly supported this effort. It represents a very essential national commitment. It is a burden, but far less than the burden that would be involved to us directly if we did not have this program. So I hope that you have the satisfaction of realizing how significant this effort is. All these heads of state come to the United States to talk to us. One of the reasons is because we are engaging in this effort. This is a tremendous source of influence for a President of the United States, in exerting the power of this country in a way which serves our security and the long range security of the countries that are involved. If we did not have this program our voice would not be as distinct.

So that this is very essential. I don't always know why we have so much difficulty explaining it, but we do, because the arguments are rather easy to make, and they do not require much thought, against it. But the American people, though they may not like it, in my judgment they support it. It has gone by every year, not in the way that the administration's wanted, but in the final analysis the Congress has supported it. And in my judgment, I know very few occasions when members of Congress who have supported it have suffered any political repercussions because they have supported it.

I think the good sense, even though the superficial opinions may be against it, the good sense of the American people in the final analysis has supported this program for 15 years, more than any other country in the free world. We hope that other countries who have benefited from our assistance who are now more prosperous will do more themselves, but we have to continue to do our part.

So I am delighted to have you here today. Most of you are not the age of the Peace Corps. You all have other things you could be doing. You are at very important stages in your own lives. So we are doubly indebted to you for being willing, and your families, to go to these countries and take on this task. As I say, I am sure that most of you have served in the Armed forces of the United States on other occasions, and I would say that the job that you are engaged in is as important as any work which is being done by anyone for this country at this time to protect the security of the country. So we are particularly glad to have you here at the White House.