Broadcast

The first thing that struck me on taking up my appointment as Secretary-General was the almost unbelievable change that has taken place in the world scene in the last five years. Just think what has happened. The United States of America have abandoned their historic isolationism from the affairs of Europe. Several European countries have abandoned their age-long policy of neutrality. Fourteen proud sovereign states, bound together in bonds of faith and friendship, have agreed by solemn treaty that an armed attack against one or more of them shall be an attack against them all.

In pursuance of that promise, they have united their efforts for collective defence. They have one and all placed their armed forces assigned to the defence of Europe under the command of internationally appointed commanders, assisted by international staffs. Considerable American forces are already in Europe; there is also a growing Canadian contingent on this side of the Atlantic. The flower of the British Army is already on the continent. International manoeuvres on land, on sea and in the air are a routine occurrence.

Could anyone have foreseen such a transformation, even five years ago? Can anyone think that if anything like the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation had existed in the years before 1939, Hitler would have embarked upon his mad career of conquest. Had the champions of freedom been vigilant and united, as they are today, and had they been prepared to make a fraction of the exertions and sacrifices that were ultimately demanded of them for their survival, the bastions of freedom would not have fallen one by one; immeasurable sufferings would have been avoided.

Mr. Winston Churchill, whose warnings before the last world war went unheeded, said at the Lord Mayor's Banquet a few days ago: "In what is called the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation we have the most effective instrument ever prepared to resist aggression in the Western hemisphere".

Nevertheless, we must never be complacent, we must never relax, we must never cease to be on our guard. Shrill voices on both sides of the iron curtain proclaim that the Atlantic Alliance is an instrument of aggressive design by the United States, and that the cost and burden of the armaments that are being piled up will bring misery to the workers of all countries by preventing social and economic progress.

Both these untruths must be ruthlessly exposed. The military strength at which the North Atlantic powers aim is the barest minimum for defence. There is no margin whatsoever for aggression on our part of any kind. Such a thing never enters our minds, much less our calculations.

If it were otherwise, is it likely that a powerful, peace-loving body like the International Confederation of Free Trades Unions would have pledged their whole-hearted support to the movement? Last July they solemnly reaffirmed their determination, and here I quote "to support the efforts of the free nations to strengthen their defences in order to stave off aggression". The charge that rearmament will bring economic ruin to the countries of the North Atlantic Community is equally false: for the perfectly simple reason that no country is expected to make a bigger contribution towards collective defence than its national economy can afford. We must be careful not to lose the cold war on the economic front in our efforts to avert a hot one.

Because you hear so much of defensive preparations, you must not think that the North Atlantic Treaty is solely a military alliance. Far from it. NATO has been set up not only for immediate defence, but for enduring progress.

If we are to be a family in the true sense of the word, we must strive for greater cooperation in social, cultural, economic and political matters. The North Atlantic Council are working hard on this and they feel sure that the habit of frank and intimate consultation and the spirit of mutual understanding and tolerance, which is becoming more and more engrained in us all in our efforts to build up our armed strength, will help immeasurably in those other more fruitful fields of common endeavour.

Let me conclude with a testimony of my own faith, I believe that our fortunes are in our own hands. I believe that in the North Atlantic Treaty lies the best, if not the only hope of peace. I believe that we are on the right road and that we are gaining every day in strength, in purpose and in unity. I have no doubt that there is a long way to go and that the road may be rough. That we shall have our little quarrels is very likely. This happens in the best regulated families. That there will be persistent efforts to drive a wedge between us is certain. That continued exertions and sacrifices will be required from us all goes without saying. Nevertheless, I am wholly convinced that given continued patience and increasing power, given fortitude and faith, given unity and unselfishness, we shall secure for our children and our children's children peace, justice, happiness and prosperity.