If we are to keep the peace, we need an invulnerable missile force powerful enough to deter any aggressor from even threatening an attack that he would know could not destroy enough of our force to prevent his own destruction.
Kennedy emphasizes the importance of a strong missile defense to deter potential aggressors during the Cold War.
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For my part, I shall withhold from neither the Congress nor the people any fact or report, past, present, or future, which is necessary for an informed judgment of our conduct and hazards.
Members of the Congress: The United States did not rise to greatness by waiting for others to lead.
I shall neither shift the burden of executive decisions to the Congress, nor avoid responsibility for the outcome of those decisions.
But today, were I to offer--after little more than a week in office--detailed legislation to remedy every national ill, the Congress would rightly wonder whether the desire for speed had replaced the duty of responsibility.