John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I want to express, I am sure, the sentiments of us all in welcoming the General to the White House and also in presenting him on behalf of the United States with this decoration.

On and after August 29, 1963, those provisions of GATT and agreements supplementary thereto which have heretofore been proclaimed shall be applied as supplemented by the protocol relating to Spain of July 1, 1963 (identified in Part II(A)…

I just want to express a warm welcome to all of you at the White House.

General, we are glad to have you here, and we thank you.

So, Your Majesty, though the rain may come down, I can assure you of a very warm welcome in the hearts of all of my countrymen.

And that is the strong desire of both of our peoples to maintain their independence, to live in freedom, and to look to the future with hope.

It is a great pleasure for me on behalf of the people of the United States to welcome you to this country for the first time.

One of our guests here this evening, Ambassador Guggenheim, told me early this evening that when he went to Cuba as our ambassador in the administration of Herbert Hoover that President Hoover said to him that the United States had two…

He has made significant progress for his people--for the rights of women, for the expansion of the Government, for the improvement of agriculture.

Now, suddenly, Afghanistan and the United States are linked by a common desire to maintain our national independence and freedom and the security and peace of our people.

So I think that in welcoming His Majesty and Her Majesty to the United States, we have not only guests from far away but also guests with whom we feel very close.

Even though Afghanistan and the United States are separated by a good many thousands of miles, by history, by culture, by religion, I do think, Your Majesty, that we share one great, overriding, overarching conviction.

I recognize how difficult it is to maintain a free society under the best of conditions.

We are glad to have you here.

Knowledge is power, and I think the events of the past years have shown that in a very dramatic way.

So it shows that even though Salamanca and Louvain, and all the rest, may go back hundreds and hundreds of years, in 1963 you are looking to the future.

Education is not merely a means and an end, and not merely a technique, but also a way to the good life which is a way to a more secure and afterlife.

The gains of 1963 will never be reversed.

We can take satisfaction on this Labor Day in the health and energy of our national society.

Our youth are our national future.

I think people don't enjoy carrying this burden.

I think it is essential.

I supported it very strongly in the Congress as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

We are going to have a difficult struggle in the 1960's.

I think it is important that the Senate give us as much help as it can in this program.