EXCERPTS FROM MUSKIE'S ADDRESS TO THE FOREIGN POLICY ASSOCIATION text

• Published in: The New York times
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, N.Y New York Times Company 08.07.1980
• Edition: Late Edition (East Coast)
• Subjects: Muskie, Edmund
• ISSN: 0362-4331

Let me emphasize that these programs involve far more than our humanitarian instincts. They bear strongly on our national interests. For the fact is that we have a deep and growing stake in developing countries. We cannot get along without them as trading partners and markets; as sources of essential materials; as necessary partners in efforts to address pollution and population, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and countless other issues touching all of our lives. What are the likely consequences for America if we lack those resources? The first consequence is American isolation. We need healthy trading partners. We need access to facilities and resources. We need the support of others in helping to achieve peaceful alternatives to regional conflicts. We need political support - whether it be in resisting terrorism in Iran or aggression in Afghanistan. Isolation would be only one consequence. Declining American aid, and declining American influence, would also help the Soviets exploit internal instability. In Nicaragua, in El Savador, and in many other places where the Soviets are prepared to exploit tensions to expand their power and to limit Western influence.