President John F. Kennedy was a peacemaker who played a vital role in ending the Cuban missile crisis and indirectly leading to the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed with the Soviet Union at the height of the Cold War. While he was assassinated before he could end US involvement in Vietnam, his Peace Speech delivered on June 10, 1963, still echoes today for its formula to make peace with the Soviet Union. In contrast, President Joe Biden’s approach to Russia and the Ukraine War needs a drastic re-orientation to match Kennedy’s advice and become a peacemaker.
Kennedy’s Peace Speech represents a constructive proof of how to make peace as it influenced the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty’s signing. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev was so enamored with the speech that he called it the greatest by an American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt and expressed his interest in pursuing peace with Kennedy. Kennedy, in this speech, stressed that peace was the necessary rational end goal of rational people, and that both sides wanted peace. He cautioned against the trap of blaming only the adversary and blaming them for changing their attitudes and behavior, saying that the US needed to examine its attitude – as individuals and as a nation.
At the height of the Cold War, many people were pessimistic about peace with the Soviet Union. But Kennedy urged people to look beyond the distorted and desperate view of the other side. He emphasized the importance of understanding and communication and hailed the Russian people for their remarkable achievements in science and space, economic and industrial growth, culture, and acts of courage. Kennedy warned against putting a nuclear adversary in a corner that could lead to crazed reactions. A nuclear war or a humiliating retreat would be evidence of the bankruptcy of a nation’s policy or a collective death wish.
In contrast to Kennedy’s approach, Biden has repeatedly denigrated Russian President Vladimir Putin. His administration has identified the US’s war aim as weakening Russia. Biden has avoided all communications with Putin, and the sole meeting they had took place in February 2022. He turned down Putin’s invitation to a bilateral meeting during last year’s G20 Summit in Bali and refused to acknowledge Russia’s deep security concerns. Putin has repeatedly stated Russia’s ardent opposition to NATO enlargement to Ukraine, a country sharing a 2000-kilometer border with Russia. But the US would not accept a Mexican-Russian or Mexican-Chinese military alliance in view of the 2000-mile Mexico-US border. Biden needs to start negotiation with Russia on NATO enlargement as part of broader talks to end the Ukraine War.
Kennedy’s negotiation philosophy was that we should never negotiate out of fear, but we should never fear negotiating either. We must espouse an attitude that focuses on exploring what problems unite us instead of belaboring on those that divide us. What unites the US and Russia is that we all inhabit this small planet and breathe the same air, cherish our children’s future, and recognize our mortality. We need to adopt this attitude to negotiate and pursue peace actively, just as Kennedy did.
