Leaving Washington D.C. on September 27 and returning on October 5 (for a total of 9 days), Richard Nixon from the Free World made his second grand tour of Europe in 1970, his 3rd foreign trip since taking office in January 1969. Press secretary Ronald Ziegler explained because of Richard Nixon's other commitments on his October calendar, the initial 4-nation visit was being expanded to include only one more nation, Yugoslavia. Richard Nixon would to become the first U.S. chief executive to travel to the Balkan nation. It was understood Josip Broz Tito was close to leaders in the Arab world and the Kremlin.
The other nations on the itinerary were Italy, Spain, Britain and Ireland. On the agenda, to meet and talk about the Middle East crisis, European security, economic issues and U.S.-Soviet relations.
Pat Nixon reportedly brought along 25 outfits for her European tour including a dress from the House of Christian Dior. As Richard Nixon began his 12,000-mile European journey, Gamal Abdel Nasser was laid to rest.
According to James McCartney and various 'United Press International' reports, the death of Gamal Abdel Nasser had removed one of the principal pillars upon which U.S. peace hopes in the Mideast had been built. President Nasser had been the man who unified a divided Arab world. His death was said had stolen some of the purpose from Richard Nixon's European tour.
Gamal Abdel Nasser's death had also plunged the Arab world into a period of mourning, with many followers worried this could raise the spectre of chaos in the Mideast. A medical bulletin stated, "All necessary medical aid was administered to his excellency, including the use of equipment to regulate the heart beat. But God's will was stronger and he gave up the ghost at 6.15pm (2.15pm Eastern Standard Time) during the administration of this aid."
Richard Nixon called the Mediterranean the "southern anchor" of the NATO alliance. In Italy, he received the warmest welcome for any American President since Dwight Eisenhower in 1959. Richard Nixon shook hands with Romans shouting "Viva Nixon". A gala luncheon was given in his honor at the Quirinale Palace by Italian President Giuseppe Saragat. At the luncheon, Richard Nixon toasted to a new "era of negotiations".
Gamal Abdel Nasser's death had also plunged the Arab world into a period of mourning, with many followers worried this could raise the spectre of chaos in the Mideast. A medical bulletin stated, "All necessary medical aid was administered to his excellency, including the use of equipment to regulate the heart beat. But God's will was stronger and he gave up the ghost at 6.15pm (2.15pm Eastern Standard Time) during the administration of this aid."
Richard Nixon called the Mediterranean the "southern anchor" of the NATO alliance. In Italy, he received the warmest welcome for any American President since Dwight Eisenhower in 1959. Richard Nixon shook hands with Romans shouting "Viva Nixon". A gala luncheon was given in his honor at the Quirinale Palace by Italian President Giuseppe Saragat. At the luncheon, Richard Nixon toasted to a new "era of negotiations".
Italy, Richard Nixon observed, "which has the longest coastline of any nation in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is a cradle of many great civilizations of the past and we are determined that it shall not be the starting place of great wars in the future." He spent in total 65 hours touring Italy, of which 22 hours were spent in Rome including an 80-minute meeting with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican, discussing efforts for world peace, particularly in the Middle East.
At the start of Richard Nixon's European journey, Premier Emilio Colombo accompanied him to Rome International Airport to welcome 26 Americans arrived from Cyprus, freed after 3 weeks held in captive by Arab guerrillas. In September 1970, Richard Nixon delivered a lecture honoring former Governor of Kansas, Alfred M. Landon, at Kansas State University. Referring to the hijacking of the 4 airliners by Arab guerrillas who held the passengers hostage, Richard Nixon maintained such action "sent shock waves of alarm around the world at the spreading disease of violence and terror and its use as a political tactic.
"The time has come for us to recognize that violence and terror have no place in a free society, whoever the perpetrators and whatever their purported cause. In a system that provides the means for peaceful change, no cause justifies violence in the name of change." Richard Nixon also made the point, "That same cancerous disease has been spreading here in the United States. We face the greatest crisis in the history of American education today (in 1970).
"To put it bluntly, today (in 1970) higher education in America risks losing that essential support it has had since the beginning of this country (back in 1776) – the support of the American people. It is time for responsible university and college administrators, faculty and student leaders to stand up and be counted. Only they can save higher education in America. It cannot be saved by government. To attempt to blame government for all the woes of the universities is to seek an excuse, not a reason, for their troubles.
"Those who bomb universities, who ambush policemen, who hijack airplanes and hold their passengers hostage, all share in common not only a contempt for human life but also a contempt for those elemental decencies on which a free society rests – and they deserve the contempt of every American who values those decencies." After taking office, the Nixon doctrine was introduced which in theory was to provide U.S. allies with the military and economic means to help themselves and reduce the need for direct American involvement.
In Yugoslavia, Richard Nixon spent over 7 hours in "candid but cordial" talks with Marshal Tito including 3 hours of private talks at the Adriatic stone and marble federal government building on the Sava River exchanging views on the Middle East situation, the war in Vietnam, U.S.-Soviet relations and other world problems. During his two-day stay, Richard Nixon also spent 3½ hours visiting Zagreb and the birthplace of Marshal Tito - Kumrovec.
As the first American President to visit Yugoslavia, Richard Nixon told Yugoslavs, "Long ago Yugoslavia chose the path of non-alignment, and for more than two decades (since 1948) Yugoslavia and Marshal Tito personally have played major roles in the non-aligned movement throughout the world. We in the United States respect that position. But the great question today (in 1970) is not whether a nation is aligned or non-aligned but whether it respects the rights of others to choose their own paths – and Yugoslavia, by its example, has given heart to those who would choose their own paths."
Marshal Tito told Richard Nixon, "They say we can get people to come out but, you know, Mr. President, you cannot get them to smile or to show the wamth they showed you." Some 100,000 Croats reportedly turned out in Zagreb to welcome Richard Nixon. Free society could survive, Richard Nixon believed, only if its citizens recognize that "no one can have his own way all the time; and no one is right all the time.
"As for myself I doubt that I would be President today (in 1970) if I had not learned from the lessons of defeat in 1960 and 1962 – and I hope that I can be a better President because of those lessons. However, there are those who protest that if the verdict of democracy goes against them democracy itself is at fault – who say that if they don't get their own way, the answer is to burn a bus or bomb a building?"
It was in Spain, Richard Nixon received "the greatest crowd in his political career". Over a million Spaniards chanted "Nixon! Franco! Nixon! Franco" as an open limousine Generalissimo Francisco Franco, wearing the uniform of Captain-General of the army and Richard Nixon rode, carried them past "a canyon of humanity" for 90 minutes (roughly 16 miles). Spaniards roared "Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" when Richard Nixon was handed the key to the thousand-year-old city of 3 million people, Madrid.
The welcome in the streets, the press reported, was easily the emotional highlight by far of Richard Nixon's European tour. Alfredo Sanchez Bella, the Spanish information minister, declared the crowd was between 1.3 million and 1.5 million. The U.S. Embassy noted the crowd easily exceeded the 800,000 who turned out for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. "It was the largest crowd I've seen," Richard Nixon acknowledged. "It was a very exciting time and it was a very exciting reception."
Richard Nixon told the Spaniards, "In recent weeks the eyes of the world have been on the Mediterranean area. If we do not have peace in the Mediterranean, world peace will be seriously threatened. An indispensable pillar for peace in the Mediterranean is Spanish-American friendship and cooperation." He was also "confident the talks we will have here will contribute to closer cooperation both in defense for peace and in more economic cooperation. Long live Spanish-American friendship!"
At the start of Richard Nixon's European journey, Premier Emilio Colombo accompanied him to Rome International Airport to welcome 26 Americans arrived from Cyprus, freed after 3 weeks held in captive by Arab guerrillas. In September 1970, Richard Nixon delivered a lecture honoring former Governor of Kansas, Alfred M. Landon, at Kansas State University. Referring to the hijacking of the 4 airliners by Arab guerrillas who held the passengers hostage, Richard Nixon maintained such action "sent shock waves of alarm around the world at the spreading disease of violence and terror and its use as a political tactic.
"The time has come for us to recognize that violence and terror have no place in a free society, whoever the perpetrators and whatever their purported cause. In a system that provides the means for peaceful change, no cause justifies violence in the name of change." Richard Nixon also made the point, "That same cancerous disease has been spreading here in the United States. We face the greatest crisis in the history of American education today (in 1970).
"To put it bluntly, today (in 1970) higher education in America risks losing that essential support it has had since the beginning of this country (back in 1776) – the support of the American people. It is time for responsible university and college administrators, faculty and student leaders to stand up and be counted. Only they can save higher education in America. It cannot be saved by government. To attempt to blame government for all the woes of the universities is to seek an excuse, not a reason, for their troubles.
"Those who bomb universities, who ambush policemen, who hijack airplanes and hold their passengers hostage, all share in common not only a contempt for human life but also a contempt for those elemental decencies on which a free society rests – and they deserve the contempt of every American who values those decencies." After taking office, the Nixon doctrine was introduced which in theory was to provide U.S. allies with the military and economic means to help themselves and reduce the need for direct American involvement.
In Yugoslavia, Richard Nixon spent over 7 hours in "candid but cordial" talks with Marshal Tito including 3 hours of private talks at the Adriatic stone and marble federal government building on the Sava River exchanging views on the Middle East situation, the war in Vietnam, U.S.-Soviet relations and other world problems. During his two-day stay, Richard Nixon also spent 3½ hours visiting Zagreb and the birthplace of Marshal Tito - Kumrovec.
As the first American President to visit Yugoslavia, Richard Nixon told Yugoslavs, "Long ago Yugoslavia chose the path of non-alignment, and for more than two decades (since 1948) Yugoslavia and Marshal Tito personally have played major roles in the non-aligned movement throughout the world. We in the United States respect that position. But the great question today (in 1970) is not whether a nation is aligned or non-aligned but whether it respects the rights of others to choose their own paths – and Yugoslavia, by its example, has given heart to those who would choose their own paths."
Marshal Tito told Richard Nixon, "They say we can get people to come out but, you know, Mr. President, you cannot get them to smile or to show the wamth they showed you." Some 100,000 Croats reportedly turned out in Zagreb to welcome Richard Nixon. Free society could survive, Richard Nixon believed, only if its citizens recognize that "no one can have his own way all the time; and no one is right all the time.
"As for myself I doubt that I would be President today (in 1970) if I had not learned from the lessons of defeat in 1960 and 1962 – and I hope that I can be a better President because of those lessons. However, there are those who protest that if the verdict of democracy goes against them democracy itself is at fault – who say that if they don't get their own way, the answer is to burn a bus or bomb a building?"
It was in Spain, Richard Nixon received "the greatest crowd in his political career". Over a million Spaniards chanted "Nixon! Franco! Nixon! Franco" as an open limousine Generalissimo Francisco Franco, wearing the uniform of Captain-General of the army and Richard Nixon rode, carried them past "a canyon of humanity" for 90 minutes (roughly 16 miles). Spaniards roared "Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!" when Richard Nixon was handed the key to the thousand-year-old city of 3 million people, Madrid.
The welcome in the streets, the press reported, was easily the emotional highlight by far of Richard Nixon's European tour. Alfredo Sanchez Bella, the Spanish information minister, declared the crowd was between 1.3 million and 1.5 million. The U.S. Embassy noted the crowd easily exceeded the 800,000 who turned out for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1959. "It was the largest crowd I've seen," Richard Nixon acknowledged. "It was a very exciting time and it was a very exciting reception."
Richard Nixon told the Spaniards, "In recent weeks the eyes of the world have been on the Mediterranean area. If we do not have peace in the Mediterranean, world peace will be seriously threatened. An indispensable pillar for peace in the Mediterranean is Spanish-American friendship and cooperation." He was also "confident the talks we will have here will contribute to closer cooperation both in defense for peace and in more economic cooperation. Long live Spanish-American friendship!"
