Mr. President. there have been a number of suggestions in the press in recent weeks that the United States is deemphasizing. and perhaps even planning to abandon Its commitment to the ultimate liberation of the captive peoples of Central Europe. Among other things. the press has reported that the funds available for the refugee political groupings. with whom we have heretofore been working. have been sharply curtailed. 1963 � - I hope that these reports are in error or at the least exaggerated. because I can conceive of no more deadly blow to the cause of freedom or to our national security than the formal abandonment of the captive peoples. This fact is frequently forgotten. but the captive peoples of Europe. so long as the hope of liberation remains alive. have constituted one of the main deterrents to Soviet aggression and. in this sense. have protected the peace. Of all the refugee political organizations in this country the Assembly of Captive European Nations is unquestionably the best known and most effective. The assembly has recently issued a memorandum entitled "The Western Choice in EastCentral Europe." In this memorandum the assembly points out thatA Western policy which would not aim beyond stabilization would prompt a bolder Soviet bid for the mastery of Europe. for the simple reason that it would suppress one of the deterrents to a reckless policy of intimidation: the spirit of resistance in EastCentral Europe. Paradoxically enough. then. to achieve stability. the West must aim beyond stability to a Europe united in its natural confines.