Unrestricted submarine warfare in 1941 constitutes a defiance--an
act of aggression--against that historic American policy.
It is now clear that Hitler has begun his campaign to control the
seas by ruthless force and by wiping out every vestige of
international law, every vestige of humanity.
His intention has been made clear. The American people can have no
further illusions about it.
No tender whisperings of appeasers that Hitler is not interested in
the Western Hemisphere, no soporific lullabies that a wide ocean
protects us from him--can long have any effect on the hard-headed,
far-sighted and realistic American people.
Because of these episodes, because of the movements and operations
of German warships, and because of the clear, repeated proof that
the present government of Germany has no respect for treaties or
for international law, that it has no decent attitude toward
neutral nations or human life--we Americans are now face to face
not with abstract theories but with cruel, relentless facts.
This attack on the GREER was no localized military operation in the
North Atlantic. This was no mere episode in a struggle between two
nations. This was one determined step towards creating a permanent
world system based on force, on terror and on murder.
And I am sure that even now the Nazis are waiting to see whether
the United States will by silence give them the green light to go
ahead on this path of destruction.
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