[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 158 (Thursday, October 12, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S15072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page S 15072]]


                       RETIREMENT OF SENATOR NUNN

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I am honored to have served with our 
colleague from Georgia, Senator Nunn. He is an outstanding statesman 
and legislator, and I am saddened by his decision to end his 
distinguished career in the Senate.
  I have had the privilege of serving with Senator Nunn during his 
entire 23 years in the Senate. He has been a thoughtful and skilled 
legislator whose wisdom and leadership have made large contributions to 
the country on a great variety of issues, especially in the area of 
national defense.
  Senator Nunn is widely recognized as the Senate's preeminent voice on 
military issues, and that reputation is well deserved.
  As a leading member of the Armed Services Committee throughout his 
Senate career, and as chairman of the committee for 8 years, from 1987 
through 1994, he has displayed an unwavering commitment to the security 
of our country and to the men and women of our Armed Forces who provide 
it.
  It would take hours to detail the many contributions that Senator 
Nunn has made to the national security of the United States. Let me 
cite just four of them. The first, most recently, was his effective 
intervention in Haiti a year ago. President Clinton had decided that 
United States forces should land in Haiti. The question was whether the 
landing would be welcomed, or opposed--would they land as friendly 
peacekeepers or hostile invaders.
  At that critical moment in our recent history, Senator Nunn 
accompanied former President Carter and General Colin Powell on an 
extraordinary mission to Haiti to convince the dictators not to oppose 
the United States forces. Despite huge obstacles, Senator Nunn helped 
convince the dictators that a peaceful transition to democracy was the 
only realistic alternative to heavy bloodshed. Our forces landed in 
peace, and a year later, the first free elections have been held in 
Haiti. Senator Nunn helped make that peaceful transition possible, and 
deserves great credit for his role.
  A second example was the Goldwater-Nichols legislation, enacted in 
1986, which reformed the organization of the Defense Department more 
extensively than at any time since the creation of the Department after 
World War II. Senator Nunn was a leading figure in the development and 
implementation of this landmark legislation. It established the 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the principal military adviser 
to the President, and it strengthened the unified battlefield commands, 
giving them full control of our forces in the field. The success of the 
act was clearly demonstrated in Operation Desert Storm.
  A third example of Senator Nunn's impressive leadership on national 
security issues was his successful defense of the Anti-Ballistic 
Missile Treaty. Senator Nunn understands the importance of America's 
maintaining the best armed, best trained, and best led forces in the 
world. But he also understands the importance of arms control to reduce 
the likelihood of conflict. His defense of the ABM Treaty was a prime 
example of his leadership on this all-important issue.
  The Reagan administration sought to undermine the ABM Treaty in 1987 
through a legal reinterpretation of the treaty text. Sam Nunn spent 
many hours going over the negotiating record of the treaty, reviewing 
in detail the issues raised by the administration. After careful 
deliberation, he concluded that the administration's case was wrong, 
and that the traditional interpretation of the treaty was correct. He 
went to work on the floor of the Senate and masterfully defended the 
treaty, upholding the Nation's solemn commitment to the treaty, the 
cornerstone of all nuclear arms agreements signed in the past 23 years.
  A fourth example is Senator Nunn's understanding of the use of 
cooperation in reducing threats to national security through a program 
that bears his name. The cooperative threat reduction program between 
the United States and the nations of the former Soviet Union is known 
as the Nunn-Lugar program. Through these ongoing efforts, we are 
working with Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and other Soviet successor 
nations to reduce and dismantle their nuclear weapons stockpiles and 
production capability, and to convert elements of their defense 
industry to commercial uses. This program is a major example of the 
opportunities for long-term peace and prosperity that the end of the 
cold war can mean for our country and our former adversaries.
  Many other examples of Senator Nunn's wise and conscientious 
leadership can be cited. We all know that we have the strongest and 
most effective military forces in the world today, and that achievement 
is due in no small part to the brilliant work of Senator Nunn.
  It has been an honor to serve with him on the Armed Services 
Committee. We will miss him, and the Senate and the Nation will miss 
his leadership, his statesmanship, and most of all his friendship. As 
he made clear in his statement earlier this week, he is committed to 
continuing his service to Georgia and the country and the world in 
other ways in the years ahead. I know I join all my colleagues in 
wishing him a long and happy and productive career beyond the Senate.

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