[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12035-S12036]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             DAVID ABSHIRE

 Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, as this Congress and my own career in 
the U.S. Senate come to an end, I want to pay tribute to a 
distinguished American who has been of great assistance to me, to the 
Senate, and to our Nation, Ambassador David Abshire.
  During my career in the Senate, David Abshire has been one of the 
leading figures in the national security field in the United States. 
Although he is probably best known for his service as our Ambassador to 
NATO and as the founder and president of the Center for Strategic and 
International Studies [CSIS], these are just two examples from his 
career of service to our Nation.
  David Abshire was born in Chattanooga, TN in 1926. He graduated from 
West Point in 1951 and served with distinction in the Korean war, as a 
platoon leader, company commander and division assistant intelligence 
officer. His decorations for service as a front line commander included 
the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster with V for Valor.
  In 1959 he received a Ph.D. in history from Georgetown University, 
where he returned to serve as an adjunct professor for many years.
  In the early 1970's, he served as Assistant Secretary of State and 
later as chairman of the U.S. Board for International Broadcasting. He 
was a member of the Murphy Commission on the Organization of the 
Government, the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, and 
headed President Reagan's National Security transition team.
  During the Reagan administration he served with distinction as the 
U.S. Ambassador to NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Dr. 
Abshire served in this position during a very challenging period when 
the Soviet deployment of SS-20 missiles led to NATO's deployment of the 
cruise missiles and the Pershing missile. Ambassador Abshire's efforts 
bore fruit when the U.S. deployment led to the first major arms 
reduction treaty, the INF treaty. For his service as Ambassador he was 
awarded the Defense Department's highest civilian award, the 
Distinguished Public Service Medal.
  I had the opportunity of working with David Abshire during his tenure 
as Ambassador on several important issues, including my amendment to 
force our NATO allies to contribute their fair share to our common 
defense, and on the NATO Cooperative Research and Development program.
  In 1987, after finishing his service as Ambassador, he served as 
Special Counsellor to President Reagan. It is not surprising that a man 
to whom so many of us have turned for wise counsel and advice should be 
called on by the President of the United States as a Special 
Counsellor.

  David Abshire's contributions to the national security field are not 
limited to his Government service. In recent years Dr. Abshire and CSIS 
have continued to stimulate debate and discussion on important foreign 
policy issues such as our policies toward Bosnia and China.
  Dr. Abshire's talents have extended beyond Government service and 
academia to benefit our Nation in other areas as well. He is a member 
of the Council on Competitiveness, the Council on Foreign Relations and 
the International Institute for Strategic Studies, to name but a few of 
the organizations who have sought out his talents.
  Dr. Abshire is also an author, and I want to call special attention 
to his most recent book, ``Putting America's House in Order.'' This 
book demonstrates Dr. Abshire's keen grasp not just of matters of 
national security, but of the whole range of issues from deficit 
reduction to investments in, and reforms of, our education and training 
policies, that are necessary to put our Nation's house in order.
  In 1991, under Dr. Abshire's leadership, CSIS created the 
Strengthening of America Commission to address these issues. I was 
honored that Dr. Abshire asked me and my friend and colleague from New 
Mexico, Senator Pete Domenici, to serve as co-chairs of this 
commission. I am very proud of the Strengthening of America report that 
our commission released in September of 1992 and am grateful to David 
Abshire for his leadership in creating this commission and seeing it 
through to a successful conclusion.
  The work of the CSIS Strengthening of America Commission exemplified 
the best of David Abshire--long-term thinking and a keen insight into 
the

[[Page S12036]]

fundamental issues facing our Nation. Our report challenged not just 
Government but our schools, our businesses and our parents to take the 
steps needed to secure a prosperous future for our Nation. We laid out 
a plan of action to get our fiscal house in order; to raise our level 
of national savings and our level of public and private investment in 
both physical and human capital; and to improve the way Washington 
works.
  It is with great pleasure that I end my Senate career with a public 
thank you to a man who has contributed so much to U.S. national 
security and foreign policy and to me personally, David Abshire. I wish 
David, his wife Carolyn, and his family all the best.

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