    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
    [May 29, 1991]
    [Pages 575-577]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 575]]

    Remarks at the United States Air Force Academy Commencement Ceremony in
    Colorado Springs, Colorado
    May 29, 1991

        What a day. Please be seated, and thank you for that warm welcome.
    To my old friend, Senator Goldwater; to Secretary Rice and General
    McPeak; to General Hamm, who's done such a fantastic job here; ladies
    and gentlemen; graduates. Our altitude is 7,250 feet above sea level--
    far, far above that of West Point or Annapolis. And I'm sorry I'm a
    little late. I flunked my room inspection at Kennebunkport this morning.
    [Laughter] Barbara gave me 20 demerits. Then it took time to talk the
    pilot of Air Force One, Colonel Barr, out of doing an Immelmann over
    this stadium. [Laughter]
        It is an honor for me to join you here at ``Wild Blue U,'' the home
    of the quick and the brave. There's never been a better day to be part
    of this magnificent team.
        For 40 years, my generation struggled in the confines of a divided
    world, frozen in the ice of ideological conflict, preoccupied with the
    possibility of yet another war in Europe. More recently, many here and
    abroad wondered whether America still possessed the strength and the
    will to bear the burden of world leadership. My fellow Americans, we do,
    and we will.
        Through strength of example and commitment, we lead. You've been
    taught the price and the importance of leadership. As you leave the
    Academy, you answer your nation's call to advance the cause of freedom,
    to lead. There's a new sense of pride and patriotism in our land. And
    it's good for our nation's soul.
        The beltway cynics may call this renewal of patriotism old-
    fashioned, but Americans rarely mistake cynicism for sophistication.
    Patriotism binds the real and lasting fabric of our nation. Assertive
    but not arrogant--self-assured, kind, generous--we remain committed to
    our fundamental values.
        So today I speak to you, and to every member of America's Armed
    Forces, to say thanks. When others weren't sure we were up to the task,
    you were. When your country asked you to serve, you did. And when others
    said, ``No, no, we're not ready; we can't,'' you said, ``Yes, we are
    ready; we can.'' You and your colleagues in all the services prove that
    Americans consider no risk too great, no burden too onerous to defend
    our interests and our principles--in short, to do what's just and to do
    what's right.
        Consider our fundamental decency and humanity, our commitment to
    liberty. Our service men and women in the Gulf, weary from months in the
    desert, now help suffering Kurds and the people of Bangladesh. When a
    carrier on the way home after months in the Gulf was diverted to
    Bangladesh, a crewman was asked, ``Aren't you disappointed that you
    don't get to go home?'' He replied, ``Not at all. We're saving lives.
    We're doing what we ought to do.''
        We do not dictate the courses nations follow, but neither can we
    overlook the fact that our examples reshape the world. We can't right
    all wrongs, but neither can any nation lead as we can.
        Joined by the world's leading nations, we worked to create a
    coalition in which countries great and small joined forces to liberate
    Kuwait. That coalition saw soldiers from dozens of lands fight shoulder
    to shoulder, fly wingtip to wingtip in the cause of freedom. And it saw
    our forces as fully integrated as any in our history, demonstrating the
    true strength of joint operations.
        A year before you came to Colorado Springs, I was privileged to be
    here. And I told the class of '86, ``There's no doubt the Soviets remain
    our major adversary. Our two separate systems represent fundamentally
    different values.''
        Since then, we've seen remarkable political change. But let's not
    forget the Soviet Union retains enormous military strength. It will have
    the largest land force in Europe for the foreseeable future. With
    perhaps five new strategic missile systems in development, they'll be
    ready for yet another round of strategic modernization by the

    [[Page 576]]

    mid-1990's.
        At the same time, however, Soviet troops have embarked on the long
    trek home from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland--and, happily, from a
    reunified Germany. We are hopeful that the Soviet Union itself will
    continue its move toward freedom.
        As superpower polarization and conflict melt, military thinkers must
    focus on more volatile regimes, regimes packed with modern weapons and
    seething with ancient ambitions. We are committed to stopping the
    proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. But there is danger that
    despite our efforts, by the end of this century nearly two dozen
    developing nations could have ballistic missiles. Many already have
    nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons programs.
        Nowhere are the dangers of weapons of proliferation more urgent than
    in the Middle East. After consulting with governments inside the region
    and elsewhere about how to slow and then reverse the buildup of
    unnecessary and destabilizing weapons, I am today proposing a Middle
    East arms control initiative.
        It features supplier guidelines on conventional arms exports;
    barriers to exports that contribute to weapons of mass destruction; a
    freeze now, and later a ban on surface-to-surface missiles in the
    region; and a ban on production of nuclear weapons material. Halting the
    proliferation of conventional and unconventional weapons in the Middle
    East while supporting the legitimate need of every state to defend
    itself will require the cooperation of many states in the region and
    around the world. It won't be easy, but the path to peace never is.
        And as the world changes, our military must evolve and change with
    it. Last year, I announced a shift in our defense focus away from old
    threats and toward the dangers that will face us in the years to come.
    We need a more agile, flexible military force that we can put where it
    is needed, when it is needed. I also called for new technology in our
    defense systems. And I proposed a defense package to the Congress that
    meets these demands.
        In the years ahead, defense spending will drop to below 4 percent of
    our gross national product, the lowest level in over 50 years. But we
    must spend that money in ways that address the threats that we are
    likely to face in the future. Although we developed this budget before
    the Gulf war, it anticipates very important lessons of that war--lessons
    that, frankly, some in the United States Congress now ignore.
        Gulf lesson 1 is the value of air power. I remember meeting with
    General McPeak up at Camp David. In his quiet but forceful way, he told
    me exactly what he felt air power could do. After he left, I turned to
    my trusted National Security Adviser--who's with me here today, a former
    political science professor here at the Academy and a pilot, General
    Scowcroft--and said, ``Brent, does this guy really know what he's
    talking about?'' General Scowcroft assured me he did. And General
    McPeak, like the entire Air Force, was right on target from day one. The
    Gulf war taught us that we must retain combat superiority in the skies.
        Then there's Gulf lesson 2: The value of Stealth. Surprise is a
    classic principle of warfare, and yes, it depends on sound intelligence
    work. But Stealth adds a new dimension of surprise. Our air strikes were
    the most effective, yet humane, in the history of warfare.
        The F-117 proved itself by doing more, doing it better, doing it for
    less, and targeting soldiers, not civilians. It flew hundreds of sorties
    into the most heavily defended areas without a scratch.
        The F-117 carried a revolution in warfare on its wings. The next
    step in that revolution is the Stealth bomber, the B-2. Not only for its
    contribution to nuclear deterrence, but also from the standpoint of
    conventional cost-effectiveness, the B-2 has no peer. It carries over 10
    times the conventional load of an F-117 and can fly 5 times further
    between refuelings. It gets to the job faster, with more tons of
    ordnance--without the force buildup and time we needed prior to Desert
    Storm--and without needing foreign airfields in the immediate proximity
    of a conflict. And it replaces B-52 aircraft approaching twice the age
    of you graduates--and I say that respectfully. [Laughter]
        Yet, last week, the House of Representatives voted to terminate the
    B-2, redirect-

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    ing those funds at unnecessary weapons. Anyone who tells you the B-2 is
    ``too expensive'' hasn't seen flak up close lately. America needs the B-
    2 bomber, and I'm going to fight for it every inch of the way.
        Gulf lesson 3: We learned that missile defense works and that it
    promotes peace and security. In the Gulf, we had the technologies of
    defense to pick up where theories of deterrence left off. You see,
    Saddam Hussein was not deterred, but the Patriot saved lives and helped
    keep the coalition together.
        That's one reason that we've refocused strategic defense toward
    Global Protection Against Limited Strikes or GPALS, as we call it. It
    defends us and our allies from accidental launches or from the missile
    attacks of international renegades. While the Patriot worked well in the
    Gulf, we must prepare for the missiles more likely to be used by future
    aggressors. We can't build a defense system that simply responds to the
    threats of the past.
        Yet some in Congress want to gut our ability to develop strategic
    defenses. Last week the House irresponsibly voted to cut nearly $2
    billion from GPALS and to kill its most promising technologies. I call
    on the Senate today to restore our missile defense programs, to
    safeguard American and allied lives, and to promote security.
        Gulf lesson 4, the most fundamental, is the value of people. People
    fight and win wars. And this nation never has fielded better fighting
    men and women than it does today. In 1980, 68 percent of those enlisting
    in the military had high school diplomas. Now it's 95 percent and
    climbing. The military has become our greatest equal opportunity
    employer. It offers everyone a chance, and it promotes people solely on
    the basis of merit. The men and women you will soon be leading are the
    best educated and most motivated anywhere, anytime, ever. You know the
    standards. You know, I was tempted to ask General Scowcroft how he
    thought I was performing during the war, but I was afraid he'd say,
    ``Fast, neat, average, friendly, good, good.'' [Laughter]
        Although we will cut troop levels 25 percent by mid-decade, we must
    ensure that they remain fully prepared to respond quickly and decisively
    to crises. We must ensure that they are totally integrated, taking full
    advantage of the kinds of joint operations so powerfully demonstrated in
    the Gulf. We must ensure that they have weapons that emerge from
    military necessity, not pork barrel politics. We must ensure that the
    cuts in the Active and Reserve components result in the most effective
    and efficient forces possible. We must not compromise our readiness just
    to protect unneeded bases, programs, and forces.
        Look, no President--no President could or would deny Congress its
    right to approve budgets or conduct oversight. But as Commander in
    Chief, my greatest responsibility is national defense, and I will veto
    any bill that doesn't support and sustain my defense program.
        And so, I ask the Congress to help make our forces leaner and more
    effective. Don't weigh them down with pork. Don't deny our people the
    tools that they will need to do their jobs in the next century.
        You graduates will find that no other combat force you encounter
    will have your skills, your technology, or support. You'll find that in
    world leadership we have no challengers. But in our turbulent world, you
    will find no lack of challenges. And I know you are ready.
        So, to all of America's servicemen--all of them, wherever they may
    be--and all of America's servicewomen, I salute them. I salute you. And
    to this 1991 graduating class of the United States Air Force Academy,
    may I say, you have earned your commissions. Well done, and Godspeed.
    And may God bless you and the United States of America. Thank you all
    very, very much.

                        Note: President Bush spoke at 11:15 a.m. in Falcon
                            Stadium. In his opening remarks, he referred to
                            former Senator Barry Goldwater; Secretary of the
                            Air Force Donald B. Rice; Gen. Merrill A.
                            McPeak, Air Force Chief of Staff; Gen. Charles
                            Hamm, superintendent of the U.S. Air Force
                            Academy. Brent Scowcroft, Assistant to the
                            President for National Security Affairs; and
                            President Saddam Hussein of Iraq. Following his
                            remarks, President Bush returned to Washington,
                            DC.