[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1991, Book I)]
[March 27, 1991]
[Pages 313-315]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to State Department Employees
March 27, 1991

    The President. Thank you all very much for that warm reception. I 
really wanted to come over here, and I really wanted to say thank you. 
And I wanted to address our foreign policy professionals and all those 
who support them. You are, indeed, the men and women on the front lines 
of American interests, both in war and in peace. And this recent 
situation was no exception.

[[Page 314]]

    Dwight Eisenhower once marveled at freedom's power to assemble 
``lightness against the dark.'' Well, I think that all of you showed 
that rather eloquently in this Gulf situation, indeed, in our victory in 
the Persian Gulf. You acted for right against wrong. I don't know how 
each and every person here was motivated, but for me, very early on it 
became a clear choice of good versus evil, of right versus wrong. And 
when that happens it makes it easier to make some of the decisions.
    You spoke here, various officers, for dignity against oppression. 
And I salute you--I salute you on behalf of every American and all the 
freedom-loving peoples of the world.
    We do stand for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, and no one 
tried harder to resolve the Gulf conflict peacefully than our Secretary 
of State Jim Baker, and then the entire State Department.
    You know, from August 1990 to January 15th of 1991--166 days--you 
conducted nonstop discussions in the hopes of reversing aggression, in 
the hopes of this peaceful settlement. Secretary of State Baker had more 
than 200 meetings with foreign dignitaries, 10 diplomatic missions, 6 
congressional appearances. I.O. and Tom Pickering, operating up in New 
York, helped put into effect 12 United Nations resolutions. And over 
103,000 miles traveled on the Secretary's part to talk with members of 
the U.N., the Arab League, and the European Community.
    Every American staff, every consulate, every bureau, and every 
department here and abroad facilitated these missions. The American 
people will always remember the courage of Embassy Baghdad and Embassy 
Kuwait. You were called upon, those that served there, to do your duty, 
and you did so.
    You worked closely with our allies, this Department did--an 
extraordinary coalition. I really believe that when history writes the 
final chapter on all of this, this coalition of--some might say 
disparate coalition--is going to be one of the highlights of what 
happened in Desert Shield and Desert Storm.
    Indeed, I think all of your work inspired the American people. And 
you brought new respect, frankly--and deserved respect, in my view--to 
men and women for whom diplomacy is not merely a profession but it's a 
mission.
    During all of this, I recall several important meetings at the White 
House where I drew on the experience of, among others, Assistant 
Secretary Kelly, Ambassador Glaspie; met also with the--[applause]--I 
think that's appropriate. And also the returning officers from Embassy 
Kuwait and Embassy--he's back there. [Laughter] Ambassador Howell and 
Mr. Wilson later on, and so many others that just did a wonderful job.
    That mission, your mission, of course, deals with the entire world, 
not only the Middle East. It's a mission you carried out even as war 
raged in the Persian Gulf. We forget that at a time all of this was 
going on, just by way of example, there were some very harrowing 
problems still remaining, I might add, in Liberia. And you look at other 
trouble spots in the world, and things were going on. And those officers 
and those supporters of the missions there get very little credit for 
that. But you kept the foreign policy moving forward. You put out the 
fires, and you did a great job, even though not as much in the focus as 
those Embassies in Kuwait and Baghdad.
    So, you're dealing with the entire world. It went on; all that 
important work went on even as war raged in the Persian Gulf. And then 
you, along with the finest soldiers and sailors and airmen and marines 
and coast-guardsmen that any nation has ever known, helped light the 
lamp of liberty. Now, I'd like to see us use that, and I know many here 
are already actively involved in this, in illuminating a new world 
order.
    I know that your jobs often are not comfortable or safe. The 
scroll--there's a scroll outside that I've seen that tells the tale. Far 
too many Foreign Service officers have made the supreme sacrifice for 
this nation and the values it holds dear. And every day you guard this 
nation's freedom.
    In coming weeks, we'll be working together to shape this order--and 
in trying to bring peace, lasting peace, to the Middle East and every 
corner of the globe. We're talking about Lebanon; we're talking about 
the Palestine-Israel situation; we're talking about security and 
stability in the Gulf

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itself. And our efforts are going to be critical to the solution of the 
problems in those three areas and so many others.
    But for now, let me simply leave you with a word of thanks, I'd say, 
on behalf of the entire coalition--and in memory of those who gave what 
Abraham Lincoln called ``the last full measure of devotion.''
    So, thank you all very, very much. I am very proud of you. I expect 
there are some times you wonder whether we know you exist way over four 
or five blocks away at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And there are probably 
sometimes you wish we didn't know you existed. [Laughter] You can 
interpret that any way you want.
    But I've had the privilege since 1971, when I was the Permanent 
Representative of the United States to the United Nations, to work 
closely with many people, many of whom are here today. Not so many old 
guys left, but quite a few. And it's been a joy, and it's been an honor. 
And I support you. And I just came over to say thanks. Thank you very 
much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 3:42 p.m. in the Dean 
                        Acheson Room at the State Department. In his 
                        remarks, he referred to Secretary of State James 
                        A. Baker III; the Bureau of International 
                        Organization Affairs; Thomas Pickering, 
                        Ambassador to the United Nations; John H. Kelly, 
                        Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern 
                        and South Asian Affairs; April Glaspie, former 
                        Ambassador to Iraq; Nathaniel Howell, former 
                        Ambassador to Kuwait; and Joseph Wilson, former 
                        Charge d'Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.