[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[May 27, 1992]
[Pages 820-823]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at the United States Naval Academy Commencement Ceremony in 
Annapolis, Maryland

May 27, 1992
    Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thank all of you. Thank you, Larry 
Garrett. Please be seated. And may I salute our great CNO, Admiral 
Kelso, who's with us today, and our Superintendent, Admiral Lynch, the 
several Members of the United States Congress that are here today. I 
want to single out the Navy band, thank the Academy band; and Captain 
Bill Hines, the Senior Chaplain; and Midshipmen First Class Joe Lienert 
and Melissa Miceli for leading us in the national anthem. Officers, 
members of the faculty, friends, parents, the brigade, and of course, 
the class of 1992. As I said that, the sun came out. [Laughter] Now, 
thank you for this warm welcome. Let me add a special salute to an 
honorary classmate of the class of '92, Midshipman Rob Boehning, a model 
of courage to his classmates.
    Now, the real reason I came here today: I just wanted to salute the 
class that finally captured the Army mules. And to show you that I took 
Larry Garrett's remarks to heart, I will now tell you my favorite Billy 
Graham story about the guy, the graduation speaker, goes on and on and 
on. A guy sitting over here picks up the gavel, heaves it at him, 
misses, hits a woman in the front row. And she said, ``Hit me again. I 
can still hear him.'' [Laughter] Look what you're in for. [Laughter] No, 
they're double-spaced.
    As President, I've made it my mission to

[[Page 821]]

preserve three legacies of concern to all Americans. I spoke a few days 
ago at Southern Methodist University about the new economic realities, 
about the promising job opportunities that we're going to have in the 
next century. At Notre Dame, my focus was the family because the first 
lessons in faith and character are learned at home. But today I want to 
speak about the great mission you've taken up as your own: preserving 
freedom, keeping the peace.
    You take up your watch at a watershed moment, as old orders give way 
to new. Just think of the changes, the remarkable changes that have 
taken place since you first came to Annapolis 4 years ago, for plebe 
summer way back in 1988. That was a different era, another world, 
literally. Europe was a continent divided, East from West. From Central 
America to the Horn of Africa to Afghanistan and Southeast Asia, the 
U.S. faced Soviet expansionism. Today, all that has changed. Today, the 
``dominoes'' fall in democracy's direction. Today, the Wall, the Warsaw 
Pact, the Soviet empire, even the Soviet Union itself, all are gone, 
swept away by the most powerful idea known to man: the undeniable desire 
of every individual to be free.
    We must recognize these events for what they were: a vindication of 
our ideals, a testament to faith, but also a victory for the men and 
women who fought for freedom. Because this triumph didn't just happen. 
Imperial communism didn't just fall. It was pushed.
    Your generation will be the first to enjoy the fruits of that 
victory. Today, the threat of a lightning strike across the fields of 
Europe has vanished with the Warsaw Pact. The threat of nuclear war is 
more distant than at any time in the past four decades. As Commander in 
Chief, I think back often to the day I did what so many of my 
predecessors must have longed to do, to give the order for many of our 
nuclear forces to stand down from alert. Last week in Lisbon, we reached 
agreement with four of the new nations of the old Soviet empire, Russia, 
Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Byelarus, to make good on the great promise of 
the START Treaty that we signed just a year ago.
    The end of the cold war, it means new opportunities for global 
prosperity. Free market reform is now sweeping away the dead hand of 
state socialism. Capitalism is recognized the world over as the engine 
of prosperity and social progress. And nations are reorganizing 
themselves to unleash the limitless potential of the individual.
    Governments can help foster free enterprise, or they can put 
obstacles in its path. There is no question what course we must take. 
The United States will remain a forceful advocate for free trade. But 
the promise of new prosperity must not blind us to the new challenges of 
new economic realities. Nations that lack the confidence to compete will 
be tempted to seek refuge behind the walls of protectionism. We must 
fight the protectionist impulse here at home, and we must work with our 
partners for trade that is free, fair, and open.
    Beyond this economic challenge, we must see clearly the dangers that 
remain. And yes, since the day you came to Annapolis, we have made great 
gains for freedom. But we have not yet entered an era of perpetual 
peace.
    Some see the great triumph I mentioned a moment ago not simply as 
cause for celebration but as proof that America's work in the world is 
finished, is done. The fact is, never in the long history of man has the 
world been a benign place. It will take hard efforts to make and keep it 
a better place, and there is no substitute in this effort for America's 
strength and sense of purpose. When other nations look to the United 
States, they see a nation that combines economic and military might with 
a moral force that's born of its founding ideals.
    Even in our new world, as old threats recede, new ones emerge. With 
the end of the East-West standoff, ideology has given way to ethnicity 
as a key factor for conflict. Ancient hatreds, ethnic rivalries frozen 
in time, threaten to revive themselves and to re-ignite. We see it now 
in the war-ravaged Balkans, in tensions within and among some of the new 
nations of the old Soviet empire. For all the overwhelmingly hopeful 
aspects of the new nationalism we see in the world, for all the proud 
history and heritage we see reclaimed, for all the captive nations now 
free, we must guard

[[Page 822]]

against those who would turn the noble impulse of nationalism to 
negative ends.
    We will face new challenges in the realm of diplomacy. Where in the 
past we've relied almost entirely on established, formal alliances, the 
future may require us to turn more often to coalitions built to respond 
to the needs of the moment. Where in the past, international 
organizations like the U.N., the United Nations, had been paralyzed by 
cold war conflict, we will see a future where they can now be a force 
for peace. Where in the past, many times the heaviest burdens of 
leadership fell to our Nation, we will now see more efforts made to seek 
consensus and concerted action.
    The United States will never rely on other nations to defend its 
interests, but we can and will seek to act in concert with the community 
of nations to defend common interests and ideals. We saw a glimpse of 
that future in the Persian Gulf. Such a world puts a premium on nations 
certain of their interests, faithful to their ideals, and on leaders 
ready to act.
    We will face new challenges that take us beyond containment to a key 
role in helping forge a democratic peace. In the weeks ahead, Congress 
will be considering what we call the ``FREEDOM Support Act,'' to promote 
democratic reform in Russia and the other Commonwealth States. For all 
the pressure to focus our energies on needs here at home, and for all 
that we must do and will do to open new opportunities to every American 
here at home, we cannot fail in this critical mission.
    When we think of the world you and your children will inherit, no 
single factor will shape their future more than this: whether the lands 
of the old Soviet empire move forward into democracy or slide back into 
anarchy or authoritarianism. The outcome of this great transition will 
affect everything from the amount of resources Government must devote to 
defense instead of domestic needs to a future for our children free from 
fear.
    And yes, the aid that I have requested from the Congress is 
significant, but it is also a tiny fraction of the $4 trillion that this 
Nation spent to wage and win the cold war. We owe it to those who began 
the task as well as those who will come up afterward to finish the great 
work that we have begun.
    But if we hope to remain free and at peace in the world, a world 
that still holds dangers, we must maintain defenses adequate to the 
task. This defense rests on four key elements.
    First, we must maintain a strong strategic deterrent. And yes, our 
nuclear forces can and will be smaller in the future. But even in the 
aftermath of the cold war, Russia retains its nuclear arsenal. We 
learned in Desert Storm about the progress that Iraq had made toward 
building nuclear weapons of its own. We must heed the lessons learned in 
the Gulf war, when a single Scud missile took the lives of more 
Americans than any other combat action in that war. We cannot count on 
deterrence to stop a madman with missiles. We must deploy a defense 
against ballistic missile attack.
    Second, security means forward deployment. From the 40 years of cold 
war to the 40 days of Desert Storm, forward deployed forces have 
contributed to the world's stability and helped America keep danger far 
from its shores. Even in our new world, with the tremendous political 
transformation we've worked to bring about, the fundamental facts of 
geopolitics don't change. Forward deployed forces--I'm talking about 
ground forces, and I am talking the United States Navy--will keep 
America safe in the century ahead as they have in the century now coming 
to a close.
    Third, the nature of the challenges we are likely to face will put a 
premium on rapid response. We live in a day when clear and present 
dangers are few, when new threats can emerge with little or no warning. 
Throughout history, our ability to project power has helped us keep the 
peace, and if need be, to win the war. And this I pledge as Commander in 
Chief: America's forces will continue to be the best trained, the best 
equipped, and most battle-ready forces anywhere in the entire world. We 
owe it to the generations coming up.
    Fourth, even as we reduce our Armed Forces, we must retain the 
capability to reconstitute sufficient forces to meet the future threats 
that we may face. As we make significant cuts in our defense pro-

[[Page 823]]

curement, we've got to keep in mind that production lines for planes and 
tanks and ships cannot be turned on and off like water from a faucet. 
We've got to keep our technological edge, keep our R&D focused on the 
next generation of weapons that you'll need to succeed.
    In conclusion, I just want to turn now to a final challenge, one 
that begins with a hard-won truth that shines through this century's 
great conflicts: America is safest at home when we stand as a force for 
stability in the world. In many respects, reaffirming this truth in our 
new world may be the greatest challenge of all because the history of 
this century reveals in the American character a desire to see in every 
hard-won victory a sign that America's work in the world is done. Such 
an urge is not unusual in democracies. It's a trait found in nations 
more interested in the quiet joys of home than in the glories of 
conquest abroad. But it can be devastating in a world that still holds 
dangers for our interests and ideals.
    Winston Churchill made this point the theme of the last volume in 
his epic history of World War II. He called it, ``How the great 
democracies triumphed and so were able to resume the follies which had 
so nearly cost them their life.'' Once more, our challenge is to avoid 
the folly that Churchill warned of, to remain engaged in the world as a 
force for peace. We will do it with your help, through the leadership 
you provide. Today, John Paul Jones would say, ``The measure of a ship 
is not its guns but its courageous men and women.'' Your courage, your 
integrity, your ability to lead, these are the qualities on which our 
Nation's security depends.
    More than once this century, America has proved its mettle. More 
than once, we've come late to conflict and turned back mortal threats to 
freedom. But as a Nation, we have yet to prove that we can lead when 
there is no enemy on the doorstep. We have proved and proved again we 
can win the war. Now we must wage the peace.
    Once again, to this wonderful graduating class, I wish you well. I 
wish you Godspeed. And thank you all for this warm welcome. May I thank 
the families that have labored in sweat to provide this wonderful day 
for these wonderful midshipmen, now to be ensigns or lieutenants. 
Welcome, congratulations to the class of 1992. And may God bless the 
United States of America, the freest, greatest country on the face of 
the Earth. Thank you very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 10:45 a.m. at the Navy/
                        Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. In his remarks, 
                        he referred to Lawrence Garrett III, Secretary 
                        of the Navy; Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, 
                        Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy; and 
                        Midshipman 1st Class Robert Boehning, an 
                        honorary graduate.