[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[August 11, 1993]
[Pages 1363-1364]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks Announcing the Nomination of General John Shalikashvili To Be 
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
August 11, 1993

    Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. It's a great honor for me to 
be here today with the Vice President, Secretary Aspin, and General 
Powell to introduce to you and to our Nation the person whom I have 
selected to replace Colin Powell as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of 
Staff, General John Shalikashvili. He's widely known to his friends as 
General Shali. And since we're going to be seeing a lot of each other 
and you're going to have to write a lot about him, I think I'll just 
start using the shortened version of his name.
    General Shali is superbly well qualified for this position. He is a 
soldier's soldier, a proven warrior, a creative and flexible visionary 
who clearly understands the myriad of conflicts, ethnic, religious, and 
political, gripping the world, as well as the immense possibilities for 
the United States and for the cause of freedom that are out there before 
us.
    He has shown a proven ability to work with our allies in complex and 
challenging circumstances. He has shown me a real concern for the 
ordinary men and women who have enlisted in our armed services and who 
are living through this difficult and challenging period of downsizing. 
He understands how to downsize the Armed Forces and still maintain the 
strongest military in the world, with the equipment and, most important, 
the trained force with the morale we need to always fight and win when 
we have to.
    And finally, I am convinced that he is in a unique position to be an 
advocate for the men and women in the armed services and for the 
national security of the United States to the Congress, to the country, 
and to our military allies throughout the world.
    General Shali entered the United States Army as a draftee and rose 
through the ranks to his current position of Supreme Allied Commander in 
Europe and the commander in chief of all United States forces there. 
He's demonstrated his outstanding military talents repeatedly throughout 
a distinguished career from the day he was first drafted into the Army. 
He's a decorated Vietnam veteran. He ran Operation Provide Comfort in 
Iraq. He served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff as General Powell's 
assistant. He has the deep respect of both the troops who have served 
under him and the military leaders who have worked with him.
    I selected him because I believe he has the ability to lead and to 
win any military action our Nation might ask of him. Above all, I am 
confident that in every instance he will give me his absolutely candid 
and professional military advice, which as President I must have.
    He is also a shining symbol of what is best about the United States 
and best about our

[[Page 1364]]

armed services. There is much more to his life than most Americans now 
know. It is a great American story. It began as so many American stories 
do, in another land. General Shali was born in Warsaw, Poland, the 
grandson of a Russian general in the Czar's army, the son of a Georgian 
army officer--that's the Georgia over there not over here--the heir of a 
family caught in a crossfire of the kinds of ethnic and national 
rivalries that now trouble so much of our world. In 1944, when he was 8 
years old, his family fled in a cattle car westward to Germany in front 
of the Soviet advance. He came to the United States at the age of 16, 
settled in Peoria, Illinois, and learned English from John Wayne movies 
so that he could take a full course load from his first day in school. 
Now I intend to nominate this first generation American to the highest 
military office in our land, on the strength of his abilities, his 
character, and his enormous potential to lead our Armed Forces. Only in 
America.
    I intend to nominate him, in particular, because his skills are 
uniquely well suited to the security challenges we face today. He helped 
revamp NATO to be a more flexible military and political force. He 
created a NATO Rapid Reaction Corps to undertake peacekeeping missions 
that are significantly different from our cold war challenges. He's been 
a leader in persuading NATO members to consider missions outside 
traditional alliance boundaries, a very, very important step in the 
recently announced NATO posture with regard to Bosnia. The end of the 
cold war has created many opportunities for our security and many new 
threats that lurk among the world's continuing dangers. General Shali is 
the right man to lead our forces in this challenging era.
    Our Nation is blessed with the finest military on the face of the 
Earth and the best military we have ever had. That was made clearer to 
me than ever as I approached this selection, for the top ranks of our 
Nation's military are an impressive bastion of talent, patriotism, and 
vision. Nothing illustrates that better than the great soldier whom 
General Shali will replace as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And 
I want to take this opportunity before all of America to personally 
thank General Colin Powell for the magnificent service and leadership he 
has rendered to this country for so many years, to thank him especially 
for the last several months of difficult and challenging decisionmaking 
we have done together, for always giving me his most candid advice, and 
for the wonderful job he has done of working with the other service 
chiefs to come to consensus on challenging and very difficult issues. He 
has contributed a great deal to a grateful Nation. And I know that we 
all wish him well.
    I think there is no greater way for me at least to express the 
respect we all feel for General Powell than to name as his successor 
such a outstanding leader of such caliber, General John Shalikashvili.
    I now invite him to the podium for whatever remarks he might wish to 
make. General Shali.

Note: The President spoke at 5:40 p.m. in the Rose Garden at the White 
House. Following his remarks, General Shalikashvili made brief remarks 
and responded to questions from reporters.