[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[December 15, 1993]
[Pages 2178-2179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 2178]]


Letter Accepting the Resignation of Les Aspin as Secretary of Defense
December 15, 1993

Dear Les:
    It is with deep sadness that I accept your request that, for 
personal reasons, you be relieved of your duties after your years of 
intense, unselfish and extraordinarily effective service to our nation 
and its security. I am grateful that you are prepared to remain at your 
post through January 20, or beyond if necessary, as we work through the 
immediate issues before us and as we manage a smooth transition to your 
successor.
    I hope that after you have taken the break you have requested, you 
will consider other important assignments that you would find 
challenging and personally rewarding.
    I am proud of your accomplishments over the past year, and you 
should be, as well. In the Congress, in the campaign and as Secretary of 
Defense, you have been an effective leader in efforts to harness 
together our defense strategy and defense resources, culminating in this 
year's Bottom Up Review. Together with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you 
skillfully managed difficult issues--such as the military service of 
homosexuals and women in combat--that could have proved both deeply 
divisive and damaging to our military effectiveness and readiness. You 
helped conduct the first review of our nuclear posture since the end of 
the Cold War and advanced a new counter proliferation strategy. And you 
helped in the distinguished appointment of a new Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili.
    All of this took skill and hard work, and all Americans are in your 
debt for it.
    I look forward to urging you once again to bring your great skills 
and deep devotion to your country's service.
    With admiration,

                                                            Bill Clinton

                    
Dear Mr. President,
    It has been one year since you asked me to serve as your Secretary 
of Defense. It has been an honor for me to work with you as we have 
reshaped our country's military to protect Americans in a vastly changed 
world.
    I am proud of the progress we have made in dealing with these 
changes. We now have a clear strategic sense of the new dangers we now 
face. After a year's work we will be able to secure our country against 
these new dangers with a Bottom Up Force. By strategically defining the 
strengths we need and honestly projecting how much this force will cost, 
we have also built a new consensus to invest what is necessary to 
underwrite this Bottom Up Force. As a result we have moved for the first 
time in fifteen years away from the polarizing debates about how much we 
should spend on defense and worked together to build the military 
strengths we know we need. This has helped end the gridlock that for 
years kept us from governing and from concentrating on our agenda at 
home.
    We have also worked together with our uniformed military leadership 
to find common ground on some difficult social issues that were avoided 
in the past and which could have divided our military. So we can now 
ensure that we will have a ready to fight force without the continuing 
distractions of these controversies.
    As you know, dealing with these changes have made it a tough year 
for us all--tough issues, tough calls.
    I share your pride in the progress we have made. But now, as we have 
discussed on previous occasions, I ask you to relieve me of the duty as 
your Secretary of Defense on January 20. I ask this for quite personal 
reasons. I have been working continually for over two decades to help 
build a strong American military. It's time now for me to take a break 
and undertake a new kind of work.
    Of course, I pledge my every effort to support you and my successor 
in a smooth and orderly transition. You can continue to draw on one of 
the strongest and most talented senior management teams the Department 
of Defense has ever seen. Bill Perry and General Shali will give you a 
continuity of leadership as my successor works with the Senate to assume 
office.
    Finally, I want to thank you for the honor of serving you and our 
country. You are a great Commander-In-Chief. I know that while you are 
our President our country will grow in all of its strengths, Americans 
will continue to be se-


[[Page 2179]]

cure, our men and women in uniform will always be honored, and we will 
be true to our best values as a people.
    Sincerely,

                                                               Les Aspin

Note: These letters were made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 15 but were not issued as White House press 
releases.