[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[October 29, 1994]
[Pages 1904-1905]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
October 29, 1994

    Good morning. This week I'm speaking to you from Tactical Assembly 
Area Liberty in the sands outside Kuwait City, Kuwait, in the Persian 
Gulf, where I am visiting the brave men and women of our Armed Forces 
who are working here to defend freedom.
    Three weeks ago, I ordered them and other members of the military to 
come here because Iraq was massing tens of thousands of troops on 
Kuwait's border. Our soldiers, sailors, pilots, and marines got here in 
a hurry, and Iraq got the message in a hurry. Its forces stopped dead in 
their tracks, and now they have withdrawn. On behalf of all Americans, I 
came to Kuwait to tell our troops two simple but deeply felt words: 
Thank you.
    I can tell you the men and women of our Armed Forces are doing well. 
They are working well with their coalition forces, the Kuwaitis, the 
British, and the other allies who have come here to help to defend this 
country. Their morale is high; their commitment to their mission is 
unquestioned. Of course, they'd rather be home with their loved ones, 
and we'll do everything we can to get them back there soon. But they're 
here to do their jobs, and nobody does it better. In places from Haiti 
to Korea, our troops are the great source of our national strength.
    As our military helps to secure peace in the Gulf, our diplomacy is 
also helping to make peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. I wish 
all Americans could have seen what I had the privilege to witness this 
week. The leaders of Israel and Jordan, enemies for 47 years, found the 
courage to put aside their past to come together in a moving ceremony in 
the desert between their two countries. They made peace after a 
generation of war so that this

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generation and the next generation of their citizens could enjoy their 
lives, not live in dread.
    I know you were moved, as I was, by what Jordan's King Hussein and 
Israel's Prime Minister Rabin said about America. They said they 
couldn't have made this peace without our support. One member of a 
delegation of Americans who went with me put it best when he said, ``It 
made me so proud to know that my country was responsible for helping to 
build this peace.''
    The United States, at this moment in history, is uniquely blessed. 
We are blessed with great power and a heritage and commitment not to 
abuse that power but instead to seek peace, freedom, and democracy as 
well as our own security. We are using our role to do that in the Middle 
East to build a comprehensive peace.
    A year ago, leaders of Israel and the Palestine Liberation 
Organization came to the White House for another historic peace accord. 
This week I made it clear to them that the PLO must do everything it can 
to end terrorism against Israel so that the peace process can create a 
better future for this region. And I met with President Asad of Syria to 
say it's time he, too, follow the example and inspiration of Israel and 
Jordan. We made progress on this trip, and we'll continue to do our part 
to bring peace to this long-troubled part of the world.
    All over the world, nations look to us for leadership, whether it's 
in the peace process between Israel and its Arab neighbors or the South 
Africans asking us to help them hold their first successful democratic 
elections or leaders in Northern Ireland asking the United States to 
help end their terrible conflict or the folks in Haiti who, when 
President Aristide and democracy returned, held up signs to our troops 
that said simply, ``Thank you, America.'' And of course, it's clear that 
when Saddam Hussein reared up his head again in the Gulf, Kuwait and 
other countries looked to the United States. They know that the good men 
and women I came to Kuwait to thank are the strength behind our 
commitment to peace and to freedom.
    We must maintain a strong defense so that we can protect our own 
security and our own interests and so that we can make the world safer 
and more prosperous for our children by advancing freedom, as we are 
here in the Gulf today.
    To stay strong abroad, we also know America has to be strong at 
home. To do that, we have to take on challenges at home just as we do 
abroad. We have to do what we have to do to keep the American dream 
alive into the next century: a strong economy, a good society, advancing 
the values of work and family and community. In the last 21 months, 
we've made a good start, getting our economic house in order after years 
of neglect, starting the first serious assault on crime in a generation, 
beginning to make America work for ordinary citizens after a long time 
when they and their children were left to fall behind.
    Just yesterday we got the new economic figures on the third quarter 
of this year, when our economy grew over 3\1/2\ percent. In 1994, more 
than half the new jobs were high-wage jobs, and there were more high-
wage jobs coming into our economy than in the previous 5 years combined. 
We've got a lot to do, but we're making progress by putting the 
interests of ordinary Americans first, taking on problems too long 
ignored, helping individuals to compete and win. That's the path to the 
future.
    In the elections we'll have in a little over a week, we'll face a 
choice between continuing to move forward on a path that's working or 
going back to flawed policies and easy promises that failed us in the 
past. I believe America will look forward toward tomorrow, not toward 
yesterday. I believe America won't give in to the easy path.
    Just as we are setting the example by working abroad to help to 
advance the cause of democracy, peace, and freedom, we can set an 
example for ourselves by looking to the future at home. We owe that to 
the good men and women of our Armed Forces who are out here for our 
sake. The world they're helping to make peaceful expects no less of us, 
and I believe the American people will expect no less of themselves.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 5 p.m. on October 28 at the Tactical 
Assembly Area Liberty in Kuwait for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on October 
29.