[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1994, Book II)]
[November 12, 1994]
[Pages 2069-2070]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
November 12, 1994

    I'm speaking to you from Anchorage, Alaska, at the end of the first 
leg of my trip to Asia. The next stop is the Philippines, where I'll 
take part in a ceremony especially appropriate just a couple of days 
after Veterans Day. There I'll have the privilege of helping to honor 
the sacrifices made by those who fought in the Pacific during World War 
II to preserve our freedom and democracy.
    In the 50 years since, America has helped to build a world of peace 
and prosperity. But we know that these blessings are the fruit of our 
veterans' brave fights. That's why yesterday, on Veterans Day, we 
honored and remembered all who, in war and peace, have given so much so 
that America would remain free. We have a special obligation to make 
sure that our Nation never forgets their work and that we do everything 
we can to keep our country strong in the face of our challenges at home 
and abroad. We also have an obligation to honor those who are standing 
watch for freedom and security now, from our bases across America to our 
outposts around the world.
    Over the last few months, at home and abroad, I've had the privilege 
of saying thank you in person to our men and women in uniform, those who 
are keeping our Nation's commitments. Our troops in Haiti are helping 
the Haitian people turn from fear and repression to hope and democracy. 
In the Persian Gulf, they're ensuring that Iraq does not again threaten 
its neighbors or the stability of the vital Gulf region. All over the 
world, our military is proving that when America makes a promise, we'll 
keep it.
    The results are clear. The threat of nuclear war is receding. For 
the first time since the dawn of the nuclear age, no Russian missiles 
are pointed at Americans. North Korea has re-


[[Page 2070]]

cently agreed to become a nonnuclear state and to remove that threat of 
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Peace and freedom are on 
the march, with American support and involvement in the Middle East, in 
the Gulf, in Haiti, and also in Northern Ireland and South Africa where 
we've been asked to be involved.
    Our national security plainly depends on our strong military and on 
a strong foreign policy. But our strength is more than military around 
the world. It also depends upon strength in a global economy. The future 
of every nation is really a global future. It means jobs and incomes in 
the United States. And expanded trade has always been a goal of mine and 
this administration because, whether we like it or not, we are in a 
global economy that we can't run from and trade-related jobs pay so much 
more on the average than jobs not related to trade.
    That's where the rest of this trip to Asia fits in. Next week in 
Jakarta, Indonesia, I'll meet with the 14 leaders of the Asian-Pacific 
Economic Cooperation forum, called APEC. We'll continue the work we 
began last year when I called the group together for the first time in 
Seattle. We've already forged a common vision of a more open community. 
When we meet in Jakarta, I hope we'll embrace a common direction, 
setting a goal for free and open trade among all our economies.
    Then when I return from the trip, we'll face another crucial test 
about our future in this global economy. Congress will reconvene soon to 
vote on ratifying GATT, the largest, most comprehensive trade agreement 
ever. GATT will require all nations to finally do what we've already 
done, to cut tariffs and other barriers and open up trade to our 
products and our services. It will level the export playing field for 
American companies and American workers all around the world and, in so 
doing, will create hundreds of thousands of new high-paying jobs right 
here at home.
    It will make our exports more competitive exactly when we have 
recovered our ability to sell more American products and services. This 
year, America's economy, for the first time in 9 years, has been voted 
the most productive in the world by the annual review of international 
economists. And for the first time since 1979, American automobile 
makers are selling more cars all around the world than their Japanese 
competitors.
    The congressional vote on the GATT will be a defining decision for 
America as we head into the next century. And I believe that members of 
both parties will put aside partisanship to do what's right for our 
country and our future.
    I also hope that both parties will take other opportunities to join 
together when the national interest is at stake, and we're moving into a 
future which has no easy partisan label tied to the past. Our common 
goal must be to produce a strong America, strong in terms of national 
commitments abroad. On this Veterans Day weekend, we know that a strong 
America means to be strong abroad. But surely, we also know that it 
means being strong at home, that our strength comes at bottom from 
strong families, strong communities, better education, higher paying 
jobs, safer streets. Strong at home, strong abroad: two sides of the 
same coin.
    We have to keep going because a majority of hardworking Americans 
still feel uncertain about their economic future and their personal and 
family security, even though we're in the midst of a significant 
economic recovery. We've got to keep going to bring our deficit down and 
keep shrinking the size of the Government, to increase trade and 
increase education and training, to keep these jobs going up and to get 
more high-wage jobs. We've got over 5 million new jobs in the last 22 
months. And for the first time, this year, we have some high-wage jobs 
coming back into this economy, more than in the previous 5 years 
combined.
    So let's make our goal to be number one militarily, number one 
economically, and number one in the strength of our families and our 
communities. Strong at home, strong abroad: That's an America that 
builds on the opportunities others have sacrificed so much to give us. 
And it takes responsibility to keep those opportunities alive for our 
children.
    Thank you, and God bless America.

Note: The address was recorded at 5:45 p.m. on November 11 at the 
Anchorage Museum of Art and History in Anchorage, AK, for broadcast at 
10:06 a.m. on November 12.