    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
    [September 7, 1996]
    [Pages 1504-1506]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    The President's Radio Address
    September 7, 1996

        Good morning. Let me begin by saying our thoughts and prayers are
    with those in the Southeastern part of our Nation who have been affected
    by Hurricane Fran. Our FEMA Direc-

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    tor, James Lee Witt, and other officials from our administration are in
    the region, and we'll do everything we can to help the people build back
    from this terrible storm.
        This week our Nation's Armed Forces once again have shown their
    extraordinary skill and strength, this time in a critical mission in
    Iraq. I ordered our military to take strong action after Saddam Hussein,
    in the face of clear warnings from the international community, attacked
    and seized the Kurdish controlled city of Irbil in northern Iraq. Our
    missile strikes against Saddam's air defense sites in southern Iraq made
    it possible for us to expand the no-fly zone that has been in place over
    southern Iraq, the staging ground for the Kuwait invasion in 1990, and
    the area where Saddam massed his troops and menaced Kuwait again in
    1994.
        We have denied Saddam control of the skies from the suburbs of
    Baghdad to the Kuwaiti border. Our action has reduced his ability to
    strike out against his neighbors and increased our ability to prevent
    future acts of violence and aggression. As a result of our efforts,
    Saddam is now strategically worse off than he was before he crossed the
    lines imposed by the international community.
        Once more, we have seen that at home and abroad our service men and
    women go the extra mile for us. And we must go the extra mile for them.
    Today I am announcing that I intend to sign the defense authorization
    bill for 1997 now before the Congress. This bill makes good on our
    pledge to give our Armed Forces the finest equipment there is so that
    they have the technological edge to prevail on the battlefields of
    tomorrow. It also carries forward our commitment to give our troops the
    quality of life they deserve by funding family and troop housing
    improvements that we want and by providing a raise of 3 percent, nearly
    one percent beyond what the law automatically provides now.
        The dangers our troops face every day underscore the importance of
    continuing our work against the forces of destruction. In particular, we
    must redouble our efforts to stop the spread of weapons of mass
    destruction, including chemical weapons such as those that Iraq and
    other rogue nations have developed. This effort has taken on new urgency
    now that terrorists can also turn to chemical weapons, whose terrible
    impact we saw in the sarin gas attack last year in the Tokyo subway.
        In the week to come, the Senate faces an historic opportunity to
    take chemical weapons out of military arsenals and help keep them out of
    the hands of terrorists. The Senate will vote on ratification of the
    Chemical Weapons Convention. By voting for this treaty, the Senate can
    help to banish poison gas from the Earth and make America's citizens and
    soldiers much more secure.
        The convention requires all who sign it to destroy their chemical
    weapons stockpiles and to forswear ever developing, producing, or
    acquiring chemical weapons. It will dramatically reduce the chance of
    American troops facing such weapons on the battlefield, which is why our
    military leaders strongly support the treaty. What's more, the treaty
    provides a strong system of verification, including inspections of
    suspicious facilities on short notice.
        I ask the leaders of both parties in Congress to pull together and
    pass this treaty. It will make life tougher for rogue states like Iraq.
    Those few nations that refuse to sign will find themselves increasingly
    isolated. Tough new trade controls will prohibit anyone from selling
    them ingredients for chemical weapons, making it more difficult for them
    to build the weapons.
        The treaty will increase the safety of our citizens at home as well
    as our troops in the field. The destruction of current stockpiles,
    including at least 40,000 tons of poison gas in Russia alone, will put
    the largest potential sources of chemical weapons out of the reach of
    terrorists. And the trade controls will deny terrorists easy access to
    the ingredients they seek.
        Of course, these controls can never be perfect. But the convention
    will give us new and vital tools for preventing a terrorist attack
    involving chemical weapons. By tying the United States into a global
    verification network and strengthening our intelligence sharing with the
    international community, this treaty can be an early warning that is
    essential for combating terrorism.
        Congressional action on the Chemical Weapons Convention will also
    strengthen the hand of our law enforcement officials while protecting
    our civil liberties. Right now we have a limited ability to investigate
    people suspected of planning a chemical attack. Today, for example,
    there is no Federal law on the books prohibiting someone from actually
    cooking up poison gas. The legislation that is needed to put the treaty
    into place would change that and give us the

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    most powerful tools available to investigate the development,
    production, transfer, or acquisition of chemical weapons, as well as
    their actual use.
        We in America have been very fortunate in never experiencing a
    terrorist attack with chemical weapons. Japan, the only country that has
    suffered such an attack, saw the value of the Chemical Weapons
    Convention instantly. Within one month of the sarin gas attack in Tokyo,
    Japan completed ratification of the convention.
        Let's not wait. For the safety of our troops, and to fight terror
    here and around the globe, the Senate should ratify the Chemical Weapons
    Convention now.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 3:50 p.m. on September 6 at the Church
    Street Station in Orlando, FL, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on September
    7.