[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[September 16, 1996]
[Pages 1580-1582]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on Accepting a Report on Anticrime Initiatives and an Exchange 
With Reporters
September 16, 1996

    The President. Thank you very much. Let me just make a couple of 
comments about this. First of all, I want to thank the Attorney General 
for the extraordinary effort that she has made to deal with the problems 
of youth violence and particularly gang-related violence and crime in 
our country. This report is further evidence that our efforts are 
actually working and that we can bring down the level of youth violence 
and gang-related violence in our country if we'll work at it in a 
systematic, disciplined, tough way.

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    We have a straightforward approach: more police on the street, guns 
and drugs off the street. We are putting 100,000 police in our 
neighborhoods, and that's a job we need to finish. The assault weapons 
ban, the Brady bill are making a difference. We've just established a 
registry for sex offenders; that will make a difference. ``Three strikes 
and you're out''--that law is being implemented, and it is making a 
difference.
    We've also advocated community-based solutions: curfews, strict 
truancy enforcement, school uniform options. Last week I announced an 
initiative for comprehensive drug testing for prisoners and parolees in 
State prisons that access the Federal funds for prison building. This 
will make a difference.
    Now, there's no question that the battle against violent crime and 
drugs begins with neighbors looking out for neighbors, parents looking 
out for their children, citizens linking arms with law enforcement. We 
have to have a community-based approach to this. But the Federal 
Government must do its part as well.
    The level of violent crime in our country has gone down for 4 years 
in a row. The level of killing by juveniles has gone down now for 2 
years in a row, and the juvenile crime rate overall finally showed a 
drop. But we are a long way from where we need to be in this country. We 
have to keep working on this until we have dramatically reduced the 
level of crime and violence.
    That is why I want to build on a particular area of promise, using 
the antiracketeering RICO statute to fight criminal gangs. Using RICO, 
the United States brought criminal mobs to their knees. Using RICO, the 
United States helped to smash the Medellin drug cartel. And today we are 
using RICO to break up criminal gangs. As the Attorney General has 
reported, since the end of 1992 we have more than doubled the number of 
gang-related RICO prosecutions. So far this year nearly 40 percent of 
the RICO prosecutions involved violent gangs.
    RICO prosecutions against gangs are lengthy. They're complex. We 
need to give our prosecutors the time they need to make the best case. 
That's why I am calling on the Congress to expand the statute of 
limitations for violent crime and gangs from 5 years to 10 years. The 
statute of limitations for bank fraud is 10 years; it should be no less 
for violent crime.
    The days when Washington was more interested in asking who's to 
blame than what to do about a crime are long since passed now. We've 
made a good start in fighting violent crime and gangs, but we must keep 
going until the job is done.
    And again, Madam Attorney General, I want to thank you for this and 
for the work it represents.
    Thank you.

Iraq

    Q. Mr. President, Saddam Hussein appears to have pulled in his 
horns. Does that mean the U.S. can forgo any immediate further air 
strikes?
    The President. Let me answer you as clearly as I can. We have sought 
no confrontation with Saddam Hussein; we never did, and we don't now. We 
do seek to enforce the no-fly zone and to do it under conditions in 
which our pilots will be safe. And I will do the very best I can to make 
the right judgment on that question, listening to my military advisers 
about the facts.
    And that is the only answer I can give you to that question. My 
concern is that we limit Saddam Hussein's ability to threaten his 
neighbors, that we do it with the no-fly zone, and that in doing so we 
keep our pilots safe.

Safety of U.S. Troops Overseas

    Q. Mr. President, Kuwait has indicated now that it is willing to 
accept more American troops. At the same time, the Pentagon has released 
a study about the safety of troops. Could I ask your reaction to that 
study, and what do you tell the people who are going into that region 
again that--where some don't like American troops on Arab soil?
    The President. Well, first, I want to thank General Downing. I think 
he did a very good job, and he did exactly what I asked him to do. I 
said, ``I want an unvarnished, blunt, straightforward report. I want you 
to take a hard line here because we have got to do everything we can to 
ensure the safety of the troops.'' And that is exactly what we did, and 
the Pentagon and the American people are in his debt.
    Now, I had a meeting with Secretary Perry on Friday evening, and he 
had been briefed, obviously, on the outline of the recommendations of 
the Downing report. He said that the Defense Department was already in 
the process

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of implementing virtually all of the recommendations of the Downing 
report, that he fully agreed with them, and that we would be aggressive 
in the implementation of the recommendations.
    So I think it's fair to say that we know we're living in a world in 
which terrorism is a bigger problem and in which Americans may be the 
target of terrorists, particularly Americans in uniform. And as we know 
more about what we can do to protect them, we intend to do everything we 
can. I give you the same answer I gave to Jim [Jim Miklaszewski, NBC 
News] on the previous question. And we are going to aggressively 
implement the Downing report.
    Thank you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:15 a.m. in the Oval Office at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Wayne A. Downing, USA (Ret.), 
Director, Downing Assessment Task Force.