    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [July 17, 1997]
    [Pages 964-965]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    [[Page 964]]

    Remarks Announcing the Nomination of General Henry H. Shelton To Be
    Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an Exchange With Reporters
    July 17, 1997

        The President. Good morning. Mr. Vice President, Secretary Cohen,
    National Security Adviser Berger, General Shalikashvili, members of the
    Joint Chiefs, General and Mrs. Shelton. Let me begin by saying that it
    has been my great honor for these last 4 years to work with General John
    Shalikashvili as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. When he departs
    at the end of September for his return to civilian life, he will have
    spent nearly four decades standing up for our interests and our ideals.
    At a later time I will have more to say about Shali's extraordinary
    service to our Nation, but today I have to thank him on behalf of the
    American people and the President. He has done a magnificent job. We
    thank you, sir.
        Gen. John M. Shalikashvili. Thank you, Mr. President.
        The President. I also want to thank Vice Chairman General Ralston,
    the Joint Chiefs, the other commanders in chief for all they have done
    and will do working with Secretary Cohen to ensure that we continue to
    have the finest military in the world and that America remains the
    world's greatest force for peace, security, and freedom.
        Today I am pleased to announce my decision to nominate General Hugh
    Shelton as the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Over more
    than three decades of service to our Nation, he has distinguished
    himself as a decorated soldier, an innovative thinker, a superb
    commander. From Vietnam to Desert Storm, he has proven his skill and
    courage in combat, and through long experiences in special operations,
    he also brings to this job a unique perspective in addressing the broad
    range of challenges we face on the brink of a new century, from
    warfighting to peacekeeping, from conventional threats to newer threats
    like the spread of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.
        General Shelton's extensive experience in joint military operations
    and building coalitions with other nations give him invaluable tools to
    serve as Chairman in our more interdependent world. Many of you recall
    his skill and professionalism in Operation Uphold Democracy, which
    restored hope and freedom to Haiti. As the Commanding General of the
    18th Airborne Corps, General Shelton played a decisive role in planning
    the operation. As joint task force commander, he oversaw our last-second
    shift from a forced entry to a peaceful arrival. And as the first
    commander of the U.S.-led multinational force in Haiti, his qualities
    personified the best of America, strong and skillful with great
    sensitivity and no nonsense. Our mission in Haiti was a model of
    effectiveness, flexibility, and safety. It proved that our military's
    will to defend peace is as great as its ability to prevail in war. And
    thanks in large measure to General Shelton's determined leadership,
    America got a tough job done and helped the people of Haiti return to
    democracy's road.
        Most important, General Shelton has always shown an exceptional
    concern for the men and women under his command. Their safety and well-
    being are his number one priority in times of peace as well as war. He's
    led a platoon, a company, a battalion, a brigade, a division, a corps, a
    unified command. But he always remembers the individual soldier, sailor,
    airman, or marine. General Shelton has the knowledge, judgment, and
    experience to advise Secretary Cohen and me on the very best way to
    defend our interests and to protect our men and women in uniform. I
    believe he is the right person for the job, the right person for our
    troops, for our security, the right man for our country, and I'm proud
    to nominate him to help to lead our military into the 21st century.
        General.

    [At this point, General Shelton made brief remarks.]

    Bosnia

        Q. Mr. President, one of the great situations facing any new
    Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is whether or not the troops will
    be coming home from Bosnia next summer as scheduled. Could you perhaps
    clarify your position on this? The American people really I think would
    like to know this.
        The President. We expect the SFOR mission to end on schedule, as we
    have repeatedly said. We also know that there will be continuing work

    [[Page 965]]

    that has to be done in virtually every area of the Dayton accords. The
    question of what, if any, role should be pursued by NATO after that in a
    different way and to what extent we should be a part of it has simply
    not been decided yet. But I think it's fair to say that none of us want
    to see Bosnia revert to what happened before we started this, and none
    of us want to see the extraordinary efforts which had to be made by the
    United States and our allies in NATO have to be made all over again a
    few years from now because Bosnia goes back into war and we all watch
    the same horrible, horrible scenes on television that we went through
    once.
        We have been able to pursue our mission there with an ever more
    reduced presence. Today, the United States forces, I think, are about 25
    percent of the total number there, with a remarkable amount of
    effectiveness and with virtually no casualties, as you know. There was a
    stabbing yesterday, but we have no conclusive evidence that it was
    related in any way to the arrest of the people who are wanted for trial
    on war crimes.

    ``Mir'' Space Station

        Q. [Inaudible]--the Mir critical now, and are you giving second
    thoughts to ever sending another American to be on the Mir spacecraft?
        The President. Well, when I came to the office this morning I got a
    briefing about it, and as far as we know right now, they have gotten
    control of things and there seems to be no immediate crisis. But I have
    no--I'm not sure that I have all the information I need. We have the--
    that's the basic report I have now, and it's too soon after the incident
    for me to draw a conclusion about the question you ask. I can't say that
    we would not continue cooperation based on what little I've heard this
    morning; I just don't know enough.

    TWA Flight 800 Tragedy

        Q. Mr. President, on this anniversary of the TWA Flight 800
    disaster, are you disappointed that a solution has not been found to
    what caused the crash, and what efforts do you think need to be
    redoubled in order to find a solution?
        The President. Of course I'm disappointed that we don't conclusively
    know, but I'm not sure what else we can do. This is an issue that I have
    had a great deal of personal interest in. The Vice President, who as you
    know has done an enormous amount of work on our behalf for airline
    safety, has spent a lot of time on. I don't know what else we can do. If
    anybody has any ideas about what else we can do to try to definitively
    put this issue behind us, I would be happy to explore them. But it's
    been a very frustrating experience for me not to be able to know 100
    percent what caused that crash.
        Q. There are some who say----

    Boeing-McDonnell Douglas Merger

        Q. Are you determined to make sure the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas deal
    goes through even if it means a trade war with Europe?
        The President. Let me say I'm concerned about what appear to be the
    reasons for the objection to the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger by the
    European Union, and I think that it would be unfortunate if we had a
    trade standoff with them. But we have a system for managing this through
    the World Trade Organization, and we have some options ourselves when
    actions are taken by Europe in this regard. I don't know that Airbus--
    the Europeans have more people living on their continent than we do in
    the United States, and I don't believe Airbus has an effective
    competitor in Europe. So I have mixed--quite a lot of concern about what
    the Europeans have said. But I think there is an orderly process for our
    handling this, and I think we had better let the orderly process play
    itself out before we talk ourselves into a trade war. I think we're a
    long way from that, and I think we'll probably avoid it.
        Thank you very much.

    Joint Chiefs of Staff Nomination

        Q. Do you have any reason to believe that General Shelton will
    survive confirmation, Mr. President?
        The President. Yes. I think--I have reason to believe that General
    Shelton can survive just about anything.

    Note: The President spoke at 8:55 a.m. in the Rose Garden at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to General Shelton's wife, Carolyn.