[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
[September 16, 1997]
[Pages 1169-1171]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks on the 50th Anniversary of the Central Intelligence Agency in 
Langley, Virginia
September 16, 1997

    Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much, Director Tenet, 
Mrs. Tenet, Mr. Berger, Mr. Brandon, Senator Shelby, and Congressmen 
Gilman, Bishop, and Goss, and Congresswoman Harman. Someone told me that 
Secretary Cohen was here, but I haven't seen him yet. I will acknowledge 
him whether he is or not. He's a great friend of this agency.
    To the men and women of the CIA family, past and present, I am 
delighted to be with you here today. I appreciate what George Tenet 
said. The last couple of years, I've been glad to see anybody or 
anything turn 50. [Laughter] Someone I know extremely well is turning 50 
this year, along with the CIA, but it is still a classified state 
secret. [Laughter]
    When George was sworn in, he promised to uphold the highest 
standards of this agency to deliver intelligence that is clear, 
objective, without regard to political consequences. That's just exactly 
what we want from our intelligence community, what we've come to expect 
from George, and what I have come to expect from all of you. I thank you 
very much for your service on this 50th anniversary.
    Today we salute the men and women of the CIA for service, sacrifice, 
and selfless dedication on behalf of our Nation. We look back on the 
contributions of the agency in promoting America's interests and 
preserving peace. We commit ourselves on the verge of a new century to 
help keep America the world's leading force for freedom and peace in the 
future no less than in the past.
    When President Truman created the CIA under the circumstances that 
George mentioned a few moments ago, few could have imagined how the 
world would look a half-century later. Two years after the Second World 
War, Europe was still in ruins, economies in turmoil, the Iron Curtain 
descending. The values upon which our Nation was founded and for which 
we had fought so dearly seemed under siege from Europe to Asia. But now 
Europe is at peace, Russia increasingly is our partner, the cold war 
belongs to the past. The tide of market democracy has reached the shores 
of every continent.
    For the first time in history, more than half of all the world's 
people live under governments of their own choosing. Former adversaries 
are becoming new allies; former rivals, new partners and friends. I 
think it is important on this day to note, without reservation, that the 
men and women of our intelligence community played a crucial role in 
shaping these events over the last five decades. Through four decades of 
cold war, you stood on the frontlines of democracy's struggle worldwide. 
You served where others could not go. You did what others could not do. 
You helped us to understand what foreign leaders had in mind, what tools 
they had in hand, what resources they had in store. The intelligence 
edge you gave our country's national security decisionmaking made it 
less likely that

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our troops would need to fight or that our lives would be put at risk.
    By necessity, the American people will never know the full story of 
your courage. You labor in obscurity by choice and design, serving with 
quiet patriotism that seeks neither spotlight nor praise. President 
Eisenhower said in 1959, when he laid the cornerstone here at Langley, 
``Success cannot be advertised; failure cannot be explained. In the work 
of intelligence, heroes are undecorated, often even among their own 
fraternity.''
    But the 70 stars on the Wall of Honor bear witness to the valor of 
the highest order, a total commitment, an ultimate sacrifice, in some 
ways all the more moving for its required anonymity. Today, again, I say 
on behalf of a grateful Nation, we thank you.
    Now we must work together to make certain that the CIA can serve our 
Nation in the future as it has in the past. You, better than anyone, 
know that at the end of the cold war we are by no means free of risks. 
Threats to our security and our values live on. Often they're more 
diffuse, more complex, but often no less dangerous than before.
    As your first customer, let me reiterate, I depend upon unique, 
accurate intelligence more than ever. Your work informs every foreign 
policy decision I make, from dealings with leaders in the Middle East to 
Russia. Targeted and timely intelligence in some places is more 
difficult to collect than ever. In today's high-tech information age, 
the haystacks are getting bigger, but the size of the needles isn't. 
That's why we've worked so hard to adapt our tremendous intelligence 
capability to meet the challenges of this time, to make this era of 
change work for us, to ensure that we have the information we need to 
keep our Nation secure, and to help lock in the gains of peace and 
freedom all around the world.
    Our first task is to focus our intelligence resources in the areas 
most critical to our national security, the areas where, as Director 
Tenet has said, we simply cannot afford to fail. Two years ago I set out 
our top intelligence priorities in the Presidential Decision Directive: 
First, supporting our troops and operations, whether turning back 
aggression, helping secure peace, or providing humanitarian assistance; 
second, providing political, economic, and military intelligence on 
countries hostile to the United States so we can help to stop crises and 
conflicts before they start; and third, protecting American citizens 
from new transnational threats such as drug traffickers, terrorists, 
organized criminals, and weapons of mass destruction.
    You have risen to these challenges. In Bosnia, your information and 
analysis has helped our commanders to protect our troops and to give 
peace a chance to take hold. In North Korea, you warned us of their 
dangerous nuclear program and gave us the information we need to 
negotiate a halt to it. In Russia and the Newly Independent States, your 
support has helped us to lower the nuclear threat and to promote 
democracy and market reform. And here in our own hemisphere, your work 
with law enforcement has helped us to capture every top drug lord of the 
Colombian Cali cartel.
    You have also worked hard to build better teamwork within the 
intelligence community to make better use of limited resources, with 
less duplication and more results. Today, your successes nearly are all 
joint efforts, reflecting the talent and courage and expertise of men 
and women across the board. The dramatic capture of Mir Aimal Kansi 
proves the vast potential of your growing teamwork with the FBI. You 
showed that America will not rest in tracking down terrorists who use 
violence against our people, no matter how long it takes or where they 
hide, and I thank you for that.
    So on this 50th birthday, all of you here and the families who 
support you have a lot to be proud of. And now we have to build on that 
record for the future. Looking back on the last 50 years, we know the 
road has not always been smooth. But you have learned and persevered as 
an agency, and we have learned and persevered as a country. When 
problems arise, we have to meet them head on, learn from them, and make 
sure as we go forward that integrity and responsibility remain our 
watchwords every day. That's the best way to promote public confidence 
and to preserve the high standards which I know you share.
    Through the dedication, professionalism, and hard work of men and 
women like you, this agency has played an integral role in keeping our 
Nation strong, advancing our interests, promoting peace, lifting the 
lives of millions around the world. Now each of us must do our part to 
carry that tradition forward, because even though the world has not 
changed--the world has changed--we will always have to rely on human 
judgment. No computer program will

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ever replace it. You, the men and women of the CIA, put your passion and 
creativity behind our intelligence. We still depend on our case officers 
abroad who face new pressures, challenges, and dangers in a more complex 
world. We still rely on our imagery analysts who prove every day from 
the Cuban missile crisis to Desert Storm that a picture truly can be 
worth a thousand words and more.
    We still need dedicated men and women to monitor foreign 
communications and sound the right alarms. We still need analysts to 
weave varied strands of data into logical, honest assessments and, when 
necessary, into warnings. We still need sophisticated 
counterintelligence to keep our secrets in and keep foreign agents out. 
And ultimately, our intelligence community's success depends upon the 
support of the public it serves and the Congress that oversees its work. 
So let me say again how pleased I am to see these distinguished Members 
of Congress here today, evidence of the strong partnership between the 
legislative branch and the intelligence community. Thank you for your 
presence.
    In the walls here at Langley, there is inscribed that magnificent 
verse of scripture, ``And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall 
make you free.'' For five decades, the men and women of the CIA have 
made it their mission to bring that truth to light, often at tremendous 
personal risks and never for personal acclaim.
    For five decades, your honor, your heroism, your judgment, and your 
intelligence has helped America to meet every challenge we have faced. 
Now, on the brink of the 21st century, with your help we can do that all 
over again for another 50 years. Once again, you stand at the forefront 
of America's defense, you embody America's best values, and you must 
help to carry us into a brighter future.
    Thank you, and God bless you.

Note: The President spoke at 11:25 a.m. in the quadrangle at CIA 
Headquarters. In his remarks, he referred to Stephanie Tenet, wife of 
Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet; Charles (Chase) 
Brandon, Public Affairs Officer, CIA; and Mir Aimal Kansi, apprehended 
suspect in the 1993 shooting of CIA employees at an intersection in 
Langley, VA.