    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [May 22, 1998]
    [Pages 825-829]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Commencement Address at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis,
    Maryland
    May 22, 1998

        Thank you. Thank you very much. Secretary Dalton, thank you for your generous introduction and your
    dedicated service. Admiral Larson, thank you.
    Admiral Johnson, General Krulak, Admiral Ryan, Board of
    Visitors Chair Byron; to the faculty and staff
    of the Academy; distinguished guests; to proud parents and family
    members, and especially to the brigade of midshipmen: I am honored to be
    here today. And pursuant to longstanding tradition, I bring with me a
    small gift. I hereby free all midshipmen who are on restriction for
    minor conduct offenses. [Applause] There was so much enthusiasm, I
    wonder if you heard the word ``minor'' offenses. [Laughter]
        You know, the President has the signal honor of addressing all of
    our service academies serially, one after the other in appropriate
    order. This is the second time I have had the great honor of being here
    at the Naval Academy. But I began to worry about my sense of timing. I
    mean, what can you say to graduating midshipmen in a year when the most
    famous ship on Earth is again the Titanic? [Laughter] But then I learned
    this is a totally, almost blindly confident bunch. After all, over in
    King Hall you eat cannonballs. [Laughter] Now, for those of you who
    don't know what they are, they're not the ones Francis Scott Key saw
    flying over Fort McHenry; they're just huge apple dumplings.
    Nonetheless, they require a lot of confidence. [Laughter]
        I will try to be relatively brief today. I was given only one
    instruction: I should not take as long as your class took to scale
    Herndon Monument. Now, at 4 hours and 5 minutes, the slowest time in
    recorded history, I have a lot of leeway. [Laughter]
        But you have more than made up for it. You have done great things,
    succeeding in a rigorous academic environment, trained to be superb
    officers. You have done extraordinary volunteer work, for which I am
    personally very grateful. In basketball, you made it to the NCAA's for
    the second time in a row. You defeated Army in football last year. In
    fact, you were 26 and 6 against teams from Army this year. And while I
    must remain neutral in these things--[laughter]--I salute your
    accomplishments. [Laughter]
        Let me also join the remarks that Secretary Dalton made in
    congratulating your Superintendent. Admiral
    Larson has performed remarkable service as an aviator, submarine
    commander, Commander in Chief in the Pacific, twice at the helm of the
    Academy. I got to know him well when he was our Commander in Chief in
    the Pacific. I came to appreciate more than I otherwise ever could have
    his unique blend of intelligence and insight and character and
    passionate devotion to duty.
        In view of the incident on the Indian subcontinent in the last few
    days, I think it's important for the historical record to note that the
    first senior official of the United States who told me that there was a
    serious potential problem there and we had better get ready for it was
    Admiral Chuck Larson, several years ago.
        When I asked him to return to the
    Academy, I thought it was almost too much, and then I realized it might
    have been too little, for he loves this Academy so much this is hardly
    tough duty. He met all its challenges. He taught you

    [[Page 826]]

    midshipmen to strive for excellence without arrogance, to maintain the
    highest ethical standards. Admiral, on behalf of the American people, I
    thank you for your service here, your 40 years in the Navy, your
    devotion to the United States. We are all very grateful to you.
        I also have every confidence that Admiral Ryan is a worthy successor, and I wish him well.
        As I speak to you and other graduates this spring, I want to ask you
    to think about the challenges we face as a nation in the century that is
    just upon us and how our mission must be to adapt to the changes of
    changing times while holding fast to our enduring ideals. In the coming
    weeks, I will talk about how the information revolution can widen the
    circle of opportunity or deepen inequality, about how immigration and
    our Nation's growing diversity can strengthen and unite America or
    weaken and divide it.
        But nothing I will have the chance to talk about this spring is more
    important than the mission I charge you with today, the timeless mission
    of our men and women in uniform: protecting our Nation and upholding our
    values in the face of the changing threats that are as new as the new
    century.
        Members of the Class of 1998, you leave the Yard at the dawn of a
    new millennium, in a time of great hope. Around the world, people are
    embracing peace, freedom, free markets. More and more nations are
    committed to educating all their children and stopping the destruction
    of our environment. The information revolution is sparking economic
    growth and spreading the ideas of freedom around the world. Technology
    is moving so fast today that the top-of-the-line, high-speed computers
    you received as plebes today are virtually museum pieces. [Laughter]
        In this world, our country is blessed with peace, prosperity,
    declining social ills. But today's possibilities are not tomorrow's
    guarantees.
        Just last week, India conducted a series of nuclear explosive tests,
    reminding us that technology is not always a force for good. India's
    action threatens the stability of Asia and challenges the firm
    international consensus to stop all nuclear testing. So again I ask
    India to halt its nuclear weapons program and join the 149 other nations
    that have already signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. And I ask
    Pakistan to exercise restraint, to avoid a perilous nuclear arms race.
        This specter of a dangerous rivalry in South Asia is but one of the
    many signs that we must remain strong and vigilant against the kinds of
    threats we have seen already throughout the 20th century, regional
    aggression and competition, bloody civil wars, efforts to overthrow
    democracies.
        But also, our security is challenged increasingly by nontraditional
    threats, from adversaries both old and new, not only hostile regimes but
    also terrorists and international criminals, who cannot defeat us in
    traditional theaters of battle but search instead for new ways to
    attack, by exploiting new technologies and the world's increasing
    openness.
        As we approach the 21st century, our foes have extended the fields
    of battle, from physical space to cyberspace; from the world's vast
    bodies of water to the complex workings of our own human bodies. Rather
    than invading our beaches or launching bombers, these adversaries may
    attempt cyberattacks against our critical military systems and our
    economic base. Or they may deploy compact and relatively cheap weapons
    of mass destruction, not just nuclear but also chemical or biological,
    to use disease as a weapon of war. Sometimes the terrorists and
    criminals act alone. But increasingly, they are interconnected and
    sometimes supported by hostile countries.
        If our children are to grow up safe and free, we must approach these
    new 21st century threats with the same rigor and determination we
    applied to the toughest security challenges of this century. We are
    taking strong steps against these threats today. We've improved
    antiterrorism cooperation with other countries; tightened security for
    our troops, our diplomats, our air travelers; strengthened sanctions on
    nations that support terrorists; given our law enforcement agencies new
    tools. We broke up terrorist rings before they could attack New York's
    Holland Tunnel, the United Nations, and our airlines. We have captured
    and brought to justice many of the offenders.
        But we must do more. Last week, I announced America's first
    comprehensive strategy to control international crime and bring
    criminals, terrorists, and money launderers to justice. Today I come
    before you to announce three new initiatives: the first broadly directed
    at combating terrorism; the other two addressing two

    [[Page 827]]

    potential threats from terrorists and hostile nations, attacks on our
    computer networks and other critical systems upon which our society
    depends and attacks using biological weapons. On all of these efforts,
    we will need the help of the Navy and the Marines. Your service will be
    critical in combating these new challenges.
        To make these three initiatives work, we must have the concerted
    efforts of a whole range of Federal agencies, from the Armed Forces to
    law enforcement to intelligence to public health. I am appointing a
    National Coordinator for Security, Infrastructure Protection, and
    Counterterrorism, to bring the full force of all our resources to bear
    swiftly and effectively.
        First, we will use our new integrated approach to intensify the
    fight against all forms of terrorism: to capture terrorists, no matter
    where they hide; to work with other nations to eliminate terrorist
    sanctuaries overseas; to respond rapidly and effectively to protect
    Americans from terrorism at home and abroad.
        Second, we will launch a comprehensive plan to detect, deter, and
    defend against attacks on our critical infrastructures, our power
    systems, water supplies, police, fire, and medical services, air traffic
    control, financial services, telephone systems, and computer networks.
        Just 15 years ago, these infrastructures--some within government,
    some in the private sector--were separate and distinct. Now, they are
    linked together over vast computer-electronic networks, greatly
    increasing our productivity but also making us much more vulnerable to
    disruption. Three days ago, we saw the enormous impact of a single
    failed electronic link when a satellite malfunction disabled pagers,
    ATM's, credit card systems, and TV and radio networks all around the
    world. Beyond such accidents, intentional attacks against our critical
    systems already are underway. Hackers break into government and business
    computers. They can raid banks, run up credit card charges, extort money
    by threats to unleash computer viruses.
        If we fail to take strong action, then terrorists, criminals, and
    hostile regimes could invade and paralyze these vital systems,
    disrupting commerce, threatening health, weakening our capacity to
    function in a crisis. In response to these concerns, I established a
    commission chaired by retired General Tom Marsh, to assess the vulnerability of our critical
    infrastructures. They returned with a pointed conclusion: Our
    vulnerability, particularly to cyberattacks, is real and growing. And
    they made important recommendations, that we will now implement, to put
    us ahead of the danger curve.
        We have the best trained, best equipped, best prepared Armed Forces
    in history. But as ever, we must be ready to fight the next war, not the
    last one. And our military, as strong as it is, cannot meet these
    challenges alone. Because so many key components of our society are
    operated by the private sector, we must create a genuine public-private
    partnership to protect America in the 21st century. Together, we can
    find and reduce the vulnerabilities to attack in all critical sectors,
    develop warning systems including a national center to alert us to
    attacks, increase our cooperation with friendly nations, and create the
    means to minimize damage and rapidly recover in the event attacks occur.
    We can and we must make these critical systems more secure, so that we
    can be more secure.
        Third, we will undertake a concerted effort to prevent the spread
    and use of biological weapons and to protect our people in the event
    these terrible weapons are ever unleashed by a rogue state, a terrorist
    group, or an international criminal organization. Conventional military
    force will continue to be crucial to curbing weapons of mass
    destruction. In the confrontation against Iraq, deployment of our Navy
    and Marine forces has played a key role in helping to convince Saddam
    Hussein to accept United Nations inspections
    of his weapons facilities.
        But we must pursue the fight against biological weapons on many
    fronts. We must strengthen the international Biological Weapons
    Convention with a strong system of inspections to detect and prevent
    cheating. This is a major priority. It was part of my State of the Union
    Address earlier this year, and we are working with other nations and our
    industries to make it happen.
        Because our troops serve on the front line of freedom, we must take
    special care to protect them. So we have been working on vaccinating
    them against biological threats, and now we will inoculate all our Armed
    Forces, active duty and reserves, against deadly anthrax bacteria.
        Finally, we must do more to protect our civilian population from
    biological weapons. The Defense Department has been teaching State and
    local officials to respond if the weapons are brandished or used. Today
    it is announcing plans to train National Guard and reserve elements in
    every region to address this challenge. But

    [[Page 828]]

    again, we must do more to protect our people. We must be able to
    recognize a biological attack quickly in order to stop its spread.
        We will work to upgrade our public health systems for detection and
    warning, to aid our preparedness against terrorism, and to help us cope
    with infectious diseases that arise in nature. We will train and equip
    local authorities throughout the Nation to deal with an emergency
    involving weapons of mass destruction, creating stockpiles of medicines
    and vaccines to protect our civilian population against the kind of
    biological agents our adversaries are most likely to obtain or develop.
    And we will pursue research and development to create the next
    generation of vaccines, medicines, and diagnostic tools. The human
    genome project will be very, very important in this regard. And again,
    it will aid us also in fighting infectious diseases.
        We must not cede the cutting edge of biotechnology to those who
    would do us harm. Working with the Congress, America must maintain its
    leadership in research and development. It is critical to our national
    security.
        In our efforts to battle terrorism and cyberattacks and biological
    weapons, all of us must be extremely aggressive. But we must also be
    careful to uphold privacy rights and other constitutional protections.
    We do not ever undermine freedom in the name of freedom.
        To the men and women of this Class of 1998, over 4 years you have
    become part of an institution, the Navy, that has repeatedly risen to
    the challenges of battle and of changing technology. In the Spanish-
    American War, 100 years ago, our Navy won the key confrontations at
    Manila Bay and off Cuba. In the years between the World Wars, the Navy
    made tremendous innovations with respect to aircraft carriers and
    amphibious operations. In the decisive battle in the Pacific in World
    War II at Midway, our communications experts and code breakers obtained
    and Admiral Nimitz seized on crucial information about the enemy fleet
    that secured victory against overwhelming odds.
        In the cold war, nuclear propulsion revolutionized our carrier and
    submarine operations. And today, our Navy and Marine Corps are
    fundamental to our strategy of global engagement, aiding our friends and
    warning foes that they cannot undermine our efforts to build a just,
    peaceful, free future.
        President Theodore Roosevelt put it succinctly a long time ago. ``A
    good Navy,'' he said, ``is the surest guaranty of peace.'' We will have
    that good Navy, because of you, your readiness, strength, your knowledge
    of science and technology, your ability to promptly find and use
    essential information, and above all, your strength of spirit and your
    core values, honor, courage, and commitment. I ask you to remember,
    though, that with these new challenges especially, we must all, as
    Americans, be united in purpose and spirit.
        Our defense has always drawn on the best of our entire Nation. The
    Armed Forces have defended our freedom, and in turn, freedom has allowed
    our people to thrive. Our security innovations have often been sparked
    and supported over and over by the brilliance and drive of people in
    non-military sectors, our businesses and universities, our scientists
    and technologists. Now, more than ever, we need the broad support and
    participation of our citizens as your partners in meeting the security
    challenges of the 21st century.
        Members of the Class of 1998, you are just moments away from
    becoming ensigns and second lieutenants, and I have not taken as much
    time as you did to climb the Monument. [Laughter] I thank you for giving
    me a few moments of your attention to talk to you and our Nation about
    the work you will be doing for them for the rest of your careers. You
    will be our guardians and champions of freedom.
        Let me say just one thing in closing on a more personal note. We
    must protect our people from danger and keep America safe and free. But
    I hope you will never lose sight of why we are doing it. We are doing it
    so that all of your country men and women can live meaningful lives,
    according to their own rights. So work hard, but don't forget to pursue
    also what fulfills you as people, the beauty of the natural world,
    literature, the arts, sports, volunteer service. Most of all, don't
    forget to take time for your personal lives, to show your love to your
    friends and, most of all, to your families, the parents and grandparents
    who made the sacrifices to get you here, in the future, your wives, your
    husbands, and your children.
        In a free society, the purpose of public service, in or out of
    uniform, is to provide all citizens with the freedom and opportunity to
    live their own dreams. So when you return from an exhausting deployment
    or just a terrible day, never forget to cherish your loved ones, and
    always be grateful that you have been given

    [[Page 829]]

    the opportunity to serve, to protect for yourselves and for your loved
    ones and for your fellow Americans the precious things that make life
    worth living and freedom worth defending.
        I know your families are very proud of you today. Now go, and make
    America proud.
        Good luck, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 10:22 a.m. in the Navy/Marine Corps
    Memorial Stadium. In his remarks, he referred to Adm. Charles Larson,
    USN, Superintendent, U.S. Naval Academy; Adm. Jay L. Johnson, USN, Chief
    of Naval Operations; Gen. Charles C. Krulak, USMC, Commandant of the
    Marine Corps; Vice Adm. John R. Ryan, USN, incoming Superintendent, U.S.
    Naval Academy; Beverly Byron, Chair, U.S. Naval Academy Board of
    Visitors; Gen Robert T. (Tom) Marsh, USAF, Chairman, President's
    Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection; and President Saddam
    Hussein of Iraq.