    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [January 29, 1998]
    [Pages 137-141]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at the National Defense University
    January 29, 1998

        Thank you very much. Thank you, General Shelton, for those kind remarks and for your little walk through
    memory lane about our association together. My most vivid memory of my
    association with General Shelton is when he walked out of the water and
    looked down at the Haitian dictator and said he thought he would have to
    go. And I thought to myself, we should have just sent him down there by
    himself. [Laughter] I thank you for your leadership.
        Thank you, Secretary Cohen, for your
    remarks and for your extraordinary leadership of the Defense Department
    and for helping us to demonstrate every day that this is not a
    Democratic or a Republican effort, or a Democratic or Republican
    administration when it comes to the defense of this country and the
    welfare of the American people and our men and women in uniform.
        To the members of the Joint Chiefs, the commanders in chief, General
    Chilcoat, the students of the National
    Defense University, faculty, and others; I am delighted to be here, at a
    place where education, experience, and excellence make a common home.
    I'm especially pleased to be here with the members of the Joint Chiefs
    and our commanders in chief, whose 68 stars form a shining constellation
    of talent and achievement.
        We have just had a wonderful meeting, and each of the commanders in
    chief has shared a few moments with me, and we've had a little
    conversation discussing the whole range of America's security interests,
    the whole range of the concerns of people who are managing the welfare
    of our men and women in uniform. And I must say that I couldn't help
    thinking, during the course of this meeting, I wish every person who
    wears the uniform of the United States could be watching this on closed-
    circuit television, because they'd have so much confidence in the
    leadership of our military.
        And in a larger sense, I wish every American citizen could have seen
    it because they would feel so much more pride, even than they do now, in
    the way our military is led, the thinking about the future that is going
    on, the innovation that is going on, and the profound concern for the
    people who wear our Nation's uniform, as well as what I consider to be
    an enormous sensitivity to the increasing interdependence of our United
    States with other countries and the necessity of more creative, positive
    partnerships around the world. And I know we have people here from other
    nations in this audience today, and I welcome you here.
        Twelve of the commanders in chief behind me are graduates of the
    National Defense University. They indicate the value of this university

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    to the Nation. They also indicate that in the not too distant future,
    some of you out there will be sitting up here or will otherwise be
    helping to shape the future of the United States. For that I am very
    grateful.
        In my State of the Union Address, I talked about what we all have to
    do together to strengthen America for the 21st century. Today I wanted
    to meet with you, the future stewards of our national security, to talk
    about the foundation of our strength, our military, and the essential
    role it will play in this era of challenge and change.
        You all know that we live in a time of tremendous promise for our
    Nation in the world. Superpower conflict has ended. Democracy is on the
    march. Revolutions in technology and communications have literally
    brought a world of information to our doorstep. Americans are more
    secure and prosperous than ever. And we have a rare opportunity and a
    profound responsibility to build a new era of peace and cooperation in
    the world.
        Even as we welcome this hopeful new moment, we all acknowledge,
    especially those of you who are here studying it, that the world is far
    from free of risk. Challenges persist, often in more complex guises,
    from the spread of weapons of mass destruction to the menace of rogue
    states to the persistence of religious, ethnic, and regional conflict.
    The openness and freedom of movement that we so cherish about this
    modern world actually make us more vulnerable to a host of threats,
    terrorists, drug cartels, international criminals, that have no respect
    for borders and can make very clever use of communications and
    technology.
        In this new world, our global leadership is more important than
    ever. That doesn't mean we can go it alone or respond to every crisis.
    We have to be clear where our national interests are at stake. But more
    than ever, the world looks to America to get the job done. Our Nation is
    leading in building a new network of institutions and arrangements to
    harness the forces of change, while guarding against their dangers. We
    are helping to write the international rules of the road for the 21st
    century, protecting those who've joined the family of nations and
    isolating those who do not.
        To advance this strategy, we have to preserve and strengthen the
    tools of our engagement of fully funded diplomacy backed by a strong and
    modern defense. Diplomacy and force are two sides of the same coin. Our
    diplomacy is effective precisely because it is backed by the finest
    military in the world. Nothing illustrates the scope of our interests or
    the purpose of our power better than our unified commands. No other
    nation in history has achieved a global force presence, not through
    intimidation, not through invasion, but through invitation. That is an
    extraordinary thing. No other nation has acquired mastery of land, sea,
    sky, and space and used it to help advance world peace, instead of to
    pursue conquest.
        The military commanders who share this stage and the forces they
    lead know their first mission must be always to be ready to fight and
    win our Nation's wars. But day-in and day-out, around the world, they
    are shaping an international environment, enhancing the security of
    America and the world so that peace can endure and prevail. In our own
    hemisphere, where elected civilian governments now reign, American
    leadership is spurring greater military cooperation than ever, promoting
    regional confidence, working together as peacekeepers, supporting law
    enforcement efforts against drugs. Through the defense ministerial of
    the Americas, with the assistance of the NDU, we are finding new ways to
    advance common goals, such as healthy civil-military relations and
    respect for human rights.
        In Europe, our Armed Forces are reinforcing the foundations of an
    undivided democratic continent. They've helped new democracies to
    restructure their own defenses. They have participated in dozens of
    joint exercises with new partners. They stopped a brutal war in Bosnia,
    and they're helping to heal its scars.
        During my meeting with the CINC's, I talked with General
    Clark, our Supreme Allied Commander in
    Europe, about our Bosnia mission. I am very proud of the men and women
    who are representing all of us in Bosnia. But perhaps even more
    important, they're pretty proud of themselves. They know that they have
    stopped the guns, enabled free elections, made it possible for refugees
    to come home, given the children of Bosnia the precious gift of peace.
        Yes, the progress has been slower than we had hoped, but clearly, it
    is moving forward. If we walk away, it could backslide into war, costing
    the lives of more innocent people, jeopardizing Europe's stability. Last
    month I concluded that our troops should take part in a follow-on
    security presence when the SFOR

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    mission leaves in June. Soon, NATO will finish its review of what forces
    are appropriate for the new mission. And this spring, I will submit
    funding requests to ensure that we can pay our share without
    undercutting our readiness. I'll be working closely with Congress to
    ensure approval of this important legislation.
        The NATO-led efforts in Bosnia reflect our hope for Europe's future
    as former rivals work together for stability and peace. Soon, I'll ask
    the Senate to give its advice and consent to make Hungary, Poland, and
    the Czech Republic NATO's newest members. By enlarging the sphere of
    security in Europe, we can secure democracy's roots and help to prevent
    conflicts like Bosnia from happening again.
        We're also working to strengthen democracy and peace in Africa by
    helping Africans to help themselves. Through the Africa Crisis Response
    Initiative, we're helping African militaries to improve their
    peacekeeping capabilities so they can respond to crises more quickly and
    effectively and stop trouble from escalating into tragedy.
        And just as our interests span the Atlantic, so they bridge the
    Pacific. In our meeting today, Admiral Prueher, the Commander in Chief of our Pacific Command, and General
    Tilelli, the Commander of U.S. Forces,
    Korea, confirmed that the 100,000 troops they lead continue to perform
    superbly. From the soldiers of the Korean DMZ who sleep in their
    uniforms, ready to stop an invasion at a moment's notice, to the marines
    and the sailors on the ships of the 7th Fleet forward deployed in Japan,
    our troops provide the bedrock of stability on which Asia's peace and
    America's interests depend.
        In recent years, we've strengthened our treaty alliances with Japan,
    with Thailand, with South Korea, Australia, and the Philippines. We
    persuaded North Korea to halt its dangerous nuclear program. We've
    launched talks that can bring about a lasting peace on the Korean
    Peninsula. We're deepening our areas of agreement with China, while
    dealing with our differences frankly and openly. We're working with our
    partners to restore Asia's financial stability, as we build a secure and
    prosperous Asia-Pacific community. Our troops make clear that America is
    committed to remaining a Pacific power, and every day they help the
    Pacific region live up to its name.
        America also has vital interests in a stable Persian Gulf region.
    It's home to two-thirds of the world's oil resources and some of its
    most hostile regimes. General Zinni, our
    Commander in Chief of the Central Command, provided me today with an up-
    to-date assessment of Saddam's latest
    challenge to the community of nations. Since Desert Storm, America has
    worked steadily and persistently to contain the threat Saddam poses,
    through sanctions that deny him billions every year to rebuild his
    military and, where necessary, with force. We struck Iraq's intelligence
    headquarters after its agents plotted to murder President Bush. We convinced Saddam to pull back his troops from
    Kuwait's border in 1994. We tightened the strategic straitjacket on him
    by extending the no-fly zone when he attacked the Kurds in 1996.
        As I said in the State of the Union Address, we know that Saddam has
    used weapons of mass destruction before. We again say he should comply
    with the UNSCOM regime and the will of the United Nations. But
    regardless, we are determined to deny him the capacity to use weapons of
    mass destruction again. Preventing nuclear, chemical, and biological
    weapons from winding up in the wrong hands is among the primary
    challenges we face in the new security environment. Nineteen ninety-
    eight will be a decisive year for our arms control and nonproliferation
    agenda.
        I'm very pleased that four Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs, General
    Shalikashvili, General Powell, Admiral Crowe, and
    General Jones, have just this week announced
    their support for Senate ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban
    Treaty. The treaty will help to prevent the development of new and more
    dangerous weapons and make it more difficult for non-nuclear states to
    build them. The Senate should ratify it this year.
        We are also committed to toughen the Biological Weapons Convention
    by establishing an international inspection system to track down and
    crack down on cheating. And we'll continue to urge the Russian Duma to
    ratify START II, paving the way for START III, and even deeper nuclear
    weapons reduction. General Habiger,
    Commander of America's Strategic Command, understands the importance of
    arms control and addressing the threat of weapons of mass destruction.
    Today he and I reviewed the steps we've taken to ensure that our nuclear
    deterrent force remains safe, reliable, effective, and unchallenged well
    into the 21st century.
        One of the key reasons that all of these efforts can be successful
    is the skill of our military.

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    And one of the greatest privileges of my job, as I said earlier, has
    been seeing our military at work. At home and abroad, from Haiti to
    Bosnia, from Japan to Kuwait, at sea and on shore, it makes no
    difference where they're stationed, the rank they hold, or how many
    ribbons they wear; our service men and women reflect America's highest
    standards of skill, discipline, and service. They are the patriots who
    answer the call whenever our Nation needs them, heroes who man their
    stations around the clock so the rest of us can sleep without fear.
    Hardship, uncertainty, and separation from loved ones are a part of the
    job. Many have missed the birth of their own sons and daughters to make
    the rest of our children safer.
        Part of the reason I wanted to come here today, to one of our top
    military educational institutions, in the company of our military
    leadership, is to bring home to the American people the extraordinary
    service of our military men and women and all they do to protect our
    Nation and bear the burden of our global leadership. In times of peace,
    it's tempting to ignore that the dangers to that kind of service exist,
    but they do. When the guns are silent, it's easy to forget that our
    troops are hard at work, but they are. We must never, never take our
    Nation's security or those who provide it for granted. Defending our
    Nation is difficult and dangerous work, even in peacetime.
        Most Americans, for example, have absolutely no idea that we lose
    about 200 of our service men and women in training accidents and in the
    course of regular duty every single year--people like Private Michael
    Harrington and Private First Class Brenda
    Frederick, who were killed just this week
    in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, when their truck rolled over and burst
    into flames during a night blackout drive training; people like Captain
    Lynn Svoboda, who went down with her A-10
    fighter while training in Arizona last summer, the first female Air
    Force fighter pilot to die in a military plane crash.
        I think the American people ought to know that. And I hope all of
    you, as you go out and you have communications with your family and
    friends around the country, will just say that in passing, and ask your
    family members and your friends to share it with their fellow citizens.
    It is not easy to wear the uniform, and it is never a completely safe
    proposition.
        As President, the hardest decision I ever have to make is to put our
    troops in harm's way. Force can never be the first answer, but
    sometimes, still, it is the only answer. We must and we will always do
    everything we can to protect our forces. We must and we'll always make
    their safety a top priority, as I did on the issue of antipersonnel
    mines. But we must be strong and tough and mature as a nation, strong
    and tough and mature enough to recognize that even the best prepared,
    best equipped force will suffer losses in action.
        Every casualty is a tragedy all its own for a parent or a child or a
    friend. But when the cause is just and the purpose is clear, our
    military men and women are prepared to face the risk. The American
    people have to be, as well. As the inscription on the Korean War
    Memorial says, ``Freedom isn't free.''
        Our obligation to our service men and women is to do all we can to
    help them succeed in their missions, to provide the essential resources
    they need to get the job done. This week I will submit to Congress my
    defense budget request for the coming fiscal year, a budget that is
    fully consistent with the quadrennial defense review.
        Readiness remains our number one priority, and my budget provides
    for the readiness we need in a hopeful but still hazardous time. It
    makes the enhancements in quality of life that our service personnel and
    their families deserve. It funds the procurement of sophisticated
    weapons to make sure our troops can be certain of victory, no matter how
    uncertain the future.
        Our military leaders understand that tomorrow's force must be agile,
    effective, and lean, not only in its personnel but in its operations.
    Secretary Cohen, working with General
    Shelton and General Ralston, has put together a far-reaching defense reform
    initiative to revolutionize the way we do the business of defense,
    streamlining operations, spurring competition, emphasizing efficiency.
    If our Armed Forces are to have the training, the readiness, the
    equipment, the personnel to man the frontiers of freedom abroad,
    Congress must do its part by making tough choices here at home. That
    includes closing down bases we no longer need, stripping away excess
    infrastructure, not adding funds for unneeded or lower priority
    projects.
        Let our common commitment be to support our troops. Let that be the
    bottom line. And

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    let us uphold in the future, as well as the past, the legacy of our
    American leadership.
        Earlier today, as I walked into my meeting with our CINC's and
    members of the Joint Chiefs, I saw emblazoned on the wall a quote from
    General George Marshall. It read, ``We are now concerned with the peace
    of the entire world. And the peace can only be maintained by the
    strong.'' Those words are no less true today than the day they were
    spoken by General Marshall. America's leadership is no less imperative
    today than the day General Marshall spoke those words. Our strength is
    every bit as important. But more than just maintaining the peace, now we
    have a chance to shape the future, to build a world more secure, more
    prosperous than any we have ever known, to give our children a world
    that our own parents could not even have dreamed of.
        Our Nation will continue to look to our Armed Forces to pursue that
    historic mission. And I know, because of people like you, our Armed
    Forces will never let us down.
        Thank you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 2:55 p.m. in Baruch Auditorium, Eisenhower
    Hall at Fort McNair. In his remarks, he referred to Gen. Henry H.
    Shelton, USA, Chairman, and Gen. Joseph W. Ralston, USAF, Vice Chairman,
    Joint Chiefs of Staff; Lt. Gen. Richard A. Chilcoat, USA, President,
    National Defense University; commanders in chief Gen. Wesley K. Clark,
    USA, Adm. Joseph W. Prueher, USN, Gen. John H. Tilelli, Jr., USA, Gen.
    Anthony C. Zinni, USMC, and Gen. Eugene E. Habiger, USAF; President
    Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
    Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, USA (Ret.), Gen. Colin Powell, USA (Ret.),
    Adm. William J. Crowe, Jr., USN (Ret.), and Gen. David C. Jones, USA
    (Ret.). The President also referred to the United Nations Special
    Commission (UNSCOM) and Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START) II and
    III.