    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 3 (Monday, January 25, 1993)]
    [Pages 60-61]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Statement on the National Security Strategy Report

     January 19, 1993

        Today, as required by the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reform Act of
    1986, I signed and forwarded to the Congress the National Security
    Strategy Report. This report comes at a particularly important time,
    when the international security environment is in the midst of a
    turbulent transition and when the continuity of America's engagement and
    leadership is perhaps more important than ever before. No other nation
    can provide the same combination of moral, cultural, political,
    economic, and military leadership. No other has won such confidence,
    respect, and trust. If we are to seize the opportunities that will be
    offered and reduce the dangers that will surely confront us in the
    future, America must lead. We must lead because we simply cannot hope to
    achieve a more democratic and peaceful future in a world still rife with
    turmoil and conflict and political or economic isolation. This does not
    mean we aspire to be the world's policeman or that we can postpone
    addressing our own domestic imperatives while we devote attention and
    resources to international demands. It is not an either/or choice. We
    cannot be strong abroad if we are not strong at home. We cannot be
    strong at home if we are not strong and engaged abroad.
        The National Security Strategy Report acknowledges the diverse
    political, economic, and military challenges that America faces, as well
    as the domestic imperatives that define our overall national health. It
    identifies our enduring national security interests and objectives: the
    security of the United States as a free and independent nation; global
    and regional stability; open, democratic, and representative political
    systems worldwide; an open international trading and economic system;
    and an enduring global faith in America.
        The report acknowledges our political achievements over recent years
    and outlines both short- and long-term approaches to promote peace and
    democracy worldwide. It specifically addresses priorities of our
    bilateral efforts as well as initiatives in multinational and regional
    organizations designed to influence the future. Emphasizing the now-
    diminishing distinction between domestic and international economic
    policy, it identifies the steps necessary for domestic economic renewal,
    as well as prioritized initiatives to strengthen our international
    economic competitiveness. It also emphasizes the need to reform U.S.
    economic institutions and our bilateral development assistance and to
    expand considerably our efforts in the environment and in space.
        Stressing the continued mandate for security through strength, the
    report defines four enduring and mutually supportive strategic goals:
    deterrence and the capability to defeat aggression should deterrence
    fail; strengthening our alliance arrangements and our preference for
    multilateral action; maintaining stability through forward presence and
    force projection; and helping to preclude conflict and keep the peace.
    Most important, the report identifies a strategy for near-term
    leadership and outlines ways the United States can help influence the
    future through the United Nations, regional organizations, and
    alliances.
        America has always stood for much more than the sum of its political
    and economic goals and aspirations. We do care about the world around
    us, and our contributions are written in history for all to see. We
    inspire others because of what we have achieved and

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    because of what we represent. We have a vision for the future. We seek a
    world of cooperation and progress, not confrontation; a world no longer
    divided, but a community of independent and interdependent nations
    joined together by shared values; a world in which the U.S. role is
    defined by what we stand for, freedom, human rights, economic
    prosperity, the rule of law and peace, rather than what we stand
    against.
        To succeed, our strategy must be more than words on a piece of
    paper. We must have faith, courage, hard work, and inspiration. We must
    continue the dialog and the debate, for that too is what democracy is
    all about. As a Nation, let us work together to lead the world toward
    the 21st century, the age of democratic peace. There is no more
    important goal to which we would aspire.