[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 29, Number 50 (Monday, December 20, 1993)]
[Pages 2594-2595]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Letter Accepting the Resignation of Les Aspin as Secretary of Defense

 December 15, 1993

Dear Les:

    It is with deep sadness that I accept your request that, for 
personal reasons, you be relieved of your duties after your years of 
intense, unselfish and extraordinarily effective service to our nation 
and its security. I am grateful that you are prepared to remain at your 
post through January 20, or beyond if necessary, as we work through the 
immediate issues before us and as we manage a smooth transition to your 
successor.
    I hope that after you have taken the break you have requested, you 
will consider other important assignments that you would find 
challenging and personally rewarding.
    I am proud of your accomplishments over the past year, and you 
should be, as well. In the Congress, in the campaign and as Secretary of 
Defense, you have been an effective leader in efforts to harness 
together our defense strategy and defense resources, culminating in this 
year's Bottom Up Review. Together with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, you 
skillfully managed difficult issues--such as the military service of 
homosexuals and women in combat--that could have proved both deeply 
divisive and damaging to our military effectiveness and readiness. You 
helped conduct the first review of our nuclear posture since the end of 
the Cold War and advanced a new counter proliferation strategy. And you 
helped in the distinguished appointment of a new Chairman of the Joint 
Chiefs of Staff, General John Shalikashvili.
    All of this took skill and hard work, and all Americans are in your 
debt for it.
    I look forward to urging you once again to bring your great skills 
and deep devotion to your country's service.
    With admiration,
                                                  Bill Clinton

                              B___________
                              

Dear Mr. President,

    It has been one year since you asked me to serve as your Secretary 
of Defense. It has been an honor for me to work with you as we have 
reshaped our country's military to protect Americans in a vastly changed 
world.
    I am proud of the progress we have made in dealing with these 
changes. We now have a clear strategic sense of the new dangers we now 
face. After a year's work we will be able to secure our country against 
these new dangers with a Bottom Up Force. By strategically defining the 
strengths we need and hon- 

[[Page 2595]]

estly projecting how much this force will cost, we have also built a new 
consensus to invest what is necessary to underwrite this Bottom Up 
Force. As a result we have moved for the first time in fifteen years 
away from the polarizing debates about how much we should spend on 
defense and worked together to build the military strengths we know we 
need. This has helped end the gridlock that for years kept us from 
governing and from concentrating on our agenda at home.
    We have also worked together with our uniformed military leadership 
to find common ground on some difficult social issues that were avoided 
in the past and which could have divided our military. So we can now 
ensure that we will have a ready to fight force without the continuing 
distractions of these controversies.
    As you know, dealing with these changes have made it a tough year 
for us all--tough issues, tough calls.
    I share your pride in the progress we have made. But now, as we have 
discussed on previous occasions, I ask you to relieve me of the duty as 
your Secretary of Defense on January 20. I ask this for quite personal 
reasons. I have been working continually for over two decades to help 
build a strong American military. It's time now for me to take a break 
and undertake a new kind of work.
    Of course, I pledge my every effort to support you and my successor 
in a smooth and orderly transition. You can continue to draw on one of 
the strongest and most talented senior management teams the Department 
of Defense has ever seen. Bill Perry and General Shali will give you a 
continuity of leadership as my successor works with the Senate to assume 
office.
    Finally, I want to thank you for the honor of serving you and our 
country. You are a great Commander-In-Chief. I know that while you are 
our President our country will grow in all of its strengths, Americans 
will continue to be secure, our men and women in uniform will always be 
honored, and we will be true to our best values as a people.
    Sincerely,
                                                     Les Aspin

Note: These letters were made available by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on December 15 but were not issued as White House press 
releases.