    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 17 (Monday, April 29, 1996)]
    [Pages 695-696]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    The President's Radio Address

    April 20, 1996

        Good morning. Today I speak to you from Russia, the final stop in a
    journey that has focused on my first priority as President: increasing
    the security and safety of the American people. Today, though the cold
    war is over, serious challenges to our security remain. In fact, the
    very forces that have unlocked so much potential for progress--new
    technologies, borders more open to ideas and services and goods and
    money and travelers, instant global communications, and instant access
    to unlimited amounts of important information all across the world--
    these very forces have also made it easier for the forces of destruction
    to endanger innocent lives in all countries.
        Because so many threats to America's security are global in scope
    and because no nation is immune to them, we simply must work with other
    nations more closely than ever to fight them. Whether the threat is the
    aggression of rogue states or the spread of weapons of mass destruction
    or organized crime or drug trafficking or terrorism, no nation can
    defeat it alone. But together we can deal with these problems and we can
    make America more secure. That's what I have worked hard to do this
    week.
        In Korea, President Kim and I proposed a new initiative to promote
    peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, where 37,000 American
    troops stand watch on the last cold war frontier. In the last 3 years we
    have dramatically reduced North Korea's nuclear threat. Now, the four-
    party peace process we call for among North and South Korea, China, and
    the United States can lead to a permanent peace. We hope and we expect
    that North Korea will take it seriously.
        In Japan, Prime Minister Hashimoto and I signed a Joint Security
    Declaration adapted to the 21st century, after a year of very hard work.
    It strengthens the commitment of the world's two largest economies to
    work together to maintain peace in the Asia-Pacific region, a region
    that buys one-half of America's exports and supports over 3 million
    American jobs.
        Here in Moscow, I am working with other world leaders in a summit to
    improve nuclear safety, protect the environment and public health
    against nuclear accidents, and prevent nuclear materials from falling
    into the wrong hands. Again, in the last 3 years we've done a great deal
    to reduce the number of nuclear weapons, the number of countries holding
    nuclear weapons, and there are no nuclear weapons pointed at the
    American people anymore. Still, there is a great deal of work to be
    done. We need a comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty, greater
    protections against environmental and public health damage, and we have
    to do even more to ensure the security of the nuclear materials that are
    out there now.
        Just as we work with our friends and allies to protect the security
    of our people, we also must do our part at home, making sure that we're
    as well prepared as possible to do what

    [[Page 696]]

    needs to be done to combat the forces of destruction, whether they are
    homegrown or whether they come from beyond our borders. This is
    especially true of our efforts against terrorism. That's why I'm very
    pleased that Congress has agreed to give the American law enforcement
    people important new tools to fight terrorism.
        Yesterday was the first anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma City.
    We owe it to the fine Americans who were killed there, those who were
    wounded, and their families to do all we can to fight terrorism. Last
    year I sent Congress a bill to strengthen law enforcement's ability to
    protect Americans from terrorism. Right after the Oklahoma City bombing
    I strengthened the proposals and congressional leaders promised swift
    passage of the legislation.
        This past Thursday, Congress passed the antiterrorism bill at last.
    Now, my fellow Americans, there will be no more delay. I will sign this
    bill into law early next week, and by Wednesday, law enforcement will
    have new tools to crack down, track down, and shut down terrorists.
        Even though I'm pleased with what Congress, both Republicans and
    Democrats together, did, I am disappointed that some of my proposals
    were left out of the bill. I believe we should help police keep
    suspected terrorists under surveillance. I believe we should give law
    enforcement more time to investigate and prosecute terrorists who use
    machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and explosive devices.
        These and other important antiterrorism measures were left on the
    cutting-room floor. But this bill still makes important progress. It
    will make it easier for police to trace bombs to criminals who made them
    by requiring chemical taggants in some explosive materials. It will make
    it much harder for terrorists to raise the money they need to fund their
    crimes. It may not go as far as I would like, but it does strike a real
    blow against terrorism, and I will be happy to sign it.
        From Egypt to England, from the Tokyo subway to the World Trade
    Center, from the heart of Jerusalem to America's heartland, terrorism
    ignores borders and strikes without discrimination. As we recognize
    crime victims everywhere this National Crime Victims' Rights Week, we
    must vow never to relent against these forces of destruction.
        By working with other nations, we can put terrorists on the
    defensive and make the world a safer place. And by working together at
    home, we will keep America strong and secure as we move into the new
    century.
        Thanks for listening.

    Note: The address was recorded at 11 p.m. on April 19 at the Radisson
    Slavinskaya Hotel in Moscow for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on April 20.