    [Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 36 (Monday, September 9, 1996)]
    [Pages 1643-1648]
    [Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

    <R04>
    Remarks to the National Guard Association of the United States

    September 3, 1996

        Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that was a stunning example of
    Clinton's fourth law of politics, which is, whenever possible, be
    introduced by someone you have known all your life. They are prone to
    exaggerate. [Laughter]
        Thank you, General Thrash and Rose, for being here and for your
    service to our Nation. Thank you, General Freeman, my present Adjutant
    General here in Washington, for escorting me in. Secretary West, General
    Alexander, Under Secretary Dorn, Assistant Secretary Lee, Lt. General
    Baca, thank you for your good work. General Philbin, Terry O'Connell,
    Senator Akaka, Representative Wicker. And I'd like to say a happy 73d
    birthday to Lt. General Vern Webber. Happy birthday, sir. Where are you?
    [Applause]
        On you, they look good, those years. They look good. Thank you.
        Let me begin by thanking you for dedicating this conference to
    Congressman Sonny Montgomery. Long before I ever entered public life I
    knew about Sonny Montgomery because he represented my neighboring State
    of Mississippi and because one of my best friend's father served with
    him many years ago and was a close friend of his--in the military, not
    the Congress, served with him. In all of his long career, he has stood
    up for many worthy causes. I suppose he'll be remembered most as being
    the author of the Montgomery GI bill and as being the best friend the
    National Guard ever had.
        I might say that in this political season when I have said I hope
    that we can change the direction of the last several years and make this
    contest one of ideas and not insults, Sonny Montgomery has led an entire
    distinguished political career able to disagree with people while still
    being their friends, able to be forthright in what he believed in
    without demeaning those who disagreed with him. And I will always honor
    him for that, as well.
        Ladies and gentlemen, we come here by pure coincidence at a moment
    when once again our Nation's military has shown its extraordinary skill
    and professionalism in a difficult mission in Iraq.
        Three days ago, despite clear warnings from the United States and
    the international community, Saddam Hussein's forces attacked and seized
    the Kurdish controlled city of Irbil in northern Iraq. This act is part
    of a broad pattern of violence and recklessness by Saddam against the
    Kurds, against other ethnic minorities, against Iraq's neighbors. These
    actions have threatened the stability of the entire region for some
    years now.
        This morning, I ordered America's Armed Forces to strike Iraq,
    extending the no-fly zone and destroying Iraqi missile defenses in the
    south to make sure we could safely extend the no-fly zone.
        I want to reaffirm to you what I said to all the American people
    early this morning: Our objectives there are limited, but our interests
    are clear, to demonstrate once again that reckless acts have
    consequences, to reduce Saddam's ability to strike out again at his
    neighbors, to increase America's ability to prevent future acts of
    violence and aggression. These steps are being taken to further all of
    these objectives and the policy of containing Iraq that I have pursued
    for 4 years now, and it was developed before me under President Bush.
        We know that if we do not pursue this policy, we might once again be
    called upon to do more, as we had to do more in Operations Desert Shield
    and Desert Storm. We do not want that to happen. And therefore, I did
    what I did today. I hope you will support the decision of the United
    States.
        For the last 5 years and clearly again over the last week, I have
    had the opportunity to say to the American people that my vision for our
    country as we stand on the edge of the 21st century is simple but
    profound. I want us to build a bridge to that century that will keep the
    American dream alive for every single person responsible enough to work
    for it. I want this country to come together

    [[Page 1644]]

    across all of our divisions and not be torn apart, as so many other
    nations are today. And I want America to maintain its role as the
    strongest force for peace and freedom, for security and prosperity in
    the entire world, well into the 21st century, into the indefinite
    future. That is good for us; it is also good for the cause of peace and
    freedom in the world.
        More than anything else, I come here tonight to express the
    gratitude of our Nation to the men and women of the National Guard for
    all you have done to help our Nation build that bridge as the strongest
    force for peace and freedom, security, and prosperity.
        Four years ago, when I spoke to you in Utah, I said that one of my
    proudest duties as Governor was to command the Arkansas National Guard.
    As Commander-in-Chief of all of our Nation's Armed Forces now, that
    pride has grown even stronger in all the men and women who make up our
    total force, from every service branch of the military, those on active
    duty, and yes, definitely those in the Guard and the Reserves.
        Today America's gratitude to the Guard should be greater than ever,
    for not a day has passed this summer that we could not have looked
    behind the headlines of the moment to find the Guard hard at work. From
    enforcing the peace in Bosnia to mounting an emergency response to
    Hurricane Bertha in the southeast and the Virgin Islands, from building
    roads in Panama to the difficult and heroic work after the TWA 800
    tragedy, the Guard has been on the job.
        During the centennial Olympics, the greatest in the modern history
    of the Olympics, the Guard was there, 11,000 members from 43 States in
    one of the largest domestic missions ever. Of course, all of us remember
    the great performances of Michael Johnson, Kerri Strug, and so many
    others. But the unsung performance of the National Guard upholding a
    tradition of service stretching back 360 years enabled America to put
    its best foot forward. And it, too, deserved a gold medal.
        I have seen for myself in Bosnia and Haiti, as we know from Somalia
    and the Gulf War, the Guard has been an essential part of our military
    success. That is why last month I signed an Executive order authorizing
    the award of a Bronze M to all Guard and Reserve members who serve in
    support of these operations. Last Thursday, Secretary Perry awarded the
    first 14 of these well-deserved recognitions.
        I understand that there are two of the Guard recipients who are here
    tonight who have received this medal--Captain Drew Sullins and Sergeant
    First Class Susan Hurley. If they're here, I'd like to ask them to stand
    and be recognized. Thank you very much. [Applause]
        Now, there are--thank you--I am sure there are others in this room
    who are eligible for this decoration and who will get it. So if you're
    here, I'd like to ask you to stand and be recognized. Please, all of you
    who served, please stand up. Thank you very much. [Applause] Thank you.
        I know something I suspect most Americans don't know and that is
    that service in the Guard also entails real sacrifice. Since I spoke
    with you just 4 years ago, more than 200 Army and Air Guard members have
    died in operational missions and training, including the pilot of the
    Pennsylvania Air Guard A-10, that crashed near here on the Eastern Shore
    just a few weeks ago. We owe all of them and their families a debt of
    gratitude we can never repay.
        To honor their memory and the memory of all those who have
    sacrificed, we must continue to build America strong and secure in the
    21st century, to deepen our alliances, to reduce even further the
    dangers of weapons of mass destruction, to adapt our Armed Forces for
    the changing times and new missions, to stand strong against terrorism.
        Four years ago when I met with you I said that as we reduced our
    forces in the wake of the cold war, a strong role for the National Guard
    and the Reserve made more sense, not less. And we kept that promise. We
    kept that promise. It began with the 1993 Bottom Up Review initiated by
    the man who introduced me to you 4 years ago as the then Chairman of the
    House Armed Services Committee and my first Secretary of Defense, the
    late Les Aspin. And I thank him for his work there.
        We have kept that promise in the important Guard-Reserve Offsite
    Agreement. Our

    [[Page 1645]]

    use of Reserve components has been one of the secrets of our success. As
    we decrease the number of our forces, but increase their readiness,
    capabilities and technological edge, we carried through on our pledge to
    retain the combat role of the Guard. And I reaffirm I will not let the
    Guard become a backup force of last resort.
        Of course, you and I know we all have to work to adapt the Guard for
    the national security demands of the 21st century. I want to thank the
    National Guard Bureau, the Adjutants General, Secretary West, the
    leadership of our active Army for their innovative proposal to redesign
    the role of the eight Guard divisions, to support our national security
    strategy and the total force policy, while always protecting the Guard's
    historic character and tradition.
        I'm pleased to announce that I will request the first funding for
    this redesigned plan in the defense budget to be submitted next
    February. That is if I get my contract renewed. [Laughter] But I think
    it's important.
        You have kept your commitment to America. Also so long as I am
    President, I will do everything I can to make sure America keeps its
    commitment to you. Our military readiness is at an historic high. We've
    increased our original defense spending plans 3 times in 3 years, adding
    back almost $50 billion to ensure that we have the equipment, the
    training, the quality of life our troops deserve. We're equipping our
    forces with the newest technology, including the F-22 and the FA-18, E-F
    fighters, the V-22 Osprey, and the Crusader artillery system. My defense
    budget increases our funding for weapons modernization 40 percent by the
    year 2000.
        Our Armed Forces have won wars of the past. They may be called upon
    to win them in the future, and if they are, they must be able to win.
        Keeping faith with our men and women in uniform entails more than
    just giving them the means to prevail in battle. It also means providing
    for the quality of life they deserve. We've set aside funds to ensure
    that military personnel receive the highest pay raises allowed by law
    through 2001. I fought against a proposal that would have cut military
    retirement pay. We increased housing allowances and expanded programs to
    support military families who sacrifice for our Nation, just like their
    loved ones in uniform.
        I should emphasize here that I have been especially moved by the
    extra burden on families caused by extra deployments as we have
    downsized the military. And I know that all of you feel for the families
    of our full-time service personnel when they go off on those long
    missions. They deserve all of the support we can give them. And I am
    proud of the fact that the United States military in all of its aspects
    has been as strongly pro-family as it has been. But we have to keep
    working on this because the families should not break apart under the
    strain of people doing their duty to the United States of America. We
    must continue to support them.
        I'm also pleased that 2 years ago I was able to sign legislation to
    strengthen your right to return to your civilian job after serving our
    Nation without losing seniority, status, or pay. That is also very
    important.
        As we move into this new era, you know as well as I do that we
    confront a web of new threats that know no boundaries, the proliferation
    of weapons of mass destruction, organized crime, ethnic rivalries,
    religious rivalries that quickly descend into murder and can spill
    across national borders. Tonight I'd like to talk about two of them in
    particular, drug trafficking and terrorism. Here, too, our Armed Forces
    are on the job, especially the National Guard.
        I was very proud to appoint General Barry McCaffrey, a hero of the
    Vietnam and Gulf wars who led our military antidrug efforts in South
    America, to coordinate our Nation's battle against drugs. We have seen
    to it that the military plays a vital role in this fight. And I'm proud
    that, as General McCaffrey said to me, and I quote, ``The Guard is
    crucial to our campaign to stop drugs from coming into our country and
    to keep our young people from using them.''
        I ask anyone to consider these facts. Last year, the National Guard
    assisted law enforcement officials in seizing hundreds of tons of drugs
    that resulted in more than 90,000 arrests. Guard aircraft flew more than
    35,000 hours in support of antidrug missions. Guard members are manning
    radar systems at remote sites in the Andes essential for cut-

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    ting the flow of drugs from that region. And more than 60,000 volunteers
    in Guard programs are working with almost 6 million at-risk youth.
        You've come a long way, General, since you started that program, all
    of you. God bless you. We need more of it. And I thank you.
        Just today, we announced that the Navy and the Coast Guard recently
    seized 8,000 pounds of cocaine on a Honduran fishing boat headed for
    America. That's one of the largest drug busts in history. Our military
    helps confiscate more than 100 tons of cocaine every year, cocaine
    otherwise that would be poisoning our communities and our children.
        We're working to hit the drug suppliers just as hard as we can.
    We've helped to bust up the Cali and Gulf cartels in Latin America,
    crack down on the ring led by the Burmese drug lord, Khun Sa, in Asia,
    denied assistance to countries such as Colombia that failed to cooperate
    with our counternarcotics efforts.
        In 1994, the crime bill, which was passed amid bitter partisan
    rancor, not only put 100,000 new police on the street and provided for
    banning 19 assault weapons, it also provided for the death penalty for
    drug lords. Congress has consistently--[applause]--thank you. Congress
    has consistently supported these programs, but has provided funding at
    levels less than we requested, particularly for the Department of
    Defense's counterdrug programs.
        We still have the biggest antidrug budget ever, and that's allowed
    us to do a lot of things like increase border patrols along the
    southwest border. The Customs and the Guard working together increased
    drug seizures from commercial cargo 125 percent in 1995. That's the good
    news.
        It still is painful for me that for all we are doing and in spite of
    the fact that drug use among young adults is going down, drug use among
    children, juveniles, people under 18, is still going up. No one quite
    knows why this is true. It is also happening in Canada and many European
    countries. It appears that every few years a group of young people come
    along and once again decide that they aren't dangerous, or if they are
    dangerous, somehow they can evade the risks because, after all, they're
    young and they're going to live forever.
        And that brings me back to the other issue that you work so hard on,
    your work with at-risk children. It is obvious that every single one of
    us who care about this is going to have to work even harder to educate
    our children about the dangers drugs pose. We have to do that. We have
    dramatically increased the safe and drug-free schools program. It's now
    reaching 40 million students in 97 percent of our districts. We have now
    established drug courts across the country because they've proved
    effective in breaking the cycles of drugs and crime. We are fighting
    against any attempts to cut back on the safe and drug-free schools
    program. We are working to pass legislation that would require States to
    test parolees for drugs and send them back to prison if they get back on
    drugs.
        But we have to stop this from happening in the first place. Your
    programs for at-risk kids--think what it means to a child who has never
    had a positive role model to see someone in a uniform who looks like
    them, who comes from humble beginnings, who has made something of his or
    her life, saying ``There is a future out there for you. This stuff can
    kill you. It is not just illegal, it is not just wrong, it can kill you.
    It can kill you in a hurry, depending on what drug it is, or it can just
    rob you of your ability to concentrate over the long run, or rob you, if
    you're a young woman, rob you of your ability to have healthy children.
    They're all terribly dangerous.'' You can have a big input on that.
        And so I hope that when we meet again we'll be able to say that the
    Guard has helped not 6 million at-risk kids but several million more
    than that. I know you have lots to do, but this country's children need
    you. And they will respond to you.
        I'd like to say just a word about terrorism. And I'd like to point
    out that, kind of like the narcotics trade, in an ironic and painful
    way, many of the things we love about this new post-cold-war global
    society of ours make us more vulnerable to the things we hate. We like
    it that we can travel around the world with such great ease. We like it
    that all borders are more open. We like it that we can transfer
    information, ideas, tech-

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    nology, and money across the globe virtually instantaneously.
        But the more open our society, the more vulnerable we are to the
    organized forces of destruction. And that is why I have said repeatedly,
    finding a way to deal with terrorism, terrorism from which no one is
    immune--as you saw it from the attack in the subway in Tokyo, you've
    seen it in Great Britain, you've seen it on the continent of Europe,
    you've seen it in Atlanta, you've seen it in Oklahoma City, you saw it
    at the World Trade Center, and you hear about it and it sends chills up
    and down your spine when you discover the things that were planned that
    have been avoided by the diligence of our law enforcement officials. We
    have got to continue to work on this. We have got to continue to combat
    terrorists wherever they are. And I believe that we must continue to try
    to convince others to do the same thing.
        We have followed a three-prong strategy:
        First, to rally our friends and allies around the world against
    terror. We did that at the G-7 meeting in France last summer and at the
    Summit of the Peacemakers at Sharm al-Sheikh in Egypt, where, for the
    first time, Arab states, a large number of them, condemned terrorism in
    Israel or wherever it occurred in the Middle East. We are increasing the
    isolation of those who sponsor terrorism by maintaining and
    strengthening our sanctions against Iran, Iraq, Libya, and Sudan.
        Second, here at home, we're working hard to give law enforcement the
    tools they need to combat modern terrorism, through the antiterrorism
    bill that we pushed through Congress after Oklahoma City, and with new
    legislation to help us stop money laundering and tighten our borders
    against terrorists.
        Third, we're working very hard to increase our security at airports
    and on airplanes, doing more hand searches and machine screening of
    luggage, requiring pre-flight inspection for every plane flying to or
    from the United States, examining all standard aviation security
    practices so that we can make further changes to increase security.
        I might say since most of you probably flew into Washington to
    attend this meeting, you may have noticed some delay in air travel. I
    hope you didn't but if you did, it's worth that to make all Americans
    safer when they board airplanes and others when they come to our
    country.
        This will be a long, hard struggle. It will require discipline,
    concentration, flexibility, the ability to learn and continuously
    change. But the most important thing it will require is the same level
    of will that the American people and the American Armed Forces brought
    to bear in all of our armed conflicts and through the long twilight
    struggle of the cold war. We have to understand that this may well be
    the 21st century's curse. And we know that as long as human nature is
    what it is, there will be some amount of misconduct in this old world,
    some amount of wrongdoing and some amount of downright evil. And as long
    as that's around, the United States will be a target, and the United
    States must take the lead in stamping it out and standing against it.
        Let me say in closing, I have seen enormous numbers of Americans
    face to face in the last 10 days because of the events that you know
    well. I expect I've looked into the faces of right around a half a
    million people, riding on the train and on the bus, going to the big
    meetings and passing through the small towns early in the morning and
    late at night.
        This is a very great country because the citizens of this country
    are good people. And most of our citizens just want to live good,
    decent, honorable lives, have work that has dignity, raise the children
    the best they can, enjoy their places of worship and their associations
    with their friends and neighbors and their family. You have made that
    possible through your dedication. You who are willing to defend our
    Nation make it possible for all those little kids to stand out along the
    side of the road or railroad tracks and wave the American flag and know,
    even before they're old enough to explain it, that it really means
    something special to be an American.
        About 200 years ago, when our Nation stood at the dawn of the 19th
    century, John Randolph of Roanoke, Virginia, one of the great
    congressional leaders of his time, said it best. Randolph was a great
    supporter of the militias, out of which this organization grew. He knew
    the power of the love of lib-

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    erty. On the floor of the House in January of 1800, John Randolph said,
    ``When citizen and soldier shall be synonymous, then you will be safe.''
        It was true then, it is true now, and you have made it true. Thank
    you, and God bless you.

    Note: The President spoke at 7:59 p.m. in the ballroom at the Sheraton
    Washington Hotel. In his remarks, he referred to Melvin C. Thrash,
    Arkansas adjutant general, and his wife, Rose; Richard C. Alexander,
    president, Edward J. Philbin, executive director, and LaVern E. Webber,
    former executive director, National Guard Association of the United
    States; Lt. Gen. Edward Baca, USA, chief, National Guard Bureau; and
    Terrence M. O'Connell, chairman, Reserve Forces Policy Board.