[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 47 (Monday, November 25, 1996)]
[Pages 2405-2406]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
The President's Radio Address

November 16, 1996

    Good morning. As I've said many times, America is the world's 
indispensable nation, the one the world looks to for leadership because 
of our strength and our values. This week I've taken two important 
decisions that are part of America's responsibilities in the world. The 
first is agreement, in principle, for our troops to take limited part in 
a mission to ease the suffering in Zaire. The second is approval, again 
in principle, for our troops to be part of a follow-on security presence 
in Bosnia. Today I want to tell you why our role in these missions 
matters.
    Two years ago, following genocide in Rwanda, more than a million 
Rwandan refugees fled for Zaire. Recently their plight has worsened as 
fighting among militant forces has driven them from their camps. Relief 
agencies have been unable to provide food and water. Disease is breaking 
out.
    As the world's most powerful nation, we cannot turn our back when so 
many people, especially so many innocent children, are at mortal risk. 
That is why, when Canada proposed to lead an international humanitarian 
force, I agreed that, under appropriate circumstances, America would 
participate. I've set out clear conditions for American participation to 
minimize risk and give our troops the best possible chance to make a 
difference.
    The mission's aim must be to speed delivery of humanitarian aid and 
to help refugees who want to go home. Our contribution will reflect our 
special capabilities, such as providing airport security and helping to 
airlift forces. We know the mission is not risk-free, but hundreds of 
thousands of people are in desperate need. This is the right thing to 
do.
    In Bosnia, because of our leadership, nearly 4 years of brutal war 
are over, and American troops, through the NATO-led force called IFOR, 
have helped to create conditions in which the Bosnians could start to 
rebuild. IFOR has completed its mission more successfully than anyone 
expected, ending the fighting, separating the forces, creating security 
for democratic elections. But these remarkable achievements on the 
military side have not been matched, despite all our efforts, by similar 
progress on the civilian side.
    Rebuilding the fabric of Bosnia's political and economic life is 
taking more time than anticipated. NATO has been studying options to 
help give the Bosnian people more time with a new security presence in 
Bosnia when IFOR withdraws. Having carefully reviewed these options, I 
have agreed that America should take part.
    Before making a commitment, I must be satisfied that the new mission 
is clear, is limited, and is achievable. Its focus should be preventing 
a renewal of fighting so that reconstruction and reconciliation can 
accelerate. That will require a strong but limited military presence in 
Bosnia, able to respond quickly and decisively to any cease-fire 
violations. This new mission will be more limited than IFOR, charged 
with maintaining the stability that IFOR created.
    Our military planners believe the mission will require less than 
half the troops our Nation contributed to IFOR, about 8,500. There will 
be an American commander and tough rules of engagement, and every 6 
months we will review whether stability can be upheld with fewer forces.
    By the end of 1997, we expect to draw down to a much smaller 
deterrent force, half the initial size. We will propose to our NATO 
allies that by June 1998 the mission's work should be done, and the 
force should be able to withdraw.
    As Zaire and Bosnia remind us, differences among people can fuel the 
most vicious and violent hatreds. Whether these differences are ethnic, 
tribal or religious, the result is tragedy and despair. In our own 
country, we

[[Page 2406]]

have seen the price we all pay whenever discrimination and hatred occur. 
But we also know how much is possible when people find unity and 
strength in their diversity. The world looks to America as a living 
example of how people can triumph over hatred and fear and come together 
as one nation under God.
    This week, we lost a great American who taught us the importance of 
this lesson and whom people all over the world looked up to as the 
embodiment of the values that keep America strong, Cardinal Joseph 
Bernardin of Chicago. As one of the most influential Roman Catholics in 
modern history, Cardinal Bernardin devoted himself to bringing out the 
best in humanity. He taught us that what unites us is more important 
than what divides us, that we can meet our challenges, but only by 
coming together across our differences. As he said shortly before he 
died, ``It is wrong to waste the precious gift of time given to us on 
acrimony and division.''
    This true man of God spent his entire life helping people to find 
their way to common ground. That was, in fact, the project he was most 
involved with when he died, the common-ground project to unite Catholics 
of different views. Hillary and I counted him as our friend, and we'll 
miss him very much.
    So let us all strive to find that common ground where all Americans 
can stand in dignity and help one another make the most of their dreams, 
and let us be ready to share our strength when our values and our 
interests demand it, with others around the world who need a hand to 
help themselves to reach their dreams.
    Thanks for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:02 p.m. on November 15 in the Oval 
Office at the White House for broadcast at 10:06 a.m. on November 16.