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71st American Legion Convention - Baltimore 9/7/89 [1]
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Speech File Draft Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1993
OA/ID Number:
13500
Folder ID Number:
13500-012
Folder Title:
71st American Legion Convention - Baltimore 9/7/89 [1]
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G
25
6
4
6
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Baltimore, Maryland)
For Immediate Release
September 7, 1989
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO
71ST AMERICAN LEGION CONVENTION
Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore, Maryland
10:05 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Justice Gierke -- Sparky to me -- as a
fellow Legionaire, let me first salute the first Vietnam veteran to
be selected National Commander, and all of you who represent our
nation's largest and fastest-growing veterans organization, more than
three million members strong -- thank you for that warm welcome.
(Applause.)
I am proud to have been accompanied here by a great
friend of the veterans, Congressman Sonny Montgomery, of Mississippi
-- (applause.) I see we have a few Mississippians back there. And,
of course, to have been greeted by Maryland's outstanding
Congresswoman, my great friend, Helen Bentley, a great friend of the
veteran. (Applause.) And am pleased, because I hadn't been told
they were going to be here, to see our outstanding Commandant of the
Coast Guard Admiral Yost, who's doing a superb job; and General
Rowny, a old friend of mine, a great leader -- great friend of the
veterans and a great leader in the whole field of arms control and a
strong defense.
So I feel among friends. And as always, it's a great
privilege to join you and a deep personal pleasure for me to renew
old ties, greet new friends.
Today, surprisingly, is September 7th -- (laughter) --
and I -- (applause.) Can you believe it? And I'm determined not to
repeat the mistake I made exactly one year ago when I referred to
this as Pearl Harbor Day. (Laughter.) I can still remember the gasp
-- it was on this side of the room. I don't know whether the seating
has changed, but as long as I live I'll remember the gasps from the
audience. (Laughter.)
Not surprisingly, anniversaries were on my mind then as I
traveled here from Washington. Events like this 71st National
Convention of the American Legion, or the 200th birthday of the Coast
Guard, or the very first anniversary of the Veterans Affairs
Department, led by its able Secretary and our good friend, Ed
Derwinski -- a department intent on serving you as you have served
your country.
Well, as you can imagine, these birthdays in turn got me
thinking about another anniversary -- the 175th this year of the Star
Spangled Banner -- (applause) -- and how your convention lies so near
its famous birthplace. Tuesday you did something that would have
pleased Francis Scott Key and for which I thank you. For by
supporting a constitutional amendment making it illegal to desecrate
the American flag you joined the crusade to protect that unique
symbol of America's honor. Our flag is too sacred to be abused.
(Applause.)
The flag, like our great country, America, represents
many things. It represents self-expression and opportunity,
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- 2 -
democracy for all. Like America, too, Old Glory reflects the values,
moral and intellectual, economic and military, that have made and
keep us strong. And like America, the flag symbolizes the gallantry
of veterans who love their country, giving themselves, often their
lives, to its protection. Storming the beaches of Okinawa or scaling
the cliffs of Normandy, taking shell-torn hills named Hamburger and
Arrowhead. Fellow veterans, for seven decades the American Legion,
it's men and women, have helped write the story of America and the
story of our flag. And today in peacetime as in wartime, you write
their story still.
For the flag, like America, is more than sentiment. It
lives on the rugged island called Iwo Jima. It lifts the tiny hand
of a little girl that I saw on a street corner in Gdansk, Poland,
waving the Stars and Stripes. For both encapsulate freedom -- the
freedom to vote as we want, to pray when and where we choose, the
freedom to go about our daily lives without tyranny or fear.
Fifty years ago this month our allies went to war to
protect this freedom, for as Panzer tanks crossed the Polish frontier
and bombers savaged Warsaw, liberty confronted the evil of Fascism
which even now defines hell on Earth. And in the end, that conflict
took more than 50 million lives and underscored as few things have
man's inhumanity to man.
Our challenge today is to prove man's humanity to man by
preserving liberty without war and thus secure what Franklin
Roosevelt called the four freedoms -- freedom of speech, of religion,
freedom from want and fear.
Today I want to focus on one of these freedoms -- freedom
from fear -- the fear of war abroad, the fear of drugs and crime at
home. To win that freedom, to build a better and safer life, will
require the bravery and sacrifice that Americans have shown before
and must again. Already, we've done much, and now we must do more
and achieve real peace, both domestic and foreign. The kind of peace
which lasts. First, our mission at home, to free our country from
the fear of drugs and crime.
When we ask what kind of society the American people
deserve, our answer is and must be a nation in which law-abiding
citizens are safe and feel safe. And that is why, two nights ago, I
announced America's first comprehensive national strategy to win the
war on drugs and crime which plague the United States.
First, our plan seeks to rid America of violent
criminals, with an attack on four fronts: new laws to punish them;
new agents to arrest them; new prosecutors to convict them; and new
prisons to hold them. (Applause.) Our crime proposals are based on
these principles: criminals in this nation must understand that if
they commit a crime, they will be caught; and if caught, they will be
prosecuted; and if convicted, they will do time. (Applause.)
But, you see, by taking the hoods off the streets, we can
and we will take back the streets. You know, in short, we propose to
change the rules of the game dramatically. Mandatory time for
firearm offenses; no deals when criminals use a gun; and for the most
heinous crimes you remember my promise -- for anyone who kills a
law enforcement officer, no legal penalty is too tough. We want
Congress to enact the steps needed to implement the death penalty for
those who kill our law enforcement officers. (Applause.)
Now, over the last few days, there's been a lot of talk
about our strategy. Some, incredibly, say, well, it's not enough.
This from the very people who oppose the death penalty. It's that
kind of thinking that's lost too many battles already. So let's not
let these critics lose the war. I ask you to support our crime plan
and also the other parts of our national strategy. This strategy
aims to stop drug use before it starts -- through education and
prevention, from grade school to graduate school; and third, through
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- 3 -
treatment, to help addicts who want to get clean, with special
emphasis on expectant mothers.
And finally, we're going to work with other governments
to help crack the international drug rings. Yesterday's extradition
of a major drug dealer sends a strong signal of the courage and
determination of President Barco and the Colombian government to deal
with the scourge which drugs are inflicting on all of us.
(Applause.) And as veterans you know how battles are often fought --
house by house, block by block. Well, we'll win this battle the same
way. But we're going to win it kid by kid, neighborhood by
neighborhood.
For years now, drugs have written a sad chapter in the
American story. And this morning I ask you to help write an ending
all of us can be proud of. These cops out here on the street -- they
can't do it alone. The teachers -- God bless our teachers, those
teachers in our schools -- they can't do it alone. The addict really
trying to get clean can't do it alone, can't -- weary of abuse, can't
do it alone. They all need your help. And I know they'll get it.
Just as you've helped handicapped kids, donated blood,
added -- aided helped always that National League of Families, and
spurred good government through programs like Boys State and Girls
State. Today, for instance, Post #65 in Rosemont, Minnesota, runs
the program, Drug Talk. And in Russellville, Arkansas, I especially
like Post #20's giveaway of thousands of rulers, and their message
says it all -- "You really measure up when you say no to drugs."
You know as I do that we are in this together. So let us
fight on any front and every front. Supply and demand. Education
and rehabilitation. Interdiction and enforcement. In the cities and
the towns. Walter Lippmann once wrote of a "nation at the mercy of
violence.' America must never surrender to the violence of drugs and
crime. The future of our children depends on it.
This morning, I've talked about our mission to secure
freedom from fear at home, but now let me shift. We also have
another mission, a global mission -- to free America from the fear of
war. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our kids or grandkids could grow up
in a world where they never had to give one single thought to the
horror of a nuclear war.
Half a century ago, Ike and Nimitz and Jimmy Doolittle
and millions of unsung heroes -- many sitting right here today --
fought to end a war. You fought at Guadalcanal and Monte Cassino, at
Bastogne and Bataan. You fought to rid the world of totalitarianism
and tyranny. Our challenge may be less dramatic, but just as vital
-- to secure freedom in a world at peace. Today, ours remains a
global stage and America remains its leading player. And we must use
our strength to maintain peace and freedom. For this, we do know
from World War II, the best way to protect that freedom and ensure
real peace is for America to be militarily strong. (Applause.)
Thankfully, today, America is strong. And our strength
has helped democracy's tide run in, even as tyranny's tide runs out.
The new breeze of freedom, which I've spoken of before, is blowing in
Poland, in Hungary, in countries East and West. And yet with even
hopeful changes comes uncertainty. And with uncertainty comes the
need for vigilance. This is no time to declare freedom's victory
before the fact. And that is why we need a national defense that
ensures a strong and secure America; and why I'm pleased that the
Senate largely agrees.
This week our Defense Authorization bill moves to
House-Senate Conference Committee. And there's just one problem --
the House version is totally unacceptable to the Commander-in-Chief
of the United States Armed Forces. It is unacceptable. (Applause.)
It continues unneeded programs costing nearly $20 billion from 1990
to 1994, holding our defense budget hostage to projects that will
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- 4 -
strip money from programs crucial to strategic modernization. You
see, this modernization is vital -- vital because America must base
its procurement decisions on the future capacity -- the actual
weapons -- that any Soviet leader might have available.
Here there are hopeful signs, for Mr. Gorbachev is taking
some steps to reduce that threat posed by the massive military
machine that is the Soviet armed forces. We applause those moves,
and we hope there will be more -- many more. But at the same time,
we cannot cause the Soviet Union to reduce its forces by unilaterally
disarming ourselves. Progress has been made precisely because we
have been strong. So far in terms of cutting strategic weapons
systems, Soviet words have not been matched by Soviet deeds. Our own
strategic modernization program must deal with deeds and encourage
the Soviet Union to work with us in reducing the threat of nuclear
war.
And that's why we've begun a vital program to modernize
our strategic triad, and by that I mean submarines, missiles and
bombers. We have called for two Trident submarines to be funded in
1990 and 1991, and today I renew that call and reaffirm my commitment
to the second part of our triad, strategic land-based missiles.
Already the Soviet Union is deploying two mobile systems. We have
none. We need to move forward with our mobile programs, not only to
modernize our forces into the 21st century, but to gain leverage for
arms control. You see, what we're talking about here is simple
logic, or as Sam Rayburn said, "If a man has common sense, he has all
the sense there is."
Accordingly, our ICBM program calls for a new
single-warhead small ICBM missile and our ICBM missile --
Peacekeeper, multiwarhead ICBM. The small ICBM represents the future
of our ICBM force -- highly mobile single warhead -- the very essence
of stability and deterrence. But it won't be ready until 1997, so
I've asked Congress for funds to make our existing Peacekeepers
mobile by utilizing our rail system in an emergency, providing
survivability at low cost for this very effective and proven system.
The third part of our deterrent triad -- the B-2 or the
Stealth bomber -- employs absolutely revolutionary technology to make
certain that it can penetrate defenses and assure the credibility of
our deterrence.
And finally, there is the last part of our defense
equation; that's the Strategic Defense Initiative. SDI will begin
the movement from offensive to defensive deterrence and deter not
merely existing threats, but also nations on the verge of possessing
nuclear and chemical weapons. Now, if that's not common sense, then
I don't like fishing and I don't like playing horseshoes.
(Laughter.)
Fellow veterans, real peace is not an accident, so let us
modernize our strategic forces and thus encourage arms control. We
need the Trident -- the small ICBM. We need the Peacekeeper, B-2 and
SDI. And I have proposed to the Congress an affordable budget to pay
for them. It is a solid, well-thought out and essential program.
The Congress should support it and not try to substitute pet projects
in place of a closely-integrated strategic program. For this, above
all, we know -- when it comes to national defense, finishing second
means finishing last.
We can have an America free from war, free from drugs and
crime -- an America free from fear. What a wonderful legacy for this
and generations of children to come. Some might call it only a
dream. To them, I say, okay, America is the land of dreams -- dreams
that come true.
God bless you all. God bless the United States of
America. And thank you for your hospitality. (Applause.)
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- 5 -
Thank you all very, very much. Remember Pearl Harbor.
We'll see you. (Applause.)
END
10:26 A.M. EDT
REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION
BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989
9:45 A.M.
JUSTICE GIERKE [GER-KEE] -- AS A FELLOW
LEGIONNAIRE, LET ME SALUTE THE FIRST VIET NAM VETERAN
TO BE SELECTED NATIONAL COMMANDER. AND ALL OF YOU WHO
REPRESENT OUR NATION'S LARGEST AND FASTEST-GROWING
VETERANS ORGANIZATION -- MORE THAN 3 MILLION MEMBERS
STRONG.
AS ALWAYS, IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO JOIN YOU.
AND A DEEP PERSONAL PLEASURE TO RENEW OLD TIES. AND TO
GREET NEW FRIENDS.
TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 7TH -- AND I'M DETERMINED NOT
TO REPEAT THE MISTAKE I MADE EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO WHEN
I REFERRED TO THIS DATE AS PEARL HARBOR DAY. I CAN
STILL REMEMBER THE GASP FROM THIS AUDIENCE.
- 2 -
NOT SURPRISINGLY, ANNIVERSARIES WERE ON MY MIND AS
I TRAVELED HERE FROM WASHINGTON. EVENTS LIKE THIS
71ST NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN LEGION, OR THE
200TH BIRTHDAY OF THE COAST GUARD. OR THE VERY FIRST
ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS --
LED BY ITS SECRETARY AND OUR GOOD FRIEND, ED DERWINSKI.
A DEPARTMENT INTENT ON SERVING YOU -- AS YOU HAVE
SERVED YOUR COUNTRY.
WELL, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THESE BIRTHDAYS, IN
TURN, GOT ME TO THINKING ABOUT ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY --
THE 175TH THIS YEAR OF THE "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER." AND
HOW YOUR CONVENTION LIES so NEAR ITS FAMOUS BIRTHPLACE.
TUESDAY, YOU DID SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE PLEASED
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY -- AND FOR WHICH I THANK YOU. FOR BY
SUPPORTING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT MAKING IT ILLEGAL
TO DESECRATE THE AMERICAN FLAG, YOU JOINED THE CRUSADE
TO PROTECT THE UNIQUE SYMBOL OF AMERICA'S HONOR. OUR
FLAG IS TOO SACRED TO BE ABUSED.
THE FLAG -- LIKE AMERICA -- REPRESENTS MANY
THINGS. IT REPRESENTS SELF-EXPRESSION AND OPPORTUNITY.
AND DEMOCRACY FOR ALL.
- 3 -
LIKE AMERICA, Too, OLD GLORY REFLECTS THE
VALUES -- MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL, ECONOMIC AND MILITARY
-- THAT HAVE MADE, AND KEEP, US STRONG.
AND LIKE AMERICA, THE FLAG SYMBOLIZES THE
GALLANTRY OF VETERANS WHO LOVE THEIR COUNTRY -- GIVING
THEMSELVES, AND OFTEN THEIR LIVES, TO ITS PROTECTION.
STORMING THE BEACHES OF OKINAWA. SCALING THE CLIFFS OF
NORMANDY. TAKING SHELL-TORN HILLS NAMED HAMBURGER
AND ARROWHEAD.
FELLOW VETERANS, FOR SEVEN DECADES THE AMERICAN
LEGION -- ITS MEN AND WOMEN -- HAVE HELPED WRITE THE
STORY OF AMERICA AND THE STORY OF OUR FLAG. AND TODAY
-- IN PEACETIME AS IN WARTIME -- YOU WRITE THEIR
STORIES STILL.
- 4 -
FOR THE FLAG, LIKE AMERICA, IS MORE THAN
SENTIMENT. IT LIVES ON THE RUGGED ISLAND CALLED IWO
JIMA. IT LIFTS THE TINY HAND OF THE LITTLE GIRL I SAW
ON A STREET CORNER IN GDANSK, WAVING THE STARS AND
STRIPES. FOR BOTH ENCAPSULATE FREEDOM. THE FREEDOM TO
VOTE AS WE WANT, AND PRAY WHEN AND WHERE WE CHOOSE.
THE FREEDOM TO GO ABOUT OUR DAILY LIVES WITHOUT TYRANNY
OR FEAR.
FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, OUR ALLIES WENT TO WAR
TO PROTECT THIS FREEDOM. FOR AS PANZER TANKS CROSSED
THE POLISH FRONTIER, AND BOMBERS SAVAGED WARSAW,
LIBERTY CONFRONTED THE EVIL OF FASCISM WHICH -- EVEN
NOW -- DEFINES HELL ON EARTH.
IN THE END, THAT CONFLICT TOOK MORE THAN 50
MILLION LIVES. AND UNDERSCORED, AS FEW THINGS HAVE,
MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN. OUR CHALLENGE TODAY IS TO
PROVE MAN'S HUMANITY TO MAN BY PRESERVING LIBERTY
WITHOUT WAR. AND THUS SECURE WHAT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
CALLED THE "FOUR FREEDOMS": FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OF
RELIGION, FREEDOM FROM WANT AND FEAR.
- 5 -
TODAY, I WANT TO FOCUS ON ONE OF THOSE FREEDOMS --
FREEDOM FROM FEAR. THE FEAR OF WAR ABROAD. THE FEAR
OF DRUGS AND CRIME AT HOME.
TO WIN THAT FREEDOM -- TO BUILD A BETTER, SAFER
LIFE -- WILL REQUIRE THE BRAVERY, AND SACRIFICE, THAT
AMERICANS HAVE SHOWN BEFORE. AND MUST AGAIN. ALREADY
WE HAVE DONE MUCH. NOW, WE MUST DO MORE. AND ACHIEVE
REAL PEACE -- BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN -- THE KIND OF
PEACE WHICH LASTS.
FIRST, OUR MISSION AT HOME -- TO FREE OUR COUNTRY
FROM THE FEAR OF DRUGS AND CRIME. WHEN WE ASK WHAT
KIND OF SOCIETY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE, OUR ANSWER
IS -- AND MUST BE -- A NATION IN WHICH LAW-ABIDING
CITIZENS ARE SAFE AND FEEL SAFE.
THAT IS WHY TWO NIGHTS AGO, I ANNOUNCED AMERICA'S
FIRST COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL STRATEGY TO WIN THE WAR ON
DRUGS AND CRIME WHICH PLAGUE THE UNITED STATES.
- 6 -
FIRST, OUR PLAN SEEKS TO RID AMERICA OF VIOLENT
CRIMINALS WITH AN ATTACK ON FOUR FRONTS. NEW LAWS --
TO PUNISH THEM. NEW AGENTS -- TO ARREST THEM. NEW
PROSECUTORS -- TO CONVICT THEM. AND NEW PRISONS -- TO
HOLD THEM.
OUR CRIME PROPOSALS ARE BASED ON THESE PRINCIPLES.
CRIMINALS IN THIS NATION MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY
COMMIT A CRIME, THEY WILL BE CAUGHT. AND IF CAUGHT,
THEY WILL BE PROSECUTED. AND IF CONVICTED, THEY WILL
DO TIME. BY TAKING HOODS OFF THE STREETS, WE CAN --
AND WILL -- TAKE BACK THE STREETS.
IN SHORT, WE PROPOSE TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE
GAME DRAMATICALLY. MANDATORY TIME FOR FIREARMS
OFFENSES. NO DEALS WHEN CRIMINALS USE A GUN. AND FOR
THE MOST HEINOUS CRIMES -- YOU REMEMBER MY PROMISE.
FOR ANYONE WHO KILLS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER -- NO
LEGAL PENALTY IS TOO TOUGH. WE WANT CONGRESS TO ENACT
THE STEPS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THE DEATH PENALTY.
- 7 -
NOW, OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF
TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGY. SOME, INCREDIBLY, SAY IT'S
NOT TOUGH ENOUGH -- THIS FROM THE VERY PEOPLE WHO
OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY. WELL, IT'S THAT KIND OF
THINKING THAT'S LOST TOO MANY BATTLES ALREADY. LET'S
NOT LET THESE CRITICS LOSE THE WAR. so I ASK YOU TO
SUPPORT OUR CRIME PLAN. AND ALSO THE OTHER PARTS OF
OUR NATIONAL STRATEGY.
THIS STRATEGY AIMS TO STOP DRUG USE BEFORE IT
STARTS. THROUGH EDUCATION AND PREVENTION -- FROM GRADE
SCHOOL TO GRADUATE SCHOOL. AND, THIRD, THROUGH
TREATMENT, TO HELP ADDICTS WHO WANT TO GET CLEAN. WITH
SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON EXPECTANT MOTHERS. FINALLY, WE'RE
GOING TO WORK WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS TO HELP CRACK
INTERNATIONAL DRUG RINGS.
AS VETERANS, YOU KNOW HOW BATTLES ARE OFTEN FOUGHT
-- HOUSE-BY-HOUSE, BLOCK-BY-BLOCK. WELL, WE'LL WIN
THIS BATTLE THE SAME WAY. WINNING KID-BY-KID,
NEIGHBORHOOD-BY-NEIGHBORHOOD.
P
Yesterday's extradition of a major drug
dealer sends a strong signal of the colrage
you
and determination of President Barco and the
Colombian government to deal with the scourge
which drugs are inflecting on 45 all.
- 8 -
FOR YEARS NOW, DRUGS HAVE WRITTEN A SAD CHAPTER IN
THE AMERICAN STORY. THIS MORNING, I ASK YOU TO HELP
WRITE AN ENDING ALL OF US CAN BE PROUD OF. COPS CAN'T
DO IT ALONE. TEACHERS CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THE ADDICT
WEARY OF ABUSE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THEY NEED YOUR HELP.
AND I KNOW THEY'LL GET IT -- JUST AS YOU'VE HELPED
HANDICAPPED KIDS, DONATED BLOOD, AIDED THE NATIONAL
LEAGUE OF FAMILIES, AND SPURRED GOOD GOVERNMENT THROUGH
PROGRAMS LIKE BOYS STATE AND GIRLS STATE.
TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, POST NUMBER 65 IN ROSEMONT,
MINNESOTA, RUNS THE PROGRAM "DRUG TALK." AND IN
RUSSELVILLE, ARKANSAS, I ESPECIALLY LIKE POST NUMBER
20'S GIVEAWAY OF THOUSANDS OF RULERS. THEIR MESSAGE
SAYS IT ALL. "YOU REALLY MEASURE UP WHEN YOU SAY 'NO'
TO DRUGS."
- 9 -
YOU KNOW -- AS I DO -- THAT WE'RE IN THIS
TOGETHER. SO LET US FIGHT ON ANY FRONT, AND EVERY
FRONT. SUPPLY AND DEMAND. EDUCATION AND
REHABILITATION. INTERDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT. IN THE
CITIES, AND THE TOWNS. WALTER LIPPMANN ONCE WROTE OF A
"NATION AT THE MERCY OF VIOLENCE." AMERICA MUST NEVER
SURRENDER TO THE VIOLENCE OF DRUGS AND CRIME -- THE
FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN DEPENDS ON IT.
THIS MORNING, I HAVE TALKED ABOUT OUR MISSION TO
SECURE FREEDOM FROM FEAR AT HOME. BUT WE ALSO HAVE
ANOTHER MISSION -- A GLOBAL MISSION -- TO FREE AMERICA
FROM THE FEAR OF WAR.
HALF-A-CENTURY AGO, IKE, AND NIMITZ, AND JIMMY
DOOLITTLE, AND MILLIONS OF UNSUNG HEROES -- LIKE MANY
HERE TODAY -- FOUGHT TO END A WAR. YOU FOUGHT AT
GUADALCANAL AND MONTE CASSINO. AT BASTOGNE AND BATAAN.
YOU FOUGHT TO RID THE WORLD OF TOTALITARIANISM AND
TYRANNY.
- 10 -
OUR CHALLENGE MAY BE LESS DRAMATIC, BUT JUST AS
VITAL: TO SECURE FREEDOM IN A WORLD AT PEACE. TODAY,
OURS REMAINS A GLOBAL STAGE, AND AMERICA REMAINS ITS
LEADING PLAYER. AND WE MUST USE OUR STRENGTH TO
MAINTAIN PEACE AND FREEDOM. FOR THIS WE KNOW FROM
WORLD WAR II: THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT THAT FREEDOM AND
ENSURE REAL PEACE IS FOR AMERICA TO BE MILITARILY
STRONG.
THANKFULLY, AMERICA TODAY IS STRONG. AND OUR
STRENGTH HAS HELPED DEMOCRACY'S TIDE RUN IN -- EVEN AS
TYRANNY'S TIDE RUNS OUT. THE NEW BREEZE OF FREEDOM,
WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN OF BEFORE, IS BLOWING IN POLAND AND
HUNGARY, IN COUNTRIES EAST AND WEST. YET WITH EVEN
HOPEFUL CHANGE COMES UNCERTAINTY. AND WITH UNCERTAINTY
COMES THE NEED FOR VIGILANCE. THIS IS NO TIME TO
DECLARE FREEDOM'S VICTORY BEFORE THE FACT.
- 11 -
THAT IS WHY WE NEED A NATIONAL DEFENSE THAT
ENSURES A STRONG AND SECURE AMERICA. AND WHY I'M
PLEASED THAT THE SENATE LARGELY AGREES. THIS WEEK, OUR
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL MOVES TO HOUSE-SENATE
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM: THE
HOUSE VERSION IS UNACCEPTABLE. IT CONTINUES UNNEEDED
PROGRAMS COSTING NEARLY $20 BILLION FROM 1990-94.
HOLDING OUR DEFENSE BUDGET HOSTAGE TO PROJECTS THAT
WILL STRIP MONEY FROM PROGRAMS CRUCIAL TO STRATEGIC
MODERNIZATION.
THIS MODERNIZATION IS VITAL -- VITAL BECAUSE
AMERICA MUST BASE ITS PROCUREMENT DECISIONS ON THE
FUTURE CAPACITY -- THE ACTUAL WEAPONS -- THAT ANY
SOVIET LEADER MIGHT HAVE AVAILABLE.
HERE, THERE ARE HOPEFUL SIGNS. FOR MR. GORBACHEV
IS TAKING SOME STEPS TO REDUCE THE THREAT POSED BY THE
MASSIVE MILITARY MACHINE THAT IS THE SOVIET ARMED
FORCES. WE APPLAUD THOSE MOVES. AND WE HOPE THERE
WILL BE MORE -- MANY MORE.
. 12 -
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE CANNOT CAUSE THE SOVIET
UNION TO REDUCE ITS FORCES BY UNILATERALLY DISARMING
OURSELVES. PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE PRECISELY BECAUSE WE
HAVE BEEN STRONG. SO FAR, IN TERMS OF CUTTING
STRATEGIC WEAPON SYSTEMS, SOVIET WORDS HAVE NOT BEEN
MATCHED BY DEEDS. OUR OWN STRATEGIC MODERNIZATION
PROGRAM MUST DEAL WITH DEEDS. AND ENCOURAGE THE SOVIET
UNION TO WORK WITH US IN REDUCING THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR
WAR.
THAT IS WHY WE HAVE BEGUN A VITAL PROGRAM TO
MODERNIZE OUR STRATEGIC TRIAD. AND BY THAT I MEAN:
SUBMARINES, MISSILES, AND BOMBERS.
WE HAVE CALLED FOR TWO TRIDENT SUBMARINES TO BE
FUNDED IN 1990 AND 1991. TODAY, I RENEW THAT CALL.
AND REAFFIRM MY COMMITMENT TO THE SECOND PART OF OUR
TRIAD: STRATEGIC LAND-BASED MISSILES. ALREADY, THE
SOVIET UNION IS DEPLOYING TWO MOBILE SYSTEMS. WE HAVE
NONE. WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR MOBILE
PROGRAMS. NOT ONLY TO MODERNIZE OUR FORCES INTO THE
21ST CENTURY. BUT TO GAIN LEVERAGE FOR ARMS CONTROL.
- 13 -
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SIMPLE LOGIC. OR AS
SAM RAYBURN SAID, "IF A MAN HAS COMMON SENSE, HE HAS
ALL THE SENSE THERE IS."
ACCORDINGLY, OUR ICBM PROGRAM CALLS FOR A NEW
SINGLE-WARHEAD SMALL ICBM MISSILE AND OUR PEACEKEEPER
MULTI-WARHEAD ICBM. THE SMALL ICBM REPRESENTS THE
FUTURE OF OUR ICBM FORCE -- HIGHLY MOBILE WITH A SINGLE
WARHEAD -- THE VERY ESSENCE OF STABILITY AND
DETERRENCE. BUT IT WON'T BE READY UNTIL 1997. so I
HAVE ASKED CONGRESS FOR FUNDS TO MAKE OUR EXISTING
PEACEKEEPERS MOBILE BY UTILIZING OUR RAIL SYSTEM IN AN
EMERGENCY -- PROVIDING SURVIVABILITY, AT LOW COST, FOR
THIS VERY EFFECTIVE AND PROVEN SYSTEM.
THE THIRD PART OF OUR DETERRENT TRIAD -- THE B-2
OR STEALTH BOMBER -- EMPLOYS ABSOLUTELY REVOLUTIONARY
TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT IT CAN PENETRATE
DEFENSES AND ASSURE THE CREDIBILITY OF OUR DETERRENCE.
- 14 -
FINALLY, THERE'S THE LAST PART OF OUR DEFENSE
EQUATION -- THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE. SDI WILL
BEGIN THE MOVEMENT FROM OFFENSIVE TO DEFENSIVE
DETERRENCE. AND DETER NOT MERELY EXISTING THREATS BUT
ALSO NATIONS ON THE VERGE OF POSSESSING NUCLEAR AND
CHEMICAL MISSILES. IF THAT'S NOT COMMON SENSE, I DON'T
LIKE FISHING.
FELLOW VETERANS, REAL PEACE IS NOT AN ACCIDENT.
so, LET US MODERNIZE OUR STRATEGIC FORCES. AND, THUS,
ENCOURAGE ARMS CONTROL.
WE NEED THE TRIDENT AND THE SMALL ICBM. WE NEED
THE PEACEKEEPER, B-2, AND SDI. AND I HAVE PROPOSED TO
THE CONGRESS AN AFFORDABLE BUDGET TO PAY FOR THEM. IT
IS A SOLID, WELL-THOUGHT-OUT AND ESSENTIAL PROGRAM.
THE CONGRESS SHOULD SUPPORT IT AND NOT TRY TO
SUBSTITUTE PET PROJECTS IN PLACE OF A CLOSELY
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PROGRAM. FOR THIS, ABOVE ALL, WE
KNOW: WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL DEFENSE, FINISHING
SECOND MEANS FINISHING LAST.
- 15 -
WE CAN HAVE AN AMERICA FREE FROM WAR, FREE FROM
DRUGS AND CRIME. AN AMERICA FREE FROM FEAR. WHAT A
WONDERFUL LEGACY -- FOR THIS AND GENERATIONS OF
CHILDREN TO COME.
SOME MIGHT CALL IT ONLY A DREAM. I SAY: AMERICA
IS THE LAND OF DREAMS -- DREAMS THAT COME TRUE. GOD
BLESS YOU ALL, AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA.
# # # #
REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION
BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989
9:45 A.M.
JUSTICE GIERKE [GER-KEE] -- AS A FELLOW
LEGIONNAIRE, LET ME SALUTE THE FIRST VIET NAM VETERAN
TO BE SELECTED NATIONAL COMMANDER. AND ALL OF YOU WHO
REPRESENT OUR NATION'S LARGEST AND FASTEST-GROWING
VETERANS ORGANIZATION -- MORE THAN 3 MILLION MEMBERS
STRONG.
AS ALWAYS, IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO JOIN YOU.
AND A DEEP PERSONAL PLEASURE TO RENEW OLD TIES. AND TO
GREET NEW FRIENDS.
TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 7TH -- AND I'M DETERMINED NOT
TO REPEAT THE MISTAKE I MADE EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO WHEN
I REFERRED TO THIS DATE AS PEARL HARBOR DAY. I CAN
STILL REMEMBER THE GASP FROM THIS AUDIENCE.
- 2 -
NOT SURPRISINGLY, ANNIVERSARIES WERE ON MY MIND AS
I TRAVELED HERE FROM WASHINGTON. EVENTS LIKE THIS
71ST NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN LEGION, OR THE
200TH BIRTHDAY OF THE COAST GUARD. OR THE VERY FIRST
ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS --
LED BY ITS SECRETARY AND OUR GOOD FRIEND, ED DERWINSKI.
A DEPARTMENT INTENT ON SERVING YOU -- AS YOU HAVE
SERVED YOUR COUNTRY.
WELL, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THESE BIRTHDAYS, IN
TURN, GOT ME TO THINKING ABOUT ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY --
THE 175TH THIS YEAR OF THE "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER." AND
HOW YOUR CONVENTION LIES so NEAR ITS FAMOUS BIRTHPLACE.
TUESDAY, YOU DID SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE PLEASED
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY -- AND FOR WHICH I THANK YOU. FOR BY
SUPPORTING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT MAKING IT ILLEGAL
TO DESECRATE THE AMERICAN FLAG, YOU JOINED THE CRUSADE
TO PROTECT THE UNIQUE SYMBOL OF AMERICA'S HONOR. OUR
FLAG IS TOO SACRED TO BE ABUSED.
THE FLAG -- LIKE AMERICA -- REPRESENTS MANY
THINGS. IT REPRESENTS SELF-EXPRESSION AND OPPORTUNITY.
AND DEMOCRACY FOR ALL.
- 3 -
LIKE AMERICA, Too, OLD GLORY REFLECTS THE
VALUES -- MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL, ECONOMIC AND MILITARY
-- THAT HAVE MADE, AND KEEP, US STRONG.
AND LIKE AMERICA, THE FLAG SYMBOLIZES THE
GALLANTRY OF VETERANS WHO LOVE THEIR COUNTRY -- GIVING
THEMSELVES, AND OFTEN THEIR LIVES, TO ITS PROTECTION.
STORMING THE BEACHES OF OKINAWA. SCALING THE CLIFFS OF
NORMANDY. TAKING SHELL-TORN HILLS NAMED HAMBURGER
AND ARROWHEAD.
FELLOW VETERANS, FOR SEVEN DECADES THE AMERICAN
LEGION -- ITS MEN AND WOMEN -- HAVE HELPED WRITE THE
STORY OF AMERICA AND THE STORY OF OUR FLAG. AND TODAY
-- IN PEACETIME AS IN WARTIME -- YOU WRITE THEIR
STORIES STILL.
- 4 -
FOR THE FLAG, LIKE AMERICA, IS MORE THAN
SENTIMENT. IT LIVES ON THE RUGGED ISLAND CALLED IWO
JIMA. IT LIFTS THE TINY HAND OF THE LITTLE GIRL I SAW
ON A STREET CORNER IN GDANSK, WAVING THE STARS AND
STRIPES. FOR BOTH ENCAPSULATE FREEDOM. THE FREEDOM TO
VOTE AS WE WANT, AND PRAY WHEN AND WHERE WE CHOOSE.
THE FREEDOM TO GO ABOUT OUR DAILY LIVES WITHOUT TYRANNY
OR FEAR.
FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, OUR ALLIES WENT TO WAR
TO PROTECT THIS FREEDOM. FOR AS PANZER TANKS CROSSED
THE POLISH FRONTIER, AND BOMBERS SAVAGED WARSAW,
LIBERTY CONFRONTED THE EVIL OF FASCISM WHICH -- EVEN
NOW -- DEFINES HELL ON EARTH.
IN THE END, THAT CONFLICT TOOK MORE THAN 50
MILLION LIVES. AND UNDERSCORED, AS FEW THINGS HAVE,
MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN. OUR CHALLENGE TODAY IS TO
PROVE MAN'S HUMANITY TO MAN BY PRESERVING LIBERTY
WITHOUT WAR. AND THUS SECURE WHAT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
CALLED THE "FOUR FREEDOMS": FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OF
RELIGION, FREEDOM FROM WANT AND FEAR.
- 5 -
TODAY, I WANT TO FOCUS ON ONE OF THOSE FREEDOMS --
FREEDOM FROM FEAR. THE FEAR OF WAR ABROAD. THE FEAR
OF DRUGS AND CRIME AT HOME.
TO WIN THAT FREEDOM -- TO BUILD A BETTER, SAFER
LIFE -- WILL REQUIRE THE BRAVERY, AND SACRIFICE, THAT
AMERICANS HAVE SHOWN BEFORE. AND MUST AGAIN. ALREADY
WE HAVE DONE MUCH. NOW, WE MUST DO MORE. AND ACHIEVE
REAL PEACE -- BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN -- THE KIND OF
PEACE WHICH LASTS.
FIRST, OUR MISSION AT HOME -- TO FREE OUR COUNTRY
FROM THE FEAR OF DRUGS AND CRIME. WHEN WE ASK WHAT
KIND OF SOCIETY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE, OUR ANSWER
IS -- AND MUST BE -- A NATION IN WHICH LAW-ABIDING
CITIZENS ARE SAFE AND FEEL SAFE.
THAT IS WHY TWO NIGHTS AGO, I ANNOUNCED AMERICA'S
FIRST COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL STRATEGY TO WIN THE WAR ON
DRUGS AND CRIME WHICH PLAGUE THE UNITED STATES.
- 6 -
FIRST, OUR PLAN SEEKS TO RID AMERICA OF VIOLENT
CRIMINALS WITH AN ATTACK ON FOUR FRONTS. NEW LAWS --
TO PUNISH THEM. NEW AGENTS -- TO ARREST THEM. NEW
PROSECUTORS TO CONVICT THEM. AND NEW PRISONS -- TO
HOLD THEM.
OUR CRIME PROPOSALS ARE BASED ON THESE PRINCIPLES.
CRIMINALS IN THIS NATION MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY
COMMIT A CRIME, THEY WILL BE CAUGHT. AND IF CAUGHT,
THEY WILL BE PROSECUTED. AND IF CONVICTED, THEY WILL
DO TIME. BY TAKING HOODS OFF THE STREETS, WE CAN --
AND WILL -- TAKE BACK THE STREETS.
IN SHORT, WE PROPOSE TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE
GAME DRAMATICALLY. MANDATORY TIME FOR FIREARMS
OFFENSES. NO DEALS WHEN CRIMINALS USE A GUN. AND FOR
THE MOST HEINOUS CRIMES -- YOU REMEMBER MY PROMISE.
FOR ANYONE WHO KILLS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER -- NO
LEGAL PENALTY IS TOO TOUGH. WE WANT CONGRESS TO ENACT
THE STEPS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THE DEATH PENALTY.
- 7 -
NOW, OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF
TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGY. SOME, INCREDIBLY, SAY IT'S
NOT TOUGH ENOUGH -- THIS FROM THE VERY PEOPLE WHO
OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY. WELL, IT'S THAT KIND OF
THINKING THAT'S LOST TOO MANY BATTLES ALREADY. LET'S
NOT LET THESE CRITICS LOSE THE WAR. so I ASK YOU TO
SUPPORT OUR CRIME PLAN. AND ALSO THE OTHER PARTS OF
OUR NATIONAL STRATEGY.
THIS STRATEGY AIMS TO STOP DRUG USE BEFORE IT
STARTS. THROUGH EDUCATION AND PREVENTION -- FROM GRADE
SCHOOL TO GRADUATE SCHOOL. AND, THIRD, THROUGH
TREATMENT, TO HELP ADDICTS WHO WANT TO GET CLEAN. WITH
SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON EXPECTANT MOTHERS. FINALLY, WE'RE
GOING TO WORK WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS TO HELP CRACK
INTERNATIONAL DRUG RINGS.
AS VETERANS, YOU KNOW HOW BATTLES ARE OFTEN FOUGHT
-- HOUSE-BY-HOUSE, BLOCK-BY-BLOCK. WELL, WE'LL WIN
THIS BATTLE THE SAME WAY. WINNING KID-BY-KID,
NEIGHBORHOOD-BY-NEIGHBORHOOD.
- 8 -
FOR YEARS NOW, DRUGS HAVE WRITTEN A SAD CHAPTER IN
THE AMERICAN STORY. THIS MORNING, I ASK YOU TO HELP
WRITE AN ENDING ALL OF US CAN BE PROUD OF. COPS CAN'T
DO IT ALONE. TEACHERS CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THE ADDICT
WEARY OF ABUSE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THEY NEED YOUR HELP.
AND I KNOW THEY'LL GET IT -- JUST AS YOU'VE HELPED
HANDICAPPED KIDS, DONATED BLOOD, AIDED THE NATIONAL
LEAGUE OF FAMILIES, AND SPURRED GOOD GOVERNMENT THROUGH
PROGRAMS LIKE BOYS STATE AND GIRLS STATE.
TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, POST NUMBER 65 IN ROSEMONT,
MINNESOTA, RUNS THE PROGRAM "DRUG TALK." AND IN
RUSSELVILLE, ARKANSAS, I ESPECIALLY LIKE POST NUMBER
20'S GIVEAWAY OF THOUSANDS OF RULERS. THEIR MESSAGE
SAYS IT ALL. "YOU REALLY MEASURE UP WHEN YOU SAY 'NO'
TO DRUGS."
- 9 -
YOU KNOW -- AS I DO -- THAT WE'RE IN THIS
TOGETHER. so LET US FIGHT ON ANY FRONT, AND EVERY
FRONT. SUPPLY AND DEMAND. EDUCATION AND
REHABILITATION. INTERDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT. IN THE
CITIES, AND THE TOWNS. WALTER LIPPMANN ONCE WROTE OF A
"NATION AT THE MERCY OF VIOLENCE." AMERICA MUST NEVER
SURRENDER TO THE VIOLENCE OF DRUGS AND CRIME -- THE
FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN DEPENDS ON IT.
THIS MORNING, I HAVE TALKED ABOUT OUR MISSION TO
SECURE FREEDOM FROM FEAR AT HOME. BUT WE ALSO HAVE
ANOTHER MISSION -- A GLOBAL MISSION -- TO FREE AMERICA
FROM THE FEAR OF WAR.
HALF-A-CENTURY AGO, IKE, AND NIMITZ, AND JIMMY
DOOLITTLE, AND MILLIONS OF UNSUNG HEROES -- LIKE MANY
HERE TODAY -- FOUGHT TO END A WAR. YOU FOUGHT AT
GUADALCANAL AND MONTE CASSINO. AT BASTOGNE AND BATAAN.
YOU FOUGHT TO RID THE WORLD OF TOTALITARIANISM AND
TYRANNY.
- 10 -
OUR CHALLENGE MAY BE LESS DRAMATIC, BUT JUST AS
VITAL: TO SECURE FREEDOM IN A WORLD AT PEACE. TODAY,
OURS REMAINS A GLOBAL STAGE, AND AMERICA REMAINS ITS
LEADING PLAYER. AND WE MUST USE OUR STRENGTH TO
MAINTAIN PEACE AND FREEDOM. FOR THIS WE KNOW FROM
WORLD WAR II: THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT THAT FREEDOM AND
ENSURE REAL PEACE IS FOR AMERICA TO BE MILITARILY
STRONG.
THANKFULLY, AMERICA TODAY IS STRONG. AND OUR
STRENGTH HAS HELPED DEMOCRACY'S TIDE RUN IN -- EVEN AS
TYRANNY'S TIDE RUNS OUT. THE NEW BREEZE OF FREEDOM,
WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN OF BEFORE, IS BLOWING IN POLAND AND
HUNGARY, IN COUNTRIES EAST AND WEST. YET WITH EVEN
HOPEFUL CHANGE COMES UNCERTAINTY. AND WITH UNCERTAINTY
COMES THE NEED FOR VIGILANCE. THIS IS NO TIME TO
DECLARE FREEDOM'S VICTORY BEFORE THE FACT.
- 11 -
THAT IS WHY WE NEED A NATIONAL DEFENSE THAT
ENSURES A STRONG AND SECURE AMERICA. AND WHY I'M
PLEASED THAT THE SENATE LARGELY AGREES. THIS WEEK, OUR
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL MOVES TO HOUSE-SENATE
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM: THE
HOUSE VERSION IS UNACCEPTABLE. IT CONTINUES UNNEEDED
PROGRAMS COSTING NEARLY $20 BILLION FROM 1990-94.
HOLDING OUR DEFENSE BUDGET HOSTAGE TO PROJECTS THAT
WILL STRIP MONEY FROM PROGRAMS CRUCIAL TO STRATEGIC
MODERNIZATION.
THIS MODERNIZATION IS VITAL -- VITAL BECAUSE
AMERICA MUST BASE ITS PROCUREMENT DECISIONS ON THE
FUTURE CAPACITY -- THE ACTUAL WEAPONS -- THAT ANY
SOVIET LEADER MIGHT HAVE AVAILABLE.
HERE, THERE ARE HOPEFUL SIGNS. FOR MR. GORBACHEV
IS TAKING SOME STEPS TO REDUCE THE THREAT POSED BY THE
MASSIVE MILITARY MACHINE THAT IS THE SOVIET ARMED
FORCES. WE APPLAUD THOSE MOVES. AND WE HOPE THERE
WILL BE MORE -- MANY MORE.
- 12 -
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE CANNOT CAUSE THE SOVIET
UNION TO REDUCE ITS FORCES BY UNILATERALLY DISARMING
OURSELVES. PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE PRECISELY BECAUSE WE
HAVE BEEN STRONG. so FAR, IN TERMS OF CUTTING
STRATEGIC WEAPON SYSTEMS, SOVIET WORDS HAVE NOT BEEN
MATCHED BY DEEDS. OUR OWN STRATEGIC MODERNIZATION
PROGRAM MUST DEAL WITH DEEDS. AND ENCOURAGE THE SOVIET
UNION TO WORK WITH US IN REDUCING THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR
WAR.
THAT IS WHY WE HAVE BEGUN A VITAL PROGRAM TO
MODERNIZE OUR STRATEGIC TRIAD. AND BY THAT I MEAN:
SUBMARINES, MISSILES, AND BOMBERS.
WE HAVE CALLED FOR TWO TRIDENT SUBMARINES TO BE
FUNDED IN 1990 AND 1991. TODAY, I RENEW THAT CALL.
AND REAFFIRM MY COMMITMENT TO THE SECOND PART OF OUR
TRIAD: STRATEGIC LAND-BASED MISSILES. ALREADY, THE
SOVIET UNION IS DEPLOYING TWO MOBILE SYSTEMS. WE HAVE
NONE. WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR MOBILE
PROGRAMS. NOT ONLY TO MODERNIZE OUR FORCES INTO THE
21ST CENTURY. BUT TO GAIN LEVERAGE FOR ARMS CONTROL.
- 13 -
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SIMPLE LOGIC. OR AS
SAM RAYBURN SAID, "IF A MAN HAS COMMON SENSE, HE HAS
ALL THE SENSE THERE IS."
ACCORDINGLY, OUR ICBM PROGRAM CALLS FOR A NEW
SINGLE-WARHEAD SMALL ICBM MISSILE AND OUR PEACEKEEPER
MULTI-WARHEAD ICBM. THE SMALL ICBM REPRESENTS THE
FUTURE OF OUR ICBM FORCE -- HIGHLY MOBILE WITH A SINGLE
WARHEAD -- THE VERY ESSENCE OF STABILITY AND
DETERRENCE. BUT IT WON'T BE READY UNTIL 1997. SO I
HAVE ASKED CONGRESS FOR FUNDS TO MAKE OUR EXISTING
PEACEKEEPERS MOBILE BY UTILIZING OUR RAIL SYSTEM IN AN
EMERGENCY -- PROVIDING SURVIVABILITY, AT LOW COST, FOR
THIS VERY EFFECTIVE AND PROVEN SYSTEM.
THE THIRD PART OF OUR DETERRENT TRIAD -- THE B-2
OR STEALTH BOMBER -- EMPLOYS ABSOLUTELY REVOLUTIONARY
TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT IT CAN PENETRATE
DEFENSES AND ASSURE THE CREDIBILITY OF OUR DETERRENCE.
- 14 -
FINALLY, THERE'S THE LAST PART OF OUR DEFENSE
EQUATION -- THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE. SDI WILL
BEGIN THE MOVEMENT FROM OFFENSIVE TO DEFENSIVE
DETERRENCE. AND DETER NOT MERELY EXISTING THREATS BUT
ALSO NATIONS ON THE VERGE OF POSSESSING NUCLEAR AND
CHEMICAL MISSILES. IF THAT'S NOT COMMON SENSE, I DON'T
LIKE FISHING.
FELLOW VETERANS, REAL PEACE IS NOT AN ACCIDENT.
so, LET US MODERNIZE OUR STRATEGIC FORCES. AND, THUS,
ENCOURAGE ARMS CONTROL.
WE NEED THE TRIDENT AND THE SMALL ICBM. WE NEED
THE PEACEKEEPER, B-2, AND SDI. AND I HAVE PROPOSED TO
THE CONGRESS AN AFFORDABLE BUDGET TO PAY FOR THEM. IT
IS A SOLID, WELL-THOUGHT-OUT AND ESSENTIAL PROGRAM.
THE CONGRESS SHOULD SUPPORT IT AND NOT TRY TO
SUBSTITUTE PET PROJECTS IN PLACE OF A CLOSELY
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PROGRAM. FOR THIS, ABOVE ALL, WE
KNOW: WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL DEFENSE, FINISHING
SECOND MEANS FINISHING LAST.
- 15 - -
WE CAN HAVE AN AMERICA FREE FROM WAR, FREE FROM
DRUGS AND CRIME. AN AMERICA FREE FROM FEAR. WHAT A
WONDERFUL LEGACY -- FOR THIS AND GENERATIONS OF
CHILDREN TO COME.
SOME MIGHT CALL IT ONLY A DREAM. I SAY: AMERICA
IS THE LAND OF DREAMS -- DREAMS THAT COME TRUE. GOD
BLESS YOU ALL, AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA.
# # # #
REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION
BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989
9:45 A.M.
JUSTICE GIERKE [GER-KEE] -- AS A FELLOW
LEGIONNAIRE, LET ME SALUTE THE FIRST VIET NAM VETERAN
TO BE SELECTED NATIONAL COMMANDER. AND ALL OF YOU WHO
REPRESENT OUR NATION'S LARGEST AND FASTEST-GROWING
VETERANS ORGANIZATION -- MORE THAN 3 MILLION MEMBERS
STRONG.
AS ALWAYS, IT IS A GREAT PRIVILEGE TO JOIN YOU.
AND A DEEP PERSONAL PLEASURE TO RENEW OLD TIES. AND TO
GREET NEW FRIENDS.
TODAY IS SEPTEMBER 7TH -- AND I'M DETERMINED NOT
TO REPEAT THE MISTAKE I MADE EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO WHEN
I REFERRED TO THIS DATE AS PEARL HARBOR DAY. I CAN
STILL REMEMBER THE GASP FROM THIS AUDIENCE.
- 2 -
NOT SURPRISINGLY, ANNIVERSARIES WERE ON MY MIND AS
I TRAVELED HERE FROM WASHINGTON. EVENTS LIKE THIS
71ST NATIONAL CONVENTION OF THE AMERICAN LEGION, OR THE
200TH BIRTHDAY OF THE COAST GUARD. OR THE VERY FIRST
ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS --
LED BY ITS SECRETARY AND OUR GOOD FRIEND, ED DERWINSKI.
A DEPARTMENT INTENT ON SERVING YOU -- AS YOU HAVE
SERVED YOUR COUNTRY.
WELL, AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, THESE BIRTHDAYS, IN
TURN, GOT ME TO THINKING ABOUT ANOTHER ANNIVERSARY --
THE 175TH THIS YEAR OF THE "STAR-SPANGLED BANNER." AND
HOW YOUR CONVENTION LIES so NEAR ITS FAMOUS BIRTHPLACE.
TUESDAY, YOU DID SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE PLEASED
FRANCIS SCOTT KEY -- AND FOR WHICH I THANK YOU. FOR BY
SUPPORTING A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT MAKING IT ILLEGAL
TO DESECRATE THE AMERICAN FLAG, YOU JOINED THE CRUSADE
TO PROTECT THE UNIQUE SYMBOL OF AMERICA'S HONOR. OUR
FLAG IS TOO SACRED TO BE ABUSED.
THE FLAG -- LIKE AMERICA -- REPRESENTS MANY
THINGS. IT REPRESENTS SELF-EXPRESSION AND OPPORTUNITY.
AND DEMOCRACY FOR ALL.
- 3 -
LIKE AMERICA, Too, OLD GLORY REFLECTS THE
VALUES -- MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL, ECONOMIC AND MILITARY
-- THAT HAVE MADE, AND KEEP, US STRONG.
AND LIKE AMERICA, THE FLAG SYMBOLIZES THE
GALLANTRY OF VETERANS WHO LOVE THEIR COUNTRY -- GIVING
THEMSELVES, AND OFTEN THEIR LIVES, TO ITS PROTECTION.
STORMING THE BEACHES OF OKINAWA. SCALING THE CLIFFS OF
NORMANDY. TAKING SHELL-TORN HILLS NAMED HAMBURGER
AND ARROWHEAD.
FELLOW VETERANS, FOR SEVEN DECADES THE AMERICAN
LEGION -- ITS MEN AND WOMEN -- HAVE HELPED WRITE THE
STORY OF AMERICA AND THE STORY OF OUR FLAG. AND TODAY
-- IN PEACETIME AS IN WARTIME -- YOU WRITE THEIR
STORIES STILL.
- 4 -
FOR THE FLAG, LIKE AMERICA, IS MORE THAN
SENTIMENT. IT LIVES ON THE RUGGED ISLAND CALLED IWO
JIMA. IT LIFTS THE TINY HAND OF THE LITTLE GIRL I SAW
ON A STREET CORNER IN GDANSK, WAVING THE STARS AND
STRIPES. FOR BOTH ENCAPSULATE FREEDOM. THE FREEDOM TO
VOTE AS WE WANT, AND PRAY WHEN AND WHERE WE CHOOSE.
THE FREEDOM TO GO ABOUT OUR DAILY LIVES WITHOUT TYRANNY
OR FEAR.
FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, OUR ALLIES WENT TO WAR
TO PROTECT THIS FREEDOM. FOR AS PANZER TANKS CROSSED
THE POLISH FRONTIER, AND BOMBERS SAVAGED WARSAW,
LIBERTY CONFRONTED THE EVIL OF FASCISM WHICH -- EVEN
NOW -- DEFINES HELL ON EARTH.
IN THE END, THAT CONFLICT TOOK MORE THAN 50
MILLION LIVES. AND UNDERSCORED, AS FEW THINGS HAVE,
MAN'S INHUMANITY TO MAN. OUR CHALLENGE TODAY IS TO
PROVE MAN'S HUMANITY TO MAN BY PRESERVING LIBERTY
WITHOUT WAR. AND THUS SECURE WHAT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT
CALLED THE "FOUR FREEDOMS": FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OF
RELIGION, FREEDOM FROM WANT AND FEAR.
- 5 -
TODAY, I WANT TO FOCUS ON ONE OF THOSE FREEDOMS --
FREEDOM FROM FEAR. THE FEAR OF WAR ABROAD. THE FEAR
OF DRUGS AND CRIME AT HOME.
TO WIN THAT FREEDOM -- TO BUILD A BETTER, SAFER
LIFE -- WILL REQUIRE THE BRAVERY, AND SACRIFICE, THAT
AMERICANS HAVE SHOWN BEFORE. AND MUST AGAIN. ALREADY
WE HAVE DONE MUCH. NOW, WE MUST DO MORE. AND ACHIEVE
REAL PEACE -- BOTH DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN -- THE KIND OF
PEACE WHICH LASTS.
FIRST, OUR MISSION AT HOME -- TO FREE OUR COUNTRY
FROM THE FEAR OF DRUGS AND CRIME. WHEN WE ASK WHAT
KIND OF SOCIETY THE AMERICAN PEOPLE DESERVE, OUR ANSWER
IS -- AND MUST BE -- A NATION IN WHICH LAW-ABIDING
CITIZENS ARE SAFE AND FEEL SAFE.
THAT IS WHY TWO NIGHTS AGO, I ANNOUNCED AMERICA'S
FIRST COMPREHENSIVE NATIONAL STRATEGY TO WIN THE WAR ON
DRUGS AND CRIME WHICH PLAGUE THE UNITED STATES.
- 6 -
FIRST, OUR PLAN SEEKS TO RID AMERICA OF VIOLENT
CRIMINALS WITH AN ATTACK ON FOUR FRONTS. NEW LAWS --
TO PUNISH THEM. NEW AGENTS -- TO ARREST THEM. NEW
PROSECUTORS -- TO CONVICT THEM. AND NEW PRISONS -- TO
HOLD THEM.
OUR CRIME PROPOSALS ARE BASED ON THESE PRINCIPLES.
CRIMINALS IN THIS NATION MUST UNDERSTAND THAT IF THEY
COMMIT A CRIME, THEY WILL BE CAUGHT. AND IF CAUGHT,
THEY WILL BE PROSECUTED. AND IF CONVICTED, THEY WILL
DO TIME. BY TAKING HOODS OFF THE STREETS, WE CAN --
AND WILL -- TAKE BACK THE STREETS.
IN SHORT, WE PROPOSE TO CHANGE THE RULES OF THE
GAME DRAMATICALLY. MANDATORY TIME FOR FIREARMS
OFFENSES. NO DEALS WHEN CRIMINALS USE A GUN. AND FOR
THE MOST HEINOUS CRIMES -- YOU REMEMBER MY PROMISE.
FOR ANYONE WHO KILLS A LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER -- NO
LEGAL PENALTY IS TOO TOUGH. WE WANT CONGRESS TO ENACT
THE STEPS NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THE DEATH PENALTY.
- 7 -
NOW, OVER THE LAST FEW DAYS THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF
TALK ABOUT OUR STRATEGY. SOME, INCREDIBLY, SAY IT'S
NOT TOUGH ENOUGH -- THIS FROM THE VERY PEOPLE WHO
OPPOSE THE DEATH PENALTY. WELL, IT'S THAT KIND OF
THINKING THAT'S LOST TOO MANY BATTLES ALREADY. LET'S
NOT LET THESE CRITICS LOSE THE WAR. SO I ASK YOU TO
SUPPORT OUR CRIME PLAN. AND ALSO THE OTHER PARTS OF
OUR NATIONAL STRATEGY.
THIS STRATEGY AIMS TO STOP DRUG USE BEFORE IT
STARTS. THROUGH EDUCATION AND PREVENTION -- FROM GRADE
SCHOOL TO GRADUATE SCHOOL. AND, THIRD, THROUGH
TREATMENT, TO HELP ADDICTS WHO WANT TO GET CLEAN. WITH
SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON EXPECTANT MOTHERS. FINALLY, WE'RE
GOING TO WORK WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTS TO HELP CRACK
INTERNATIONAL DRUG RINGS.
AS VETERANS, YOU KNOW HOW BATTLES ARE OFTEN FOUGHT
-- HOUSE-BY-HOUSE, BLOCK-BY-BLOCK. WELL, WE'LL WIN
THIS BATTLE THE SAME WAY. WINNING KID-BY-KID,
NEIGHBORHOOD-BY-NEIGHBORHOOD.
- 8 -
FOR YEARS NOW, DRUGS HAVE WRITTEN A SAD CHAPTER IN
THE AMERICAN STORY. THIS MORNING, I ASK YOU TO HELP
WRITE AN ENDING ALL OF US CAN BE PROUD OF. COPS CAN'T
DO IT ALONE. TEACHERS CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THE ADDICT
WEARY OF ABUSE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THEY NEED YOUR HELP.
AND I KNOW THEY'LL GET IT -- JUST AS YOU'VE HELPED
HANDICAPPED KIDS, DONATED BLOOD, AIDED THE NATIONAL
LEAGUE OF FAMILIES, AND SPURRED GOOD GOVERNMENT THROUGH
PROGRAMS LIKE BOYS STATE AND GIRLS STATE.
TODAY, FOR INSTANCE, POST NUMBER 65 IN ROSEMONT,
MINNESOTA, RUNS THE PROGRAM "DRUG TALK." AND IN
RUSSELVILLE, ARKANSAS, I ESPECIALLY LIKE POST NUMBER
20'S GIVEAWAY OF THOUSANDS OF RULERS. THEIR MESSAGE
SAYS IT ALL. "YOU REALLY MEASURE UP WHEN YOU SAY 'NO'
TO DRUGS."
- 9 -
YOU KNOW -- AS I DO -- THAT WE'RE IN THIS
TOGETHER. so LET US FIGHT ON ANY FRONT, AND EVERY
FRONT. SUPPLY AND DEMAND. EDUCATION AND
REHABILITATION. INTERDICTION AND ENFORCEMENT. IN THE
CITIES, AND THE TOWNS. WALTER LIPPMANN ONCE WROTE OF A
"NATION AT THE MERCY OF VIOLENCE." AMERICA MUST NEVER
SURRENDER TO THE VIOLENCE OF DRUGS AND CRIME -- THE
FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN DEPENDS ON IT.
THIS MORNING, I HAVE TALKED ABOUT OUR MISSION TO
SECURE FREEDOM FROM FEAR AT HOME. BUT WE ALSO HAVE
ANOTHER MISSION -- A GLOBAL MISSION -- TO FREE AMERICA
FROM THE FEAR OF WAR.
HALF-A-CENTURY AGO, IKE, AND NIMITZ, AND JIMMY
DOOLITTLE, AND MILLIONS OF UNSUNG HEROES -- LIKE MANY
HERE TODAY -- FOUGHT TO END A WAR. YOU FOUGHT AT
GUADALCANAL AND MONTE CASSINO. AT BASTOGNE AND BATAAN.
YOU FOUGHT TO RID THE WORLD OF TOTALITARIANISM AND
TYRANNY.
- 10 -
OUR CHALLENGE MAY BE LESS DRAMATIC, BUT JUST AS
VITAL: TO SECURE FREEDOM IN A WORLD AT PEACE. TODAY,
OURS REMAINS A GLOBAL STAGE, AND AMERICA REMAINS ITS
LEADING PLAYER. AND WE MUST USE OUR STRENGTH TO
MAINTAIN PEACE AND FREEDOM. FOR THIS WE KNOW FROM
WORLD WAR II: THE BEST WAY TO PROTECT THAT FREEDOM AND
ENSURE REAL PEACE IS FOR AMERICA TO BE MILITARILY
STRONG.
THANKFULLY, AMERICA TODAY IS STRONG. AND OUR
STRENGTH HAS HELPED DEMOCRACY'S TIDE RUN IN -- EVEN AS
TYRANNY'S TIDE RUNS OUT. THE NEW BREEZE OF FREEDOM,
WHICH I HAVE SPOKEN OF BEFORE, IS BLOWING IN POLAND AND
HUNGARY, IN COUNTRIES EAST AND WEST. YET WITH EVEN
HOPEFUL CHANGE COMES UNCERTAINTY. AND WITH UNCERTAINTY
COMES THE NEED FOR VIGILANCE. THIS IS NO TIME TO
DECLARE FREEDOM'S VICTORY BEFORE THE FACT.
- 11 -
THAT IS WHY WE NEED A NATIONAL DEFENSE THAT
ENSURES A STRONG AND SECURE AMERICA. AND WHY I'M
PLEASED THAT THE SENATE LARGELY AGREES. THIS WEEK, OUR
DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL MOVES TO HOUSE-SENATE
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE. THERE'S JUST ONE PROBLEM: THE
HOUSE VERSION IS UNACCEPTABLE. IT CONTINUES UNNEEDED
PROGRAMS COSTING NEARLY $20 BILLION FROM 1990-94.
HOLDING OUR DEFENSE BUDGET HOSTAGE TO PROJECTS THAT
WILL STRIP MONEY FROM PROGRAMS CRUCIAL TO STRATEGIC
MODERNIZATION.
THIS MODERNIZATION IS VITAL -- VITAL BECAUSE
AMERICA MUST BASE ITS PROCUREMENT DECISIONS ON THE
FUTURE CAPACITY -- THE ACTUAL WEAPONS -- THAT ANY
SOVIET LEADER MIGHT HAVE AVAILABLE.
HERE, THERE ARE HOPEFUL SIGNS. FOR MR. GORBACHEV
IS TAKING SOME STEPS TO REDUCE THE THREAT POSED BY THE
MASSIVE MILITARY MACHINE THAT IS THE SOVIET ARMED
FORCES. WE APPLAUD THOSE MOVES. AND WE HOPE THERE
WILL BE MORE -- MANY MORE.
- 12 -
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WE CANNOT CAUSE THE SOVIET
UNION TO REDUCE ITS FORCES BY UNILATERALLY DISARMING
OURSELVES. PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE PRECISELY BECAUSE WE
HAVE BEEN STRONG. so FAR, IN TERMS OF CUTTING
STRATEGIC WEAPON SYSTEMS, SOVIET WORDS HAVE NOT BEEN
MATCHED BY DEEDS. OUR OWN STRATEGIC MODERNIZATION
PROGRAM MUST DEAL WITH DEEDS. AND ENCOURAGE THE SOVIET
UNION TO WORK WITH US IN REDUCING THE THREAT OF NUCLEAR
WAR.
THAT IS WHY WE HAVE BEGUN A VITAL PROGRAM TO
MODERNIZE OUR STRATEGIC TRIAD. AND BY THAT I MEAN:
SUBMARINES, MISSILES, AND BOMBERS.
WE HAVE CALLED FOR TWO TRIDENT SUBMARINES TO BE
FUNDED IN 1990 AND 1991. TODAY, I RENEW THAT CALL.
AND REAFFIRM MY COMMITMENT TO THE SECOND PART OF OUR
TRIAD: STRATEGIC LAND-BASED MISSILES. ALREADY, THE
SOVIET UNION IS DEPLOYING TWO MOBILE SYSTEMS. WE HAVE
NONE. WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH OUR MOBILE
PROGRAMS. NOT ONLY TO MODERNIZE OUR FORCES INTO THE
21ST CENTURY. BUT TO GAIN LEVERAGE FOR ARMS CONTROL.
- 13 -
WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS SIMPLE LOGIC. OR AS
SAM RAYBURN SAID, "IF A MAN HAS COMMON SENSE, HE HAS
ALL THE SENSE THERE IS."
ACCORDINGLY, OUR ICBM PROGRAM CALLS FOR A NEW
SINGLE-WARHEAD SMALL ICBM MISSILE AND OUR PEACEKEEPER
MULTI-WARHEAD ICBM. THE SMALL ICBM REPRESENTS THE
FUTURE OF OUR ICBM FORCE -- HIGHLY MOBILE WITH A SINGLE
WARHEAD -- THE VERY ESSENCE OF STABILITY AND
DETERRENCE. BUT IT WON'T BE READY UNTIL 1997. SO I
HAVE ASKED CONGRESS FOR FUNDS TO MAKE OUR EXISTING
PEACEKEEPERS MOBILE BY UTILIZING OUR RAIL SYSTEM IN AN
EMERGENCY -- PROVIDING SURVIVABILITY, AT LOW COST, FOR
THIS VERY EFFECTIVE AND PROVEN SYSTEM.
THE THIRD PART OF OUR DETERRENT TRIAD -- THE B-2
OR STEALTH BOMBER -- EMPLOYS ABSOLUTELY REVOLUTIONARY
TECHNOLOGY TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT IT CAN PENETRATE
DEFENSES AND ASSURE THE CREDIBILITY OF OUR DETERRENCE.
- 14 -
FINALLY, THERE'S THE LAST PART OF OUR DEFENSE
EQUATION -- THE STRATEGIC DEFENSE INITIATIVE. SDI WILL
BEGIN THE MOVEMENT FROM OFFENSIVE TO DEFENSIVE
DETERRENCE. AND DETER NOT MERELY EXISTING THREATS BUT
ALSO NATIONS ON THE VERGE OF POSSESSING NUCLEAR AND
CHEMICAL MISSILES. IF THAT'S NOT COMMON SENSE, I DON'T
LIKE FISHING.
FELLOW VETERANS, REAL PEACE IS NOT AN ACCIDENT.
so, LET US MODERNIZE OUR STRATEGIC FORCES. AND, THUS,
ENCOURAGE ARMS CONTROL.
WE NEED THE TRIDENT AND THE SMALL ICBM. WE NEED
THE PEACEKEEPER, B-2, AND SDI. AND I HAVE PROPOSED TO
THE CONGRESS AN AFFORDABLE BUDGET TO PAY FOR THEM. IT
IS A SOLID, WELL-THOUGHT-OUT AND ESSENTIAL PROGRAM.
THE CONGRESS SHOULD SUPPORT IT AND NOT TRY TO
SUBSTITUTE PET PROJECTS IN PLACE OF A CLOSELY
INTEGRATED STRATEGIC PROGRAM. FOR THIS, ABOVE ALL, WE
KNOW: WHEN IT COMES TO NATIONAL DEFENSE, FINISHING
SECOND MEANS FINISHING LAST.
- 15 - -
WE CAN HAVE AN AMERICA FREE FROM WAR, FREE FROM
DRUGS AND CRIME. AN AMERICA FREE FROM FEAR. WHAT A
WONDERFUL LEGACY - -- FOR THIS AND GENERATIONS OF
CHILDREN TO COME.
SOME MIGHT CALL IT ONLY A DREAM. I SAY: AMERICA
IS THE LAND OF DREAMS -- DREAMS THAT COME TRUE. GOD
BLESS YOU ALL, AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA.
# # # #
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Nine
September 5, 1989
LEGION
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: AMERICAN LEGION
BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1989
9:45 A.M.
Justice Gierke [GER-kee] -- as a fellow Legionnaire, let me
salute the first Viet Nam veteran to be selected National
Commander. And all of you who represent our Nation's largest and
fastest-growing veterans organization -- more than 3 million
members strong.
As always, it is a great privilege to join you. And a deep
personal pleasure to renew old ties. And to greet new friends.
Today is September 7th -- and I'm determined not to repeat
the mistake I made exactly one year ago when I referred to this
date as Pearl Harbor Day. I can still remember the gasp from
this audience.
Not surprisingly, anniversaries were on my mind as I
traveled here from Washington. Events like this 71st national
convention of the American Legion, or the 200th birthday of the
Coast Guard. Or the very first anniversary of the Department of
Veterans Affairs -- led by its Secretary and our good friend, Ed
Derwinski. A Department intent on serving you -- as you have
served your country.
Well, as you can imagine, these birthdays, in turn, got me
to thinking about another anniversary -- the 175th this year of
2
the "Star-Spangled Banner. " And how your convention lies so near
its famous birthplace.
Tuesday, you did something that would have pleased Francis
Scott Key -- and for which I thank you. For by supporting a
Constitutional Amendment making it illegal to desecrate the
American flag, you joined the crusade to protect the unique
symbol of America's honor. Our flag is too sacred to be abused.
Woodrow Wilson once called the flag "the embodiment, not of
sentiment, but of history." And then the 28th President went on
to say, "It represents the experiences made by men and women, the
experiences of those who do and live under that flag.' "
He meant, of course, that the flag -- like America --
represents many things. It represents self-expression and
opportunity. And democracy for all.
Like America, too, Old Glory reflects the values -- moral
and intellectual, economic and military -- that have made, and
keep, us strong.
And like America, the flag symbolizes the gallantry of
veterans who love their country -- giving themselves, and often
their lives, to its protection. Storming the beaches of Okinawa.
Scaling the cliffs of Normandy. Taking shell-torn hills named
Hamburger and Arrowhead.
Fellow veterans, for seven decades the "experiences" of the
American Legion -- its "men and women" -- have helped write the
Story of America and the story of our flag. And today -- in
peacetime as in wartime -- you write their stories still.
3
For the flag, like America, is more than "sentiment." It
lives. On the rugged island called Iwo Jima. It lifts. The
tiny hand of the little girl I saw on a street corner in Gdansk,
waving the Stars and Stripes. For both encapsulate freedom. The
freedom to vote as we want, and pray when and where we choose.
The freedom to go about our daily lives without tyranny or fear.
Fifty years ago this month, our allies went to war to
protect this freedom. For as panzer tanks crossed the Polish
frontier, and bombers savaged Warsaw, liberty confronted the evil
of fascism which -- even now -- defines hell on earth.
In the end, that conflict took more than 50 million lives.
And underscored, as few things have, man's inhumanity to man.
Our challenge today is to prove man's humanity to man by
preserving liberty without war. And thus secure what Franklin
Roosevelt called the "Four Freedoms": Freedom of speech, of
religion, freedom from want and fear.
Today, I want to focus on one of those freedoms -- freedom
from fear. The fear of war abroad. The fear of drugs and crime
at home.
To win that freedom -- to build a better, safer life -- will
require the bravery, and sacrifice, that Americans have shown
before. And must again. Already we have done much. Now, we
must do more. And achieve real peace -- both domestic and
foreign -- the kind of peace which lasts.
First, our mission at home -- to free our country from the
fear of drugs and crime. When we ask what kind of society the
3 Now, it's not tough enough this yes,y battles
L over He last Few days theres been - a 10 k from of the talk about people our who strategy. oppose
the Some, death incedibly, say well, it's that Laind of thinking lose the that war. So many [ ash you to
penalty. Let's not let these F critics of The was
Support altendy. our crime plan, And 4 also the other part our strategy:
L
against drugs.
American people deserve, our answer is -- and must be -- a Nation
in which law-abiding citizens are safe and feel safe.
two nights aso, I announced americas
That is why we have sent a comprehensive battle plan to
first computenceve national studegy to wm the was on drings and
Congress to put an end to the crime and drugs which plague the
United States.
First, our plan seeks to rid America of violent criminals
with an attack on four fronts. New laws -- to punish them. New
agents -- to arrest them. New prosecutors -- to convict them.
And new prisons -- to hold them.
Inshorn
2
We propose to change the rules of the game dramatically.
Mandatory time for firearms offenses. No deals when criminals
use a gun. And for the most heinous crimes -- you remember my
promise. For anyone who kills a law enforcement officer --- no
legal penalty is too tough. We want Congress to enact the steps
needed to implement the death penalty.
1
In
shor
our crime proposals are based on three principles.
Criminals in this Nation must understand that if they commit a
crime, they will be caught. And if caught, they will be
prosecuted. And if convicted, they will do time. By taking
hoods off the streets, we can -- and will -- take back the
streets.
I ask you to support our crime plan. And yet it's only one
part of the answer. So two nights ago, I announced America's
first domprehensive national strategy to win the war on drugs.
Our drug program aims to stop drug use before it starts.
strategy also
Through education and prevention -- from grade school to graduate
5
third
school. And, second, through treatment, to help addicts who want
to get clean. With special emphasis on expectant mothers. Then,
there's the third part of our strategy -- getting drug dealers
off the streets and behind bars where they belong. And for the
ultimate drug violators -- the kingpins themselves -- they should
pay the ultimate price Finally, we're going to work with other
governments to help crack international drug rings.
As veterans, you know how battles are often fought -- house-
by-house, block-by-block. Well, we'll win this battle the same
way. Winning kid-by-kid, neighborhood-by-neighborhood.
For years now, drugs have written a sad chapter in the
American story. This morning, I ask you to help write an ending
all of us can be proud of. Cops can't do it alone. Teachers
can't do it alone. The addict weary of abuse can't do it alone.
They need your help. And I know they' 11 get it -- just as you've
helped handicapped kids, donated blood, aided the National League
of Families, and spurred good government through programs like
Boys State and Girls State.
Today, for instance, Post Number 65 in Rosemont, Minnesota,
runs the program "Drug Talk." And in Russelville, Arkansas, I
especially like Post Number 20's giveaway of thousands of rulers.
Their message says it all. "You really measure up when you say
'No' to drugs."
You know -- as I do -- that we're in this together. So let
us fight on any front, and every front. Supply and demand.
Education and rehabilitation. Interdiction and enforcement. In
6
the cities, and the towns. Walter Lippmann once wrote of a
"Nation at the mercy of violence." America must never surrender
to the violence of drugs and crime -- the future of our children
depends on it.
This morning, I have talked about our mission to secure
freedom from fear at home. But we also have another mission -- a
global mission -- to free America from the fear of war.
Half-a-century ago, Ike, and Nimitz, and Jimmy Doolittle,
and millions of unsung heroes -- like many here today -- fought
to end a war. You fought at Guadalcanal and Monte Cassino. At
Bastogne and Bataan. You fought to rid the world of
totalitarianism and tyranny.
Our challenge may be less dramatic, but just as vital: To
secure freedom in a world at peace. Today, ours remains a global
stage, and America remains its leading player. And we must use
our strength to maintain peace and freedom. For this we know
from World War II: The best way to protect that freedom and
ensure real peace is for America to be militarily strong.
Thankfully, America today is strong. And our strength has
helped democracy's tide run in -- even as tyranny's tide runs
out. The new breeze of freedom, which I have spoken of before,
is blowing in Poland and Hungary, in countries East and West.
Yet with even hopeful change comes uncertainty. And with
uncertainty comes the need for vigilance. This is no time to
declare freedom's victory before the fact.
7
That is why we need a national defense that ensures a strong
and secure America. And why I'm pleased that the Senate largely
agrees. This week, our defense authorization bill moves to
House-Senate conference committee. There's just one problem:
The House version is unacceptable. It continues unneeded
programs costing nearly $20 billion from 1990-94. Holding our
defense budget hostage to pork-barrel projects that will strip
money from programs crucial to strategic modernization.
This modernization is vital -- vital because America must
base its procurement decisions not on perestroika and glasnost ---
but on the future capacity -- the actual weapons -- that any
Soviet leader might have available.
Here, there are hopeful signs. For Mr. Gorbachev is taking
some steps to reduce the threat posed by the massive military
machine that is the Soviet Armed Forces. We applaud those moves.
And we hope there will be more -- many more.
But at the same time, we cannot cause the Soviet Union to
ourselves
reduce its forces by our unilaterally disarming. For progress
has been made precisely because we have been strong. So far, in
terms of cutting modernized weapon systems, Soviet words have not
been matched by deeds. Our own strategic modernization program
must deal with deeds. And encourage the Soviet Union to work
with us in reducing the threat of nuclear war.
That is why we have begun a vital modernization program
involving all elements of our strategic traid. And by that I
mean: Submarines, missiles, and the B-2 bomber.
8
W have called for two Trident submarines to be funded in
1990 and 1991. Today, I renew that call. And reaffirm my
commitment to the second part of our triad: strategic land-based
missiles. Already, the Soviet Union is deploying two mobile
systems. We have none. We need to move forward with our mobile
programs. Not only to modernize our forces into the 21st
Century. But to gain leverage for arms control.
What we're talking about is simple logic. Or as Sam Rayburn
said, "If a man has common sense, he has all the sense there is." "
Accordingly, our program calls for two systems: A new
single-warhead small ICBM missile and our Peacekeeper multi-
warhead ICBM. The small ICBM represents the future of our ICBM
force -- highly mobile with a single warhead -- the very essence
of stability and deterrence. But it won't be ready until 1997.
So to fill the void, I have asked Congress for funds to make our
existing Peacekeepers mobile by utilizing our rail system in an
emergency - - providing survivability, at low cost, for this very
effective and proven system.
The third part of our deterrent triad -- the B-2 or Stealth
Bomber -- employs absolutely revolutionary technology to make
certain that it can penetrate defenses and assure the credibility
of our deterrence. And here's how: By deflecting Soviet massive
air defenses, it negates the possibility that the bomber leg of
the triad will be unable to continue to perform its mission.
Finally, there's the last part of our defense equation --
the Strategic Defense Initiative. SDI will begin the movement
9
from offensive to defensive deterrence. And deter not merely
existing threats but also Nations on the verge of possessing
nuclear and chemical missiles. If that's not common sense, I
don't like fishing.
Fellow veterans, real peace is not an accident. So, let us
modernize our strategic forces. And, thus, encourage arms
control. We need the Trident and the small ICBM. We need the
Peacekeeper, B--2, and SDI. And I have proposed to the Congress
an affordable budget to pay for them. It is a solid, well-
thought-out and essential program. The Congress should support
it and not try to substitute pet projects in place of a closely
integrated strategic program. For this, above all, we know:
When it comes to national defense, finishing second means
finishing last.
Twenty-seven years ago, Douglas MacArthur returned to the
Plain at West Point, where he gave a speech to the cadets. "The
soldier," he told them, "above all other people, prays for peace
-- for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of
war. "
Each of us knows the truth of General MacArthur's words.
Yes, at times, war has been inevitable -- at times, even
necessary. But not here. Not now. Not if we summon the heart
and will to build a more secure and peaceful world.
We can have an America free from war, free from drugs and
crime. An America free from fear. What a wonderful legacy --
for this and generations of children to come.
10
Some might call it only a dream. I say: America is the
land of dreams -- dreams that come true. God bless you all, and
God bless the United States of America.
# # # #