Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr11/wh930505.zip/5-5C.TXT

Internet Message Format | 1993-06-03 | 8KB

From @lex-luthor.ai.mit.edu:[e-mail]  Wed May  5 15:45:14 1993
Date: Wed, 5 May 1993 14:33-0400
From: The White House <[e-mail]>
To: [e-mail],
Subject: Remarks by the President to Gen. Johnston & Staff  5.5.93

                           THE WHITE HOUSE

                    Office of the Press Secretary

____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release                                    May 5, 1993

                       REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
                    TO GENERAL JOHNSTON AND STAFF

                            The South Lawn

10:37 A.M. EDT

         THE PRESIDENT:  To all of our distinguished guests from
all the services, to General Powell and the Joint Chiefs, Secretary
Aspin, Mr. Vice President, ladies and gentlemen.  And especially to
General Johnston and the men and women of the Unified Task Force in
Somalia.

         General Johnston has just reported to me mission
accomplished.  And so, on behalf of all the American people, I say to
you, General, and to all whom you brought with you:  Welcome home,
and thank you for a job very, very well done.  (Applause.)

         You represent the thousands who served in this crucial
operation -- in the First Marine Expeditionary Force, in the Army
10th Mountain Division, aboard the Navy's Tripoli Amphibious Ready
Group, in the Air Force and Air National Guard airlift squadrons, and
in other units in each of our services.  Over 30,000 American
military personnel served at sometime in these last five months in
Somalia.  And serving alongside you were thousands of others from 20
nations.

         Although your mission was humanitarian and not combat,
you nonetheless faced difficult and dangerous conditions.  You
sometimes were subjected to abuse and forced to dodge rocks and even
bullets.  You saw firsthand the horror of hunger, disease, and death.
But you pressed on with what you set out to do and you were
successful.  You have served in the best tradition of the Armed
Forces of the United States, and you have made the American people
very, very proud.

         In the weeks to come, we will formally recognize the
contributions of those who participated in Operation Restore Hope.
But earlier today, to honor their accomplishments and that of all who
supported that effort, I awarded to General Johnston the Defense
Distinguished Service Medal in recognition not only of his
extraordinary service, but also of all those who served with him so
well.  Thank you all for your dedicated work.  (Applause.)

         To understand the magnitude of what our forces in
Somalia accomplished, the world need only look back at Somalia's
condition just six months ago.  Hundreds of thousands of people were
starving, armed anarchy ruled the land and the streets of every city
and town.  Today, food is flowing, crops are growing, schools and
hospitals are reopening.  Although there is still much to be done if
enduring peace is to prevail, one can now envision a day when Somalia
will be reconstructed as a functioning civil society.

         If all of you who served had not gone, it is absolutely
certain that tens of thousands would have died by now.  You saved
their lives.  You gave the people of Somalia the opportunity to look
beyond starvation and focus on their future and the future of their
children.  Although you went on a mission of peace, eight Americans
did not return.  We salute each of them.  We thank them and their
families.  America will never forget what they did or what they gave.
To their loved ones we extend our hearts and our prayers.

         As we honor the service of those who have returned and
those who did not, it is fitting that we reflect on what the
successful mission signifies for the future.  This, the largest
humanitarian relief operation in history, has written an important
new chapter in the international annals of peacekeeping and
humanitarian assistance.

         You have shown that the work of the just can prevail
over the arms of the warlords.  You have demonstrated that the world
is ready to mobilize its resources in new ways to face the challenges
of a new age.  And you have proved yet again that American leadership
can help to mobilize international action to create a better world.

         You also leave behind a U.N. peacekeeping force with a
significant American component.  This force is a reflection of the
new era we have entered, for it has Americans participating in new
ways.

         Just hours ago, General Johnston turned over command to
General Bir of Turkey as UNTAF become UNOSOM II.  You set the stage
and made it possible for that force to do its mission and for the
Somalis to complete the work of rebuilding and creating a peaceful,
self-sustaining and democratic civil society.

         Your successful return reminds us that other missions
lie ahead for our nation -- some we can foresee and others we cannot.
As always we stand ready to defend our interests, working with others
where possible and by ourselves where necessary.  But increasingly in
this new era, we will need to work an array of multinational partners
often in new arrangements.  You have proved again that that is
possible.  You have proved again that our involvement in multilateral
efforts need not be open-ended or ill-defined, that we can go abroad
and accomplish some distinct objectives, and then come home again
when the mission is accomplished.

         Some will ask why, if the Cold War ended, we must still
support the world's greatest military forces, the kind that General
Johnston and his comrades represent.  I say it is because we still
have interests, we still face threats, we still have
responsibilities.  The world has not seen the end of evil, and
America can lead other countries to share more of the
responsibilities that they ought to be shouldering.

         Some will ask why we must so often be the one to lead.
Well, of course we cannot be the world's policeman, but we are, and
we must continue to be, the world's leader.  That is the job of the
United States of America.  And so today, America opens its arms in a
hearty welcome home.

         General, to you and all the men and women who served
with you, you have the admiration of the world and the thanks of your
country for continuing the tradition of our Armed Forces and the
values that make us proud to be Americans, and for proving that we
can lead and serve in new ways in a new world.

         In the words of the Scriptures:  Blessed are the
peacemakers.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

         GENERAL JOHNSTON:  I would like to say that this has
been, in a very long military career, maybe one of the most
gratifying missions.  To have seen young children who stared at you
emotionless because they probably didn't know what it was like to
ever be happy, struggling to survive.  And to have seen a U.S.-led
coalition able to turn that around makes us feel awfully good to be
Americans.  And I think that what we've seen, especially -- I'm
receiving the medal, but a lot of 18 and 19-year-old men and women in
uniform who demonstrated enormous discipline, good judgment and a
good deal of patience in performing a rather unique mission.  I don't
think that any other country in the world could have done what we did
to have led this coalition.  And I saw it in the response of Somalis
who, when they saw an American in the Chocolate Chip, would give you
this sign or this sign and say "American."  It is a good feeling to
be an American, to be wearing this uniform, and very importantly, to
be back in the United States.

         And thank you all for your great support over these past
five months.  And especially my thanks to the President of the United
States, our Commander-in-Chief, for giving us such a warm welcome
home.  Thank you very much.  (Applause.)

                                 END10:47 A.M. EDT