THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
________________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release July 14, 1995
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO STAFF OF THE CIA AND INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY
Central Intelligence Agency
McLean, Virginia
11:45 A.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. Director Deutch and
Mrs. Deutch, Deputy Director and Mrs. Tenant, members of Congress,
members of the Aspin Commission who are here, men and women of the
intelligence community: I can't help thinking here at the Central
Intelligence Agency that if we were giving intelligence awards today
they would go to the people back there under the trees. (Laughter.)
Congratulations to all of you for your adaptation of the natural
environment to the task at hand.
Before I begin my remarks today I'd like to take care of
an important piece of business. Just a month ago it was with regret
but great gratitude for his 32 years of service to our country that I
accepted the resignation of Admiral Bill Studeman as the Deputy
Director of Central Intelligence. Today it is with great pleasure
that I award him the President's National Security Medal.
(Applause.)
Admiral Studeman, Mrs. Studeman, please come up.
(Applause.)
This is the highest award a member of our intelligence
community, military or civilian, can receive. And no one deserves it
more and the honor it represents. Most of you are well aware of
Bill's extraordinary and exemplary career in the Navy, at the
National Security Agency, and then here at the CIA. Let me say that
as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, he served two Presidents
and three DCIs. For two extended periods he took on the
responsibilities of acting director. He provided continuity and
leadership to this community at a time of change and great challenge.
Here, in Congress and throughout the Executive Branch, he earned a
reputation for integrity, competence, and reliability of the highest
order.
He has dedicated his professional life to making the
American people safer and more secure. And today it is only fitting
among those who know best the contributions he has made to our
country to award him this medal as a small measure of thanks for a
job well done and a life well lived.
Thank you, Admiral. (Applause.)
You know as the Studemans make their way back to their
chairs, I have to tell you that even though I have a lot of important
things to say, I am loathe to make this speech in this heat. Once in
the middle of a campaign for governor I went up to a place in
northeast Arkansas to make a speech for a county judge who was
determined that I had to come to celebrate this road that he had
built with funds that I gave him. He neglected to tell me that the
road ended in the middle of a rice field. (Laughter.) The only
people that are laughing are the people that understand what this
means. In the summertime in a rice field, there is nothing but heat
and mosquitos.
And a swarm of mosquitos came up in the middle of his
introduction, literally hundreds of thousands of mosquitos. It was
so bad that people were slapping at their cheeks and their legs and
blood was streaming down people's faces and cheeks. And this judge
was one of the rare people that mosquitoes would never bite.
(Laughter.) I had been Governor for 10 years; these people knew me
better than he did. He took six minutes to introduce me. It seemed
like it was six years. (Laughter.)
And I finally was introduced and I gave the following
speech: Folks, I have a good speech, if you want to hear it, come to
the air-conditioned building down there. If we don't get out of here
we'll all die. If you reelect me I'll kill every mosquito in the
county. (Laughter and applause.)
I have to tell you that after that I never received less
than two-thirds of the vote in that county. (Laughter.) So I'm
loathed to give this speech. But I will cut it down and say what I
have to say to you because it's very important that I say these
things, and very important that America know that you're here and
what you're doing.
Fifty-four years ago, in the weeks that led up to Pearl
Harbor, there was a wide range of intelligence suggesting a Japanese
attack that made its way to Washington. But there was no clear
clearinghouse to collect the information and to get it to the
decision-makers. That is what led President Truman to establish a
Central Intelligence organization.
In the years since, the men and women of the CIA and its
sister agencies have done more than most Americans will or can ever
know to keep our nation strong and secure, and to advance the cause
of democracy and freedom around the world.
Today, because the Cold War is over, some say that we
should and can step back from the world and that we don't need
intelligence as much as we used to; that we ought to severely cut the
intelligence budget. A few have even urged us to scrap the Central
Intelligence service. I think these views are profoundly wrong. I
believe making deep cuts in intelligence during peacetime is
comparable to cancelling your health insurance when you're feeling
fine.
We are living at a moment of hope. Our nation is at
peace, our economy is growing, all right. All around the world
democracy and free markets are on the march. But none of these
developments are inevitable or irreversible, and every single study
of human psychology or the human spirit -- every single religious
track tells us that there will be troubles, wars and rumors of war
until the end of time.
Now, instead of a single enemy, we face a host of
scattered and dangerous challenges, but they are quite profound and
difficult to understand. There are ethnic and regional tensions that
threaten to flare into full-scale war in more than 30 nations. Two
dozen countries are trying to get their hands on nuclear, chemical,
and biological weapons. As these terrible tools of destruction
spread, so, too, spreads the potential for terrorism and for
criminals to acquire them. And drug trafficking, organized crime and
environmental decay threaten the stability of new and emerging
democracies, and threaten our well-being here at home.
In the struggle against these forces, you, the men and
women of our intelligence community, serve on the front lines. By
necessity, a lot of your work is hidden from the headlines. But in
recent months alone you warned us when Iraq massed its troops against
the Kuwaiti border. You provided vital support to our peacekeeping
and humanitarian missions in Haiti and Rwanda. You helped to strike
a blow at a Colombian drug cartel. You uncovered bribes that would
have cheated American countries out of billions of dollars. Your
work has saved lives and promoted America's prosperity. I am here
today first and foremost to thank you and your families for the work
and sacrifices you have made for the security of the United States of
America. (Applause.)
I want to work with you to maintain the information and
the intelligence advantage we have, and to meet the demands of a new
era. Today our government is deluged with more and more information
from more and more sources. What once was secret can now be
available to anybody with cable TV or access to the Internet. It
moves around the world at record speed. And in order to justify
spending billions of dollars in this kind of environment on
intelligence and to maintain our edge, you have to deliver timely,
unique information that focuses on real threats to the security of
our people on the basis of information not otherwise available.
That means we have to rethink what we collect and how we
organize the intelligence community to collect it. We must be
selective. We can't possibly have in a world with so many diverse
threats and tight budgets the resources to collect everything. You
need and deserve clear priorities from me and our national security
team.
Earlier this year I set out in a presidential decision
directive what we most want you to focus on -- priorities that will
remain under constant review, but still are clear enough at the
present time. First, the intelligence needs of our military during
an operation. If we have to stand down Iraqi aggression in the Gulf
or stand for democracy in Haiti, our military commanders must have
prompt, thorough intelligence to fully inform their decisions and
maximize the security of our troops.
Second, political, economic and military intelligence
about countries hostile to the United States. We must also compile
all source information on major political and economic powers with
weapons of mass destruction who are potentially hostile to us.
Third, intelligence about specific trans-national
threats to our security, such as weapons proliferation, terrorism,
drug trafficking, organized crime, illicit trade practices and
environmental issues of great gravity.
This work must be done today and it is vital to our
security. But it cannot be immune to the tough budget climate in
which we are all living. That's why I'm pleased that more than every
before, our intelligence agencies are cooperating to work efficiently
and to eliminate duplication. You are already implementing on or
ahead of schedule 33 streamlining recommendations set out by Vice
President Gore and former DCI Woolsey, as well as changes proposed by
Director Deutch.
Acting apart, our agencies waste resources and squander
opportunities to make our country more secure. But acting together,
they bring a powerful force to bear on threats to our security.
Let me also say that I believe there is no zero sum
choice to be made between the technological and human dimensions of
intelligence. We need both and we will have both. We've used
satellites and signals to identify troop movements, to point agents
in the right direction, to tap into secret important conversations.
Today, some of your extraordinary in-house innovations are available
for broader use -- and I am interested in learning more about them --
imagery technology, developed for the Cold War now being used in aid
to natural disaster relief; imagery technology with great hope for
the fight against breast cancer. We have to keep moving on this kind
of technological frontier.
But no matter how good our technology, we'll always rely
on human intelligence to tell us what an adversary has in mind.
We'll always need gifted, motivated case officers at the heart of the
clandestine service. We'll always need good analysts to make a clean
and clear picture out of the fragments of what our spies and
satellites put on the table.
And if we're going to continue to attract and keep the
best people we have to do a better job of rewarding work. I think
the best way to do that is for the communities leadership to
demonstrate to you that excellence of performance, equal opportunity
and personal accountability are the only standards that will count
when it comes to promotion. And that is what Director Deutch has
pledged to do.
Let me say that I know the Ames scandal has colored a
lot of what is the current debate over the future of the CIA. I
imagine most of you who work here think that the Ames scandal has
colored what the average American thinks about the CIA, although my
guess is that you're probably overestimating that and underestimating
the common sense and balance of an average American citizen. It's
important that we don't minimize the damage that Ames did or the
charges that need to be made -- the changes that need to be made to
prevent future scandals. But Aldridge Ames was a terrible exception
to a proud tradition of service -- a tradition that is reflected in
the 59 stars that shine on the CIA's memorial wall in honor of those
who gave our lives -- their lives to serve our country.
So we owe it to all of you in the intelligence community
and to the American people to make sure we act on the lessons of his
treason, but also to remind the American people that the people who
work for the Central Intelligence Agency are patriotic Americans who
have made a decision that they are going to devote their careers to
keeping this country safe and strong. And I thank you for that.
(Applause.)
As soon as Ames was brought to justice, I ordered a
comprehensive reexamination in both internal and external studies of
our counterintelligence operations. As a result, we changed the way
intelligence community does its business. Each agency now requires
more attention and continuous training in counterintelligence and
evaluates its employees more thoroughly and frequently.
Above all, we are insisting that those involved in an
operation take responsibility for its integrity. That requires
careful advanced planning that integrates counterintelligence into
everything you do from day one. This isn't just about safes and
locks, it's about designing operations that minimize the possibility
of a security breakdown.
Director Deutch and I want to ensure that these new
policies are carried out carefully so that we can avoid creating a
climate of suspicion that embitters rather than empowers you. As we
guard against a repeat of the Ames episode, we have to be careful not
to produce a culture so risk averse that case officers refuse to take
chances and analysts are afraid to speak their minds. You must not
be paralyzed by the fear of failure.
This administration will continue to support bold and
aggressive actions by the intelligence community consistent with the
laws of the land, consistent with our interests, and consistent with
our values. I applaud Director Deutch's plan, for example, to issue
new rules on dealing with foreign agents suspected of human rights
abuses. We owe you clear guidance on this issue. And as a country,
we have to resolve it in the right way.
Finally, we owe the American public and Congress a full
role in the debate over the future of intelligence. For over 40
years, bipartisan support for the work you perform has been central
to your success. That support and the confidence of the American
people were built on the unique oversight and consultative role
Congress plays in intelligence. That's why Director Deutch and I
will take with the utmost seriousness the concerns and suggestions of
both the Congress and the Aspin Commission.
Every morning I start my day with an intelligence
report. The intelligence I receive informs just about every foreign
policy decision we make. It's easy to take it for granted, but we
couldn't do without it. Unique intelligence makes it less likely
that our forces will be sent into battle, less likely that American
lives will have to put at risk. It gives us a chance to prevent
crisis instead of forcing us to manage them.
So let me say to all the men and women of our
intelligence community, I know and you know the challenges we face
today will not be easy, but we know that you are already working
every day to increase the security of every American. You are making
a difference. Now we have to work together and I have to support you
so that we can meet the challenge of doing this work even better with
even more public support and confidence in its integrity and
long-term impact. That is my commitment to you as you renew your
commitment to America, in a world fraught with danger, but filled
with promise that you will help us to seize.
Thank you very much and God bless you all. (Applause.)
END 12:03 P.M. EDT
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