pd07my01 Remarks at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner...

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[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents]
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[Page 684]
 
Pages 679-711
 
Week Ending Friday, May 4, 2001
 
Statement on the Death of Richard M. Scammon

April 30, 2001

    Richard Scammon was a groundbreaking analyst of American politics. 
He brought rigor and insight to the study of elections. And he studied 
elections because he loved democracy. All who share that passion will 
miss him.


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[Page 684]
 
Pages 679-711
 
Week Ending Friday, May 4, 2001
 
Executive Order 13209--Amendment to Executive Order 13183, Establishment 
of the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's Status

April 30, 2001

    By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and 
the laws of the United States of America, and in order to extend by 3 
months the time in which the President's Task Force on Puerto Rico's 
Status is to report to the President as directed in Executive Order 
13183 of December 23, 2000, it is hereby ordered that section 4 of 
Executive Order 13183 is amended by deleting ``May 1, 2001'' and 
inserting in lieu thereof ``August 1, 2001''.
                                                George W. Bush
 The White House,
 April 30, 2001

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 9:07 a.m., May 1, 2001]

Note: This Executive order was published in the Federal Register on May 
2.


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[Page 684]
 
Pages 679-711
 
Week Ending Friday, May 4, 2001
 
Memorandum on Certification To Permit U.S. Contributions to the 
International Fund for Ireland

April 30, 2001

 Presidential Determination No. 2001-14

Memorandum for the Secretary of State

Subject: Certification to Permit U.S. Contributions to the International 
Fund for Ireland with Fiscal Year 2000 and 2001 Funds

    Pursuant to section 5(c) of the Anglo-Irish Agreement Support Act of 
1986 (Public Law 99-415), as amended in section 2811 of the Omnibus 
Consolidated and Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act, 1999 (as 
contained in Public Law 105-277), I hereby certify that I am satisfied 
that: (1) the Board of the International Fund for Ireland, as a whole, 
is broadly representative of the interests of the communities in Ireland 
and Northern Ireland; and (2) disbursements from the International Fund 
(a) will be distributed to individuals and entities whose practices are 
consistent with principles of economic justice; and (b) will address the 
needs of both communities in Northern Ireland and will create employment 
opportunities in regions and communities of Northern Ireland suffering 
from high rates of unemployment.
    You are authorized and directed to transmit this determination, 
together with the attached statement setting forth a detailed 
explanation of the basis for this certification, to the Congress.
    This determination shall be effective immediately and shall be 
published in the Federal Register.
                                                George W. Bush

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[Page 685]
 
Pages 679-711
 
Week Ending Friday, May 4, 2001
 
Proclamation 7431--Law Day, U.S.A., 2001

April 30, 2001

 By the President of the United States

 of America

 A Proclamation

    This year marks the 44th commemoration of May 1 as Law Day, U.S.A., 
a national day of observance to celebrate our legal heritage. On this 
occasion, we reflect on the role our legal system plays in the lives of 
every American and how the freedoms we enjoy would not be possible 
without a strong and independent judiciary. The theme of this year's Law 
Day, ``Ensuring the Rights of Victims,'' acknowledges our gratitude for 
a legal system that recognizes the importance of protecting the rights 
of those who are victimized by crime.
    This Law Day, I call upon all Americans to consider how the law, 
communities, and individuals can better assist and support victims of 
crime. We must continue to strive for a legal system in which victims 
receive timely and accurate information regarding offenders and relevant 
public proceedings. In appropriate circumstances, a victim of crime 
should have an opportunity for restitution. In addition, social services 
provided to victims of crime can give the assistance and support that 
victims deserve in the aftermath of crime.
    We are encouraged by the progress our country has made over the last 
three decades toward better assisting those whose lives are affected by 
criminal offenses. However, government and laws cannot effectively 
address this issue alone. More than 10,000 State- or community-based 
organizations provide help and hope to crime victims. I encourage 
Americans to celebrate, support, and consider joining these volunteers 
and other workers in service to their fellow citizens.
    Keeping faith with our commitment to the victims of crime also 
drives us to increased efforts to prevent crimes and effectively punish 
those who commit them, to ensure that similar violations are discouraged 
and law-abiding citizens are protected.
    Law Day provides an opportunity to express appreciation to 
professionals who accept the responsibility to serve justice. From 
attorneys to judges to the many other professionals working in our legal 
system, those who serve justice uphold the rule of law on which our 
democracy is built. They join with law enforcement professionals to give 
our people confidence to live without fear for their safety.
    We must each do our part to build a Nation in which civility and 
respect for our neighbors overwhelm the powers of injustice. As Thomas 
Jefferson wrote, ``It is reasonable that every one who asks justice 
should do justice.'' I encourage all Americans to join with members of 
the legal community in protecting the rights of crime victims and in 
celebrating a legal system that, while not perfect, is the best the 
world has ever known.
    Now, Therefore, I, George W. Bush, President of the United States of 
America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and 
laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2001, as Law Day, 
U.S.A. I call upon all the people of the United States to observe this 
day with appropriate ceremonies and activities. I also call upon 
Government officials to display the flag of the United States in support 
of this national observance.
    In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day 
of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand one, and of the 
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-
fifth.
                                                George W. Bush

 [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., May 2, 2001]

Note: This proclamation was released by the Office of the Press 
Secretary on May 1, and it was published in the Federal Register on May 
3.


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Week Ending Friday, May 4, 2001
 
Remarks at the National Defense University

May 1, 2001

    Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary. I appreciate you being here. I 
also want to thank Secretary Powell for being here, as well. My National 
Security Adviser, Condi Rice, is here, as well as the Vice Chairman of 
the Joint Chiefs, General Myers. I appreciate

[[Page 686]]

Admiral Clark and General Ryan here--for being here, as well. But most 
of all, I want to thank you, Admiral Gaffney, and the students for NDU 
for having me here today.
    For almost 100 years, this campus has served as one of our country's 
premier centers for learning and thinking about America's national 
security. Some of America's finest soldiers have studied here--Dwight 
Eisenhower and Colin Powell. Some of America's finest statesmen have 
taught here--George Kennan.
    Today, you're carrying on this proud tradition forward, continuing 
to train tomorrow's generals, admirals, and other national security 
thinkers, and continuing to provide the intellectual capital for our 
Nation's strategic vision.
    This afternoon I want us to think back some 30 years to a far 
different time in a far different world. The United States and the 
Soviet Union were locked in a hostile rivalry. The Soviet Union was our 
unquestioned enemy, a highly armed threat to freedom and democracy. Far 
more than that wall in Berlin divided us. Our highest ideal was--and 
remains--individual liberty; theirs was the construction of a vast 
Communist empire. Their totalitarian regime held much of Europe captive 
behind an Iron Curtain.
    We didn't trust them, and for good reason. Our deep differences were 
expressed in a dangerous military confrontation that resulted in 
thousands of nuclear weapons pointed at each other on hair trigger 
alert. Security of both the United States and the Soviet Union was based 
on a grim premise that neither side would fire nuclear weapons at each 
other because doing so would mean the end of both nations.
    We even went so far as to codify this relationship in a 1972 ABM 
Treaty, based on the doctrine that our very survival would best be 
ensured by leaving both sides completely open and vulnerable to nuclear 
attack. The threat was real and vivid. The Strategic Air Command had an 
airborne command post called the Looking Glass aloft 24 hours a day, 
ready in case the President ordered our strategic forces to move towards 
their targets and release their nuclear ordnance.
    The Soviet Union had almost 1.5 million troops deep in the heart of 
Europe, in Poland and Czechoslovakia, Hungary and East Germany. We used 
our nuclear weapons not just to prevent the Soviet Union from using 
their nuclear weapons but also to contain their conventional military 
forces, to prevent them from extending the Iron Curtain into parts of 
Europe and Asia that were still free.
    In that world, few other nations had nuclear weapons and most of 
those who did were responsible allies, such as Britain and France. We 
worried about the proliferation of nuclear weapons to other countries, 
but it was mostly a distant threat, not yet a reality.
    Today, the Sun comes up on a vastly different world. The Wall is 
gone, and so is the Soviet Union. Today's Russia is not yesterday's 
Soviet Union. Its Government is no longer Communist. Its President is 
elected. Today's Russia is not our enemy but a country in transition 
with an opportunity to emerge as a great nation, democratic, at peace 
with itself and its neighbors. The Iron Curtain no longer exists. 
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic are free nations, and they are 
now our Allies in NATO, together with a reunited Germany.
    Yet, this is still a dangerous world, a less certain, a less 
predictable one. More nations have nuclear weapons and still more have 
nuclear aspirations. Many have chemical and biological weapons. Some 
already have developed the ballistic missile technology that would allow 
them to deliver weapons of mass destruction at long distances and at 
incredible speeds. And a number of these countries are spreading these 
technologies around the world.
    Most troubling of all, the list of these countries includes some of 
the world's least responsible states. Unlike the cold war, today's most 
urgent threat stems not from thousands of ballistic missiles in Soviet 
hands but from a small number of missiles in the hands of these states, 
states for whom terror and blackmail are a way of life. They seek 
weapons of mass destruction to intimidate their neighbors and to keep 
the United States and other responsible nations from helping allies and 
friends in strategic parts of the world.
    When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, the world joined forces 
to turn him back. But the international community would have faced a 
very different situation had

[[Page 687]]

Hussein been able to blackmail with nuclear weapons. Like Saddam 
Hussein, some of today's tyrants are gripped by an implacable hatred of 
the United States of America. They hate our friends. They hate our 
values. They hate democracy and freedom and individual liberty. Many 
care little for the lives of their own people. In such a world, cold war 
deterrence is no longer enough.
    To maintain peace, to protect our own citizens and our own allies 
and friends, we must seek security based on more than the grim premise 
that we can destroy those who seek to destroy us. This is an important 
opportunity for the world to rethink the unthinkable and to find new 
ways to keep the peace.
    Today's world requires a new policy, a broad strategy of active 
nonproliferation, counterproliferation, and defenses. We must work 
together with other like-minded nations to deny weapons of terror from 
those seeking to acquire them. We must work with allies and friends who 
wish to join with us to defend against the harm they can inflict. And 
together we must deter anyone who would contemplate their use.
    We need new concepts of deterrence that rely on both offensive and 
defensive forces. Deterrence can no longer be based solely on the threat 
of nuclear retaliation. Defenses can strengthen deterrence by reducing 
the incentive for proliferation.
    We need a new framework that allows us to build missile defenses to 
counter the different threats of today's world. To do so, we must move 
beyond the constraints of the 30-year-old ABM Treaty. This Treaty does 
not recognize the present or point us to the future; it enshrines the 
past. No treaty that prevents us from addressing today's threats, that 
prohibits us from pursuing promising technology to defend ourselves, our 

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