At first I was going to title this post:
"Guess who said this?", but then thought that I wouldn't be flip about it. If you haven't read this speech by Bill Clinton given on August 5th, 1996, please read it.
Here are some excerpts. The whole speech can be found at:
http://www.usconsulate.org.hk/pas/pr/1996/0806b.htmThe fact is America remains the indispensable nation. There are times when America, and only America, can make a difference between war and peace, between freedom and repression, between hope and fear. Of course, we can't take on all the world's burden. We cannot become its policemen. But where our interests and values demand it and where we can make a difference, America must act and lead.
Nowhere is that responsibility more clear or more urgent than in the struggle against terrorism. No one is immune, whether you're riding a subway in Tokyo or a bus in Tel Aviv, whether you're window shopping in London or walking the streets in Moscow, whether you're doing your duty in Saudi Arabia or going to work in Oklahoma City. Terrorism has become an equal opportunity destroyer, with no respect for borders.
Whether we like it or not, in ways both good and bad, we are living in an interdependent world. That's why we must break down the walls in our mind between foreign and domestic policy. And I might say, Mr. President, on this 175th anniversary, that is one of the intellectual objectives that I hope our great universities will commit themselves to
<snip>
But I want to make it clear to the American people that while we can defeat terrorists, it will be a long time before we defeat terrorism. America will remain a target because we are uniquely present in the world, because we act to advance peace and democracy, because we have taken a tougher stand against terrorism, and because we are the most open society on earth. But to change any of that, to pull our troops from the world's trouble spots, to turn our backs on those taking risks for peace, to weaken our opposition against terrorism, to curtail the freedom that is our birthright, would be to give terrorism a victory it must not and will not have.
In this fight, as in so many other challenges around the world, American leadership is indispensable. In assuming our leadership in the struggle against terrorism, we must be neither reluctant nor arrogant, but realistic, determined, and confident. And we must understand that in this battle, we must deploy more than police and military resources. Every one of you counts, every American counts.
Our greatest strength is our confidence. And that is the target of the terrorists. Make no mistake about it: The bombs that kill and maim innocent people are not really aimed at them, but at the spirit of our whole country and the spirit of freedom. Therefore, the struggle against terrorism involves more than the new security measures I have ordered and the others I am seeking. Ultimately, it requires the confident will of the American people to retain our convictions for freedom and peace and to remain the indispensable force in creating a better world at the dawn of a new century.