THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
_____________________________________________________________________
For Immediate Release January 4, 1994
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
TO CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY EMPLOYEES
CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia
10:12 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Mr. Woolsey. Tony
Lake and I are glad to be here -- and always seemed to me I ought to
visit the CIA on a snowy day. (Laughter.) Thank you for that warm
welcome.
I wanted to come here today for two reasons. First, to
meet you and to thank you, those of you who work for the Central
Intelligence Agency who devote your lives and your skills to the
service of our country. The second thing I wanted to do was to
commemorate those who have given their lives in the service of the
country through the Central Intelligence Agency. Intelligence is a
unique mission. Nobody knows that better than those of us who have
the honor to serve in the Oval Office.
When President Truman autographed the photo of himself
that hangs in this building, he wrote: "To the CIA, a necessity to
the President of the United States from one who knows."
Every morning the President begins the day asking what
happened overnight. What do we know, how do we know it. Like my
predecessors, I have to look to the intelligence community for the
answers to those questions. I look to you to warn me and, through
me, our nation of the threats, to spotlight the important trends in
the world, to describe dynamics that could affect our interests
around the world.
Those activities are particularly important now. The
end of the Cold War increases our security in many ways. You helped
to win that Cold War and it is fitting that a piece of the Berlin
Wall stands here on these grounds. But even now, this new world
remains dangerous and, in many ways, more complex and more difficult
to fathom. We need to understand more than we do about the
challenges of ethnic conflict, militant nationalism, terrorism and
the proliferation of all kinds of weapons. Accurate, reliable
intelligence is the key to understanding each of these challenges.
And without it, it is difficult to make good decisions in a crisis or
in the long-term.
I know that working in the intelligence community places
special demands on each and every one of you. It means you can't
talk freely about much of your work with your family and your
friends. For some, it means spending a lot of time far away from
home. For others, it's meant serving in situations of significant
personal danger. While much of your work is sensitive and cannot be
discussed publicly, I know what you do, I value it, and I respect you
for doing it. And I wanted to come here to say thank you.
(Applause.)
The 56 stars carved into the wall here in this lobby
remind each who passes by this place of the ultimate risks of
intelligence work. Each star memorializes a vibrant life given in
the service of our nation. Each star reminds of us freedom's high
price and how the high share some must bear that all the rest of us
must respect. My heart goes out to the families and to the friends
of each of those whose sacrifices are represented here.
Two of the stars added just this year commemorate two
devoted agency professionals who were slain last January entering
this compound -- Dr. Lansing Bennett and Frank Darling. All of us
were shocked and saddened when they were killed and others were
seriously injured. The First Lady represented me here at the
memorial service, but I want to say again personally how much I
admire the service that they gave, the sorrow and anger we all felt
and continue to feel about this outrageous act.
The CIA was established over 45 years ago to help
confront the challenges to democracy. These stars remind us that the
battle lines of freedom need not be thousands of miles away, but can
be right here in the midst of our communities with our families and
friends. Jim Woolsey and I know that all of you here today are
called to a very special kind of public service.
I celebrate your commitment, I appreciate your
contributions. As President, I will do my best to learn from you, to
help you to do your work and to stand by you. And on behalf of the
American people, let me say again, I thank you. (Applause.)
END10:14 A.M. EST
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