-
https://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/files/original/4111ea2cfe94885a3d53461623c9256c.pdf
c9047cba8399b17c5f36d01c4b48bf8e
PDF Text
Text
Case Number: 2006:.0459-F
FOIA
MARKER
This is· not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the Clinton Presidential
Library Staff.
Folder Title:
Chem"ical Weapons Convention Statement 9112/96
Staff Office-Individual:
Speechwriting-Blinken
1
Original OA/ID Numb~r:
3381
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
Stack:
48
5
10
2
v
�·.:c
I
9/12/96 I :30 p.m.
jPRESIDENT WIT.,LIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
STATEMENT ON THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
SEPTEMBER 12, 1996
h~J~) ~J
·
that today, the Senat~po~ebate on the Chemical Weapons
I
Convention. I hope that the Senate will bring this treaty to a vote as soon as possible -- and that
it will resist any efforts to amend the treaty in such a way as to fatally undermine it.
The Chemical Weapons Convention has received strong bi-partisan
e enate would consent to 1ts ratification to
support.~ was my hope and
As the many Republicans and
I
fl-:~
Democrats who have worked with us on this know so very weir,,tn~~wi.c:~Wla~ns
CQJ.llrentiQfl will increase the safety of America's soldiers and citizens by dramatically reducing the
[-f-o~
danger posed by poison gas. Rather than risk losing the treai)yrt makes sense to postpone debate
until a more favorable political climate prevails. We cannot afford to play partisan politics with
On
America's security.
·
V.
() 4l'CL-
11\1+
-fo
-fr~ fo-... ':"'"'L
{vlb (h r-·c
pvfp..:. Lvbt:..
1
,i
u.J_
(~t ~. ..
k- 1;--t
""' ._k -f..,.
f"r'
It's been nearly four years since the Bush Administration signed the Chemical Weapons
Convention and almost three years since I submitted it to
Congress~
N"
So we've been at this for a
k
L; ~··~ .
p./d~J'J
while and I have no intention of stopping here. America's military supports this treaty. Our
foreign policy leadership on both sides of the aisle supports this treaty. I especially want to thank
Senators Lugar and Stevens for their hard work and former President Bush, fo.rmer National
�2
.
.
·Security Adviser Scowcroft, former .Secretary of State Eagle burger and former Chairman of the
Joints Chiefs of Staff Powell for their support.
.
..
. .
.
. We need to get. this done -- and we need to get this done
. . , ,
+v{]c.-:-4 J~ .
1
v~ tH;~... ~
lv~pt-,
r-
.
toge~We need to send a strong
message as a country that ·America will do its part to banish poison from this earth -- and that we
will do everything in our power to protect our soldiers and our people from the terrible .
destructive power of chemical weapons. We did not succeed today. But I will keep working with
Republicans and Democrats for as long as it take to get the job done.
�..
·t..:.
:-.
9/12/96 3:30p.m.
PRESIDENT WII,;LIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
STATEMENT ON THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION.
SEPTEMBER 12, 1996
I deeply regret that today, the Senate had to postpone debate on the Chemical Weapons
Convention. As the many Republicans and Democrats.who have worked with us on this know,
this treaty will increase the safety of America's soldiers and citizens by significantly reducing the
danger posed by poison gas. Rather than risk losing the treaty today, it makes sense to postpone
debate while we work to reach agreement on certain amendments -- and secure the universal
support this treaty deserV-es.
It's been nearly four years since the Bush Administration signed the Chemical Weapons
Convention and almost threeyears since I submitted it to Congress. So we've been at this for a
while and I have no intention of stoppinghere. America's military supports this treaty. Foreign
policy leaders~ on both sides of the aisle support this treaty .. I especially want to thank
Senators Daschle, Nuim, Levin, Lugar and Stevens for their hard work -- and former President
Bush, former National Security Adviser Scowcro:ft, former Secretary of State Eagleburger and
former Chairman of the Joints Chiefs Powell for their efforts.
We need to get this done-- and we need to get this done together. We cannot afford to play
partisan politics with America's security.
0
uld be sending a strong message as a country
~c..f
that America will do its part to banish poison rom this earth -- and that we will do everything in
our power to protect our soldiers from the terrible destructive power of chemical weapons and to
�. .
"
~·
2
keepsuch weapo.ns out ofthe hands ofterrorists. We did not .Succeed today. But I will keep
working with Republicans and Democrats for as long as it takes to get the job done.
�9/12/96 1:00 p.m.
PRESIDENT WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON
STATEMENT ON THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA
SEPTEMBER 12, 1996
~-----
missed an historic opportunity to increase the safety of America's soldiers and
citizens. Alma t three years after! submitted the Chemical Weapons Convention to the Senate
.
.
for ratification an eleventh hour poison pill amendment :was.added at til~ t:BEftiest offurmer
~eHatsr ];)ek that would have made it impossible for the United States to adhere to the treaty fait;.
that would have held up formal ratification by the United States fm the indefinite future.J_
Accoraingl:y, I have withdrawn the treaty from the Senate with the intention of resubmitting it_
-tkwhen.
The Chemical Weapons Convention would not have banished poison gas overnight. No treaty
· could do that. But this treaty would have put us on the right track toward dramatically reducing
· the danger from these weapons of mass destruction. That's why President Bush negotiated and
signed the Chemical Weapons Convention. And that is why it has been strongly supported by
America's military leaders, such as General Shalikashvili, and by the leaders of the bipartisan
foreign policy mainstream, including General Powell and Senator Lugar.
Passage of the treaty would have reduced the chance of American troops ever facing a chemical
weapons attack. It requires all who ratify it to destroy their chemical weapons stockpiles and to
forswear ever developing, producing or acquiring these armaments. Remember, because of
�..
2
President Bush's decision, the United States is already and independently destroying our chemical
weapons
--l'
it is clearly in our interest to have other nations destroy theirs and commit to never
producing them again.
The treaty also would have isolated rogues states like Iraq -- which had a large chemical weapons
program. New trade restrictions would have prohibited others from selling to these countries the
ingredients they need to build chemical weapons. That,
too~learly in our interest.
We saw the awful destructive power of chemical terror last year when Sarin gas was released in
the Tokyo subway. This treaty would~ help~yrev~nt such anattack here in America. Tens
of thousands of tons of poison gas in existing stockpiles would have been destroyed -- and
removed from the reach for terrorists. Trade controls would have denied terrorists easy access to
ingredients they seek. And our law enforcement would have had powerful new tools to
investigate those who seek to develop, produce, transfer or use chemical weapons ..
The treaty also provided for a strong verification system. When President Bush negotiated the
treaty the belief was -- and it remains -- that this system should be as tough as possible while
balancing the interest of American companies. The treaty does that, providing for on-site
inspection on short notice. But it achieves this goal in a reasonable way -- which is why it has the
backing of our major chemical producers. Opponents of the treaty who fault the verification
provisions set an impossible standard. And they would have us throw away real, concrete
\
benefits such as verification and stockpile destruction.
�I
3
T'__ ,
',
•• .• r
•
.
'r'.'_.
Ia I ..
j-.....,, f ,. t.\
i
c--{ ~. u
···~ ,. (, •.1 11
I
\ .. , ~1
'
.
'
,,{ q•'·l
··-...._.
\\
'\,
:~
'
•
~-~· l \ (',~
Jl
I 11\.l
-· '
{ t tJ
~
;;.• "'( '1 \'l
.
;
.
~ ....
•
\
l _)
.
.·
Opponents 9f the Convention who say that it lets Iraq and o_th..ei' r~e states that refuse to sign
\ 1
J
I
I.
•
'
off the hook also make. a self-defeating"i£1{l~~~- . THeY
_·-
.
fl{:~ holdi~g the t~eaty hostage to the lowest
......__.) •i
(J l,.-·\\ .....__
.
common denominat~ -- cind forgetting the importance of trade controls that could help keep
(
'
••• ...__
#
. • l .. \
\
1
"'•·
'·'
-~
1 \)
•
l
I
l
'
1
t
I
l
'
•
these nations fro,.· building ch~mlcal· {v~apon"§... 'trhes&o{-itics ~~ f11aking the perfect the enemy of
f
•
\
{~
,)__,.,_,
.
I'
I. I,
\
.
I
I.
_.
.
•
I
•
j
I.:.J:.,'I
(\j-'
I
;
\.;
1/
i
\
·. ' ..."
the good ... and accbmplishing,.no!hlng for ,tile safetij of our forces.
I
•
'
•. \
)
.
-1 •.:.
\
.
•
'• .....'l
''••
'
'\
\ \ '·
\
'
.... . .,,!
• ··..J
.
,.
I
<I
.,)'•.'1 ;~ /\t \
~
...... lr
.
(.-·..,~.
I \
i)
"-
.
i
I
·
·• .• ,_...• /
.i
\.
\
.......
'
'
[Our nation should ratify The Chen1ical Weapons...Coriverition ~.:..!and,Jy~W ...~ ~v.~rything in my
'
•
' • __.1;, '•l(,
power so that happens. Unfortunately, the treaty has fallen victim to election year politics -which means that for now, safety will.hav.e,.to w~t. ]\\
I
.
' \.)
t
~
i
1 /\1
...
'
I
...
·-··
-.. ..)•.
.J '.J
.....
~-
I
·~~-
~........
'\
.•
\
j "
\
f
•
I
.
.....
\
·:
.
\
.j
-·
__ ,_ } ·l
i .
..
1 .....
~-.
'] ,.. _.l
....
'\;
\1
.
•
-·\ ..... • '
•
\ ~\
'·~
\
....~ ..
·····~---.J
)
'
. ,. ; \ t~,
.. q
r'
I
..., r
·l.\_:
I
,_
~\...
1 I
··-· fi . . ~ ~ ( ,: \..
•
I
l
• i
I
I
~'- I
'•
...)
L
\'
......
·• I·"- . I,, \ .
' .I " ...._
"\
. . ...
. • . . .1
·-
,. IJ/t
: . ....... I
\
' (~t-,. \)
I
··- ~.... 'l '
.. .
'\
i
...,;_,.•! .. (''
I
'"
I
;\\
###
I\
.............
\
.; !'--- '-~, \
•• h .....
--J \\ ,·
•
\
.,_J
e:--...·-~"': .. - ............ :.... .. _
(
I
I
I
i . ··~ .•
I.\
·~\
-·····
1
I
• •:;j·~~ ... ··l .,. ...
I
•
........
..
'
)
�•"'.!","!
!j\ ..---
v
I,Jl'1'
H•()•""'+
.~ nv ~ ~~~n
. WI;\--. ( ~ . .JO\l ··~
No
~-~~"' i..t AW
fo p~:Jp~. (·r r.
-rr----r} -l-
~ r~
hwk += t:cr-1
tvL·
~J
{~
[.__,A»'
.•
'
...
�Blinken, Antony J.
From:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
Date:
Bendick, Gordon L.
Blinken, Antony J.
/R, Record at A 1
RE: CWC Statement [UNCLASSIFIED]
Thursday; September 12, 1996 2:39PM
Tony
Need to mention the bipartisan support of Sen Daschle and Levin and Nunn. Best to do iri the same
sentence with other Senators that the POTUS thanked.
Clear ·Gordy
From: Blinken, Antony J.
To: @LEGISLAT-Legislative Affairs; @DEFENSE- Defense Policy
CC: /R, Record .at A 1
Subject: CWC Statement
Date: Thursday, September 12, 1996 02:18 PM
<<Attached File: CWCDEF2.DOC:> >
Comments to me ASAP, please. Thanks. blinken
Page 1
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Speechwriting Office - Antony Blinken
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Antony Blinken served in the Clinton Administration as the chief foreign policy speechwriter in the National Security Council Speechwriting Directorate from 1994 thru 1998.</p>
<p>Blinken prepared remarks for President Clinton, Anthony Lake, Samuel Berger, James Steinberg, and General Donald Kerrick. His speechwriting topics cover a variety of subjects for various audiences including but not limited to: foreign trips or head of state visits, United Nations General Assembly addresses, and State of the Union and weekly radio addresses. As an NSC speechwriter, Blinken produced speeches on major foreign policy actions during the Clinton Administration on Haiti, Iraq and Bosnia. The documents in the collection consist of speech drafts, newspaper and magazine articles, memos, correspondence, schedules, and handwritten notes.</p>
<p>This collection was made available through a <a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/freedom-of-information-act-requests">Freedom of Information Act</a> request. </p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National Security Council
Speechwriting Office
Antony Blinken
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1994-1998
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
<a href="http://clinton.presidentiallibraries.us/items/show/36017" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://research.archives.gov/description/7585787" target="_blank">National Archives Collection Description</a>
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0459-F
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
941 folders in 39 boxes
Text
A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text.
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Paper
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Chemical Weapons Convention Statement 9/12/96
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National Security Council
Speechwriting Office
Antony Blinken
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
2006-0459-F
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Box 24
<a href="http://clintonlibrary.gov/assets/Documents/Finding-Aids/2006/2006-0459-F.pdf" target="_blank">Collection Finding Aid</a>
<a href="http://catalog.archives.gov/id/7585787" target="_blank">National Archives Catalog Description</a>
Provenance
A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity, and interpretation. The statement may include a description of any changes successive custodians made to the resource.
Clinton Presidential Records: White House Staff and Office Files
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
Adobe Acrobat Document
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
Medium
The material or physical carrier of the resource.
Reproduction-Reference
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
9/17/2014
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
42-t-7585787-20060459f-024-009-2014
7585787