Foreword

Iraq's brutal aggression against Kuwait, begun on August 2, dominated events during these six months. In response, the United States and 28 other nations joined together to send to the Persian Gulf region an international coalition of forces designed to deter further Iraqi aggression. At the same time, the United Nations imposed a series of even more severe economic and military sanctions on Iraq, while the United States organized a multi-billion dollar effort to provide economic assistance to countries in the area adversely affected by the crisis. In late November, in a move almost unprecedented in its history, the UN Security Council authorized the use of "all necessary means" to compel Iraq to end its brutal and illegal occupation of Kuwait.

In this crisis, we took heart in the world's united response-political, economic, and military-to Iraq's unlawful aggression and the concomitant functioning of the United Nations as its founders envisioned. This gave rise to hopes that out of this conflict we might enter a historic period of cooperation-a New World Order. I laid out my vision of this New World Order in remarks before a Joint Session of Congress on September 11 and again in remarks to the United Nations General Assembly on October 1. The basis of this idea is a world in which international relations are conducted according to the rule of law and nations can live together in harmony and prosperity, in which there is real consensus that force may not be used to settle disputes and where that consensus is broken responsibility for restoring order will be borne by many nations.

Although attention naturally focussed on the Gulf crisis, there were other pressing matters to which the Administration devoted attention. In July, I attended two very important summits-the NATO Summit in London and the Summit of Industrialized Nations in Houston. In London, the leaders of the Member States of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization took great strides in delineating the future of Europe and the United States' continuing role in it. In Houston, the leaders of the world's seven largest industrial democracies examined the conditions of our economies and also agreed to study the Soviet economy with a view to assisting its transition to a market system. During the summer, Mexico indicated its willingness to enter negotiations to liberalize trade between our two nations. In September, I notified the Congress of the Administration's intent to negotiate a free trade agreement with Mexico.

In that month, I also met with President Gorbachev of the Soviet Union in Helsinki. Our meetings were intense and productive. At the end, we issued a joint statement that proved to be an important milestone in our cooperative efforts to resolve the Persian Gulf crisis.

In November, the leaders of the member states of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe gathered in Paris to advance an agenda of deepening cooperation and witness the signing of a CFE Treaty between the members of the Atlantic Alliance and the Warsaw Pact designed to reduce conventional armed forces in

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Europe. From France, I traveled to Czechoslovakia for meetings with President Havel, marking that nation's transition to democracy, and then to the Middle East for important consultations with our partners in the international coalition against Iraq. Most important, Barbara and I spent Thanksgiving Day with the brave men and women in our Armed Forces who had been deployed to defend Saudi Arabia.

I addressed the American people twice during this period on the conflict in the Gulf-first on August 8 as the first troops were deployed for the defense of Saudi Arabia, and again in September in a Joint Session of Congress. If ever there were a time to put country before self, and patriotism before party, this was that time. The response of the American people and the world was overwhelming. They rallied behind the forces deployed in support of Operation Desert Shield.

These months were also an active time here at home. Guided by the principles of freedom, growth, opportunity, and responsibility, my Administration continued to move forward on an ambitious domestic agenda.

Working with the Congress, we developed landmark budget deficit reduction legislation, reducing Federal borrowing requirements by almost $500 billion over the next five years and introducing important new budget process reform. I signed the Americans with Disabilities Act, landmark legislation to preserve the civil rights of Americans with disabilities. I had the duty and honor of appointing a member of the United States Supreme Court. History will show Justice Souter to be an impartial and superior Justice.

We provided record funding for drug treatment, prevention, and State and local law enforcement through block grants and began to see a decline in drug use. We continue to support a comprehensive crime package, including an increase of over $1 billion for Federal prison expansion and additional law enforcement agents and prosecutors.

The environment has remained at the forefront of our agenda. In November, I signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. This comprehensive and innovative clean air legislation broke a decade-long stalemate on clean air legislation and reaffirmed America's place as the global leader in environmental protection. The Administration proposed programs to plant a billion trees per year, restrictions on offshore drilling in environmentally sensitive areas, and proposed and negotiated an agreement for the phase-out of all chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting chemicals. I also signed legislation to expand and protect the Everglades National Park as well as the North American Wetlands Conservation Act.

We also continued our crusade for educational excellence. Building on our partnership with the Nation's Governors, we established the National Education Goals Panel to monitor progress towards the National Education Goals.

On the frontier of space, Vice President Quayle and the National Space Council took a fresh look at America's space program and developed a new commercial space launch strategy.

Our Nation and world are changing, and those changes are producing exciting new challenges. Working together, our great Nation is meeting these problems head-on as we move to the 21st century. America is a mighty nation, but we are only as great as those who are willing to help their fellow Americans. There is no greater example of this than the brave men and women willing to sacrifice the comfort of home and closeness of family to protect the values of this country and her citizens in Operation Desert Shield.

Preface

This book contains the papers and speeches of the 41st President of the United States that were issued by the Office of the Press Secretary during the period July 1-December 31, 1990. The material has been compiled and published by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration.

The material is presented in chronological order, and the dates shown in the headings are the dates of the documents or events. In instances when the release date differs from the date of the document itself, that fact is shown in the textnote. Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy: Remarks are checked against a tape recording, and signed documents are checked against the original. Textnotes and cross references have been provided by the editors for purposes of identification or clarity. Speeches were delivered in Washington, DC, unless indicated. The times noted are local times. All materials that are printed full-text in the book have been indexed in the subject and name indexes, and listed in the document categories list.

The Public Papers of the Presidents series was begun in 1957 in response to a recommendation of the National Historical Publications Commission. An extensive compilation of messages and papers of the Presidents covering the period 1789 to 1897 was assembled by James D. Richardson and published under congressional authority between 1896 and 1899. Since then, various private compilations have been issued, but there was no uniform publication comparable to the Congressional Record or the United States Supreme Court Reports. Many Presidential papers could be found only in the form of mimeographed White House releases or as reported in the press. The Commission therefore recommended the establishment of an official series in which Presidential writings, addresses, and remarks of a public nature could be made available.

The Commission's recommendation was incorporated in regulations of the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register, issued under section 6 of the Federal Register Act (44 U.S.C. 1506), which may be found in title 1, part 10, of the Code of Federal Regulations.

A companion publication to the Public Papers series, the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, was begun in 1965 to provide a broader range of Presidential materials on a more timely basis to meet the needs of the contemporary reader. Beginning with the administration of Jimmy Carter, the Public Papers series expanded its coverage to include all material as printed in the Weekly Compilation. That coverage provides a listing of the President's daily schedule and meetings, when announced, and other items of general interest issued by the Office of the Press Secretary. Also included are lists of the President's nominations submitted to the Senate, materials released by the Office of the Press Secretary that are not printed full-text in the book, acts approved by the President, and proclamations and Executive orders. This information appears in the appendixes at the end of the book.

Volumes covering the administrations of Presidents Hoover, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan are also available.

The Public Papers of the Presidents publication program is under the direction of Gwen H. Estep. The Chief Editor of this book was Karen Howard Ashlin, assisted by Sheli Fleming.

White House liaison was provided by Marlin Fitzwater, Assistant to the President and Press Secretary. The frontispiece and photographs used in the portfolio were supplied by the White House Photo Office. The typography and design of the book were developed by the Government Printing Office under the direction of Robert W. Houk, Public Printer.

Martha L. Girard

Director of the Federal Register

Don W. Wilson

Archivist of the United States