"The Bachelor Party"

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150605/us--dennis_hastert-indictment-658aa1373e.html

excite news


Woman says her brother was sexually abused by Dennis Hastert

Jun 5, 12:45 PM (ET) [ Friday 05 June 2015 ]

By MARY CLARE JALONICK

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Montana woman says the FBI interviewed her last month about her allegations that her brother was sexually abused while in high school by Dennis Hastert, the wrestling coach who would become speaker of the House.

Hastert was charged last week in a federal indictment that alleges he agreed in 2010 to pay $3.5 million to someone from Yorkville, the Illinois town where he taught and coached high school wrestling, so the person would stay quiet about "prior misconduct."

Jolene Burdge of Billings, Montana, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the FBI interviewed her in mid-May about Hastert. She said her brother told her before he died in 1995 that his first homosexual contact was with Hastert and that it lasted through all of his high school years.

Burdge would not disclose her brother's name to AP but said he graduated from Yorkville High School in 1971 and that Hastert was his teacher and wrestling coach. Hastert was a teacher and coach in Yorkville from 1965 to 1981, according to the indictment.

In an interview aired Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Burdge identified her brother as Stephen Reinboldt, and said Hastert had been a father figure to him in high school. But she also said she believed Hastert had caused him irreparable harm.

"He damaged Steve, I think, more than any of us will ever know," she told the morning show.

The AP could not independently verify her allegations.

A person familiar with the allegations in the indictment has told the AP that the payments mentioned in the document were intended to conceal claims that the Illinois Republican sexually molested someone decades ago. The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Hastert has not been charged with sexual abuse. But Burdge's story indicates there could be more victims beyond the "Individual A" named in the indictment.

Hastert did not respond to a message left on his cellphone early Friday. Emails and phone messages sent to his son, Ethan Hastert, also went unanswered.

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment on Burdge's allegations.

Reinboldt died in Los Angeles in 1995 at the age of 42. Burdge told ABC that he died of AIDS.

An obituary published in The (Aurora) Beacon News said Reinboldt had "a unique and fascinating mind" and was drawn to the arts, especially film, drama and music.

He was a manager of the wrestling team that Hastert coached, the AP found. He was also manager of the football team, student council president and a member of the pep club, letterman's club, the French club and the yearbook staff.

He graduated in 1971 and later moved to the Los Angeles area, where he worked for Columbia Pictures in sales and distribution. He also worked for several software companies.

"He wanted to be in TV and film and all that," his brother, Daniel Reinboldt, told the AP on Thursday. "He went to New York and L.A., back and forth, trying to get into the movie business."

On Thursday, Daniel Reinboldt, who still lives in Yorkville, refused to talk to the AP about whether his brother was abused by Hastert. Another sister, Carol Reinboldt, of Lakewood, Colorado, did not respond to messages.

Burdge said her brother told her about his past with Hastert in 1979, after she graduated high school, but never brought his story out into the open because he feared "nobody would believe him."

"He never had a life," she said. "He spent his life trying to run away from it and trying to dull the pain."

The federal indictment, announced May 28, accuses Hastert of evading bank regulations by withdrawing hundreds of thousands of dollars and lying to the FBI about the reason for the withdrawals. The document says Hastert agreed to pay someone identified only as "Individual A" to "compensate for and conceal (Hastert's) prior misconduct" against that person. But it does not go into any detail about the alleged misconduct.

The former congressman, who has a home in the Chicago suburb of Plano, has not been seen in public since the indictment was announced. He resigned from the Washington lobbying firm where he worked.

Burdge considered telling her brother's story in 2006, as a scandal involving Rep. Mark Foley unfolded. Foley, a Florida Republican, was discovered sending inappropriate emails and sexually explicit instant messages to former House pages while Hastert was speaker. Burdge spoke briefly with news outlets, including the AP, but she ultimately decided against coming forward with a statement at that time.

Hastert was later criticized for failing to follow up on warnings about Foley's conduct. He stepped down in 2007.

Burdge said in the last six months, she had started to put her brother's story "on the shelf" trying to move past it. Then the FBI visited her home.










JOURNAL ARCHIVE: Posted by H.V.O.M at 7:00 PM Tuesday, December 04, 2007


----- Original Message ----

From: Kerry Burgess

To: inspector.general@usdoj.gov

Cc: hotline@dodig.mil; House Speaker

Sent: Tuesday, December 4, 2007 6:57:19 PM

Subject: Subject: Mark Adam Foley, accomplice of fascism and insurrection against the USA

To: Office of the Inspector General, Department of Justice


From: Kerry W. Burgess (official United States federal undercover identity, an identity completely compromised by forces hostile to the United States of America)


Location: Seattle and King County, Washington, investigating corrupted public officials, who are an armed force providing material support to an insurrection against the United States of America.


[JOURNAL ARCHIVE 04 December 2007 excerpt ends]










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050156/releaseinfo

IMDb


The Bachelor Party (1957)

Release Info

USA 9 April 1957 (New York City, New York)










http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1506/03/sitroom.02.html

CNN


TRANSCRIPTS


THE SITUATION ROOM

Terror Plot; Anthrax Mishap; Interview With Texas Congressman Michael McCaul; Evidence of Break-In in D.C. Mansion Murders; Baltimore Police Ask Feds for Help Amid Crime Surge; Rick Perry to Announce White House Bid; Interview with Presidential Candidate Lincoln Chafee. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 3, 2015 - 18:00 ET


I believe this is your first campaign interview, Governor. Thanks very much for joining us.

Let's talk about your uphill struggle. Right now, according to our CNN poll, you're less than one-half of 1 percent in the race for the Democratic nomination. Hillary Clinton is up at 60 percent.

Bottom-line question is, why are you running? Do you really believe you can win the Democrat nomination?

LINCOLN CHAFEE (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The biggest reason I'm running is I don't think the next president of the United States should have made the big mistake of voting for the Iraq war, and particularly, the next Democratic nominee should not have made the big mistake of voting for the Iraq war. And I think there should be a campaign issue for Democrats coming into 2016.

This is a Republican war, a Republican war that cost us 4,000 dead Americans, a Republican war that cost us $6 trillion or is going to cost us $6 trillion that we could have spent so much better -- one of the biggest mistakes in American history.










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120873/releaseinfo

IMDb


U.S. Marshals (1998)

Release Info

USA 6 March 1998










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120873/quotes

IMDb


U.S. Marshals (1998)

Quotes


Cosmo Renfro: The Great Sam Gerard.

Sam Gerard: Yes, I am.

Cosmo Renfro: And you always have to win.

Sam Gerard: Yes, I do.










JOURNAL ARCHIVE: Posted by H.V.O.M at 4:49 AM Thursday, December 20, 2007


From 12/14/1972 ( Apollo 17 lunar lander leaves Moon surface and I was onboard that Apollo 17 lunar lander spacecraft ) to 9/29/2006 ( Mark Foley, who actively supports a coup d’état against the U.S. government by foreign power ) is 15 days, 9 months, 33 years


'1-59-33' ( identifies my birth date US )


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Foley_scandal

Mark Foley scandal

The scandal led to Foley's resignation from Congress on September 29, 2006.


[JOURNAL ARCHIVE 20 December 2007 excerpt ends]










http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6172302

npr


Rep. Foley Quits over E-Mails to Male Teen Pages

SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 11:42 AM ET

Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress Friday after being confronted with sexually explicit Internet messages he reportedly sent to at least one, and possibly several, underage former male pages.

SCOTT SIMON, host:

The abrupt resignation of Florida Republican Congressman Mark Foley late yesterday offers another opportunity for Democrats to pick up one more seat. Mr. Foley resigned after news organizations began to make public e-mails and sexually explicit instant messages that he sent to teenage congressional pages. From Miami, NPR's Greg Allen reports.

GREG ALLEN: The existence of the e-mails and instant messages was first reported by ABC. First to surface were the e-mails Foley wrote to a 16-year-old boy who had been working as a Capitol page. In the e-mails, Foley asked the boy to send him a picture and asked him what he wanted for his birthday. His staff defended the messages as harmless, saying the Democrats were trying to smear Foley. That was Thursday. By Friday afternoon Foley had resigned, releasing just a short statement: I am deeply sorry and I apologize for letting down my family and the people of Florida.

What had changed was the discovery by ABC of a second series of notes, instant messages much more explicit that Foley reportedly exchanged with other congressional pages. In one of the messages Foley asks, Do I make you a little horny? Making the episode even stranger is that Foley was the chairman of the Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus and had recently introduced a bill to protect children from exploitation by adults over the Internet. Yesterday, House Speaker Dennis Hastert ordered a check of the system overseeing House pages, saying, quote, "We want to make sure that all of our pages are safe."










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120873/quotes

IMDb


U.S. Marshals (1998)

Quotes


Catherine Walsh: Never one to be afraid of the obvious. I admire that in a man, Sam.

Sam Gerard: Have I done something?










From 9/4/1976 ( the unpublished true birthdate of Destiny's Child singer Beyonce Knowles ) To 9/29/2006 is 10982 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 11/27/1995 ( Bill Clinton - Remarks Announcing the Child Survival Initiative for Bosnia-Herzegovina and an Exchange With Reporters ) is 10982 days



From 9/4/1976 ( George Walker Bush the purveyor of illegal drugs strictly for his personal profit including the trafficking of massive amounts of cocaine into the United States arrested again by police in the United States ) To 9/29/2006 is 10982 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 11/27/1995 ( Bill Clinton - Remarks Announcing the Child Survival Initiative for Bosnia-Herzegovina and an Exchange With Reporters ) is 10982 days



From 1/23/1954 ( premiere US film "Killers from Space" ) To 12/20/1994 ( in Bosnia as Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps captain this day is my United States Navy Cross medal date of record ) is 14941 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 9/29/2006 is 14941 days



From 8/2/1954 ( Dwight Eisenhower - Statement by the President Upon Signing the Housing Act of 1954 ) To 6/29/1995 ( the Mir space station docking of the United States space shuttle Atlantis orbiter vehicle mission STS-71 includes my biological brother United States Navy Fleet Admiral Thomas Reagan the spacecraft and mission commander and me Kerry Wayne Burgess the United States Marine Corps officer and United States STS-71 pilot astronaut ) is 14941 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 9/29/2006 is 14941 days



From 4/9/1957 ( premiere US film "The Bachelor Party" ) To 3/6/1998 ( premiere US film "U.S. Marshals" ) is 14941 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my birth date in Antlers Oklahoma USA and my birthdate as the known official United States Marshal Kerry Wayne Burgess and active duty United States Marine Corps officer ) To 9/29/2006 is 14941 days





http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/09/foley_resigns_o.html

abc NEWS


Foley To Resign Over Sexually Explicit Messages to Minors

September 29, 2006

By BRIAN ROSS AND MADDY SAUER REPORT:

Saying he was "deeply sorry," Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL) resigned from Congress today, hours after ABC News questioned him about sexually explicit internet messages with current and former congressional pages under the age of 18.

A spokesman for Foley, the chairman of the House Caucus on Missing and Exploited Children, said the congressman submitted his resignation in a letter late this afternoon to Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047149/releaseinfo

IMDb


Killers from Space (1954)

Release Info

USA 23 January 1954










http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=50807

The American Presidency Project

William J. Clinton

XLII President of the United States: 1993 - 2001

Remarks Announcing the Child Survival Initiative for Bosnia-Herzegovina and an Exchange With Reporters

November 27, 1995

The President. Ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to be here today, especially with Congressman Tony Hall, a longstanding champion of children in our own country and throughout the world and the leading fighter in the Congress and perhaps in the entire United States in combating hunger. After visiting Bosnia this fall, Representative Hall worked with UNICEF to design the important child survival initiative that we announce today. I thank UNICEF Director Carol Bellamy, not only for her work at UNICEF but for her previous service in our administration as the Director of the Peace Corps; and the USAID Administrator, Brian Atwood, who has been a tireless advocate of America's role in promoting sustainable development, in providing developmental assistance, and protecting the welfare of children throughout the world.

I want to especially welcome here two Bosnian families, the Kapetanovic family and the Mundzahasic family, who fled the fighting in their homeland and have been resettled as refugees here in the United States. Welcome to both of you.

These families know firsthand the terrible costs of war, the breakdown of basic human services, the lack of medical care, the forced closure of schools. They know how desperately the people of Bosnia need support and assistance from the international community right now.

Since the conflict in Bosnia began nearly 4 years ago, our Nation has played a major role in providing emergency assistance, including support for children, clean water and sanitation, food, shelter, and health care. But even with these efforts, the war in Bosnia has seriously harmed the most innocent and most vulnerable members of that society, its children.

Immunization rates have declined dramatically, putting tens of thousands of children at risk of potentially deadly whooping cough, measles, and diphtheria. The situation has been aggravated by the onset of harsh winters and overcrowded living conditions. Half of Bosnia's prewar population was driven from their homes during the conflict, and even today, more than one million of them remain homeless.

In addition, the basic education systems in the region are in deep crisis. It is estimated that 40 percent of the primary schools in Croatia and 55 percent of those in Bosnia have been either damaged or destroyed.

Now that a lasting peace is at hand, we have to bring the Bosnian people the benefits of that peace, starting with the children. And that is exactly what USAID and UNICEF are doing. Together, they will lead a new, multinational initiative to immunize the children of Bosnia, Croatia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia who have not had access to decent health care during this war. Efforts should begin before Christmas. Most of the approximately 150,000 needy children in the region should be immunized within just 6 months.

This initiative will also provide support for basic education systems. Remember the comment of Zlata Filpovic, the Sarajevan girl who shared her experience of the war through her remarkable diary, "For me," she said, "the school is a symbol of normal life. When they take away my school, I said this really means something. They took my childhood; they took my school." With this program we can at least begin to give those children back their childhoods which were stolen.

USAID and UNICEF are finalizing plans for this $15 million initiative. The United States will devote $2 million to back the effort now, and our goal is to contribute $5 million. We'll also do our part to mobilize other donors. We hope our friends and our allies will join us in supporting this important program for the children of the former Yugoslavia.

We have just celebrated one of our most treasured holidays, Thanksgiving. All across our country, Americans came together to give thanks for the blessings in their lives and the lives of their families. This Thanksgiving, our Nation helped to give the people of Bosnia a blessing as well: the first real hope of peace in nearly 4 years. I want to say a special thanks again to the citizens of Dayton, Ohio, who welcomed the Balkan leaders to Dayton and who demonstrated on our behalf our vast and diverse Nation all committed to living together in peace.

Now we have a responsibility to see this achievement through. That is who we are as a people. That is what we stand for as a nation. The people of Bosnia, the children of Bosnia, have suffered unspeakable atrocities. We must not, and we will not, turn our backs on peace. And I am very proud to begin this very important day of discussion with the American people with this important announcement.

And again, I want to say a special word of thanks to Congressman Tony Hall for coming to me with this idea and helping me to develop it and push it through to the point where we could announce it today.

Thank you all, and thank you, Congressman.

President's Address to the Nation

Q. Mr. President, how hard a sell do you face tonight with your speech?

The President. I think the American people will respond. I believe that they're entitled to an explanation, that our values and our interests are very much at stake in the decision we make. And they're also entitled to an explanation about what exactly I propose to have our troops do there as part of the NATO mission. And I will do that this evening.

But I believe they will respond. This is an extraordinary opportunity and we have a very compelling responsibility, and I expect the American people to support it.

Thank you.

NOTE: The President spoke at 1:44 p.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the White House.



http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=50808

The American Presidency Project

William J. Clinton

XLII President of the United States: 1993 - 2001

Address to the Nation on Implementation of the Peace Agreement in Bosnia-Herzegovina

November 27, 1995

Good evening. Last week, the warring factions in Bosnia reached a peace agreement as a result of our efforts in Dayton, Ohio, and the support of our European and Russian partners. Tonight I want to speak with you about implementing the Bosnian peace agreement and why our values and interests as Americans require that we participate.

Let me say at the outset, America's role will not be about fighting a war. It will be about helping the people of Bosnia to secure their own peace agreement. Our mission will be limited, focused, and under the command of an American general. In fulfilling this mission, we will have the chance to help stop the killing of innocent civilians, especially children, and at the same time, to bring stability to Central Europe, a region of the world that is vital to our national interests. It is the right thing to do.

From our birth, America has always been more than just a place. America has embodied an idea that has become the ideal for billions of people throughout the world. Our Founders said it best: America is about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In this century especially, America has done more than simply stand for these ideals. We have acted on them and sacrificed for them. Our people fought two World Wars so that freedom could triumph over tyranny. After World War I, we pulled back from the world, leaving a vacuum that was filled by the forces of hatred. After World War II, we continued to lead the world. We made the commitments that kept the peace, that helped to spread democracy, that created unparalleled prosperity, and that brought victory in the cold war.

Today, because of our dedication, America's ideals—liberty, democracy, and peace—are more and more the aspirations of people everywhere in the world. It is the power of our ideas, even more than our size, our wealth, and our military might, that makes America a uniquely trusted nation.

With the cold war over, some people now question the need for our continued active leadership in the world. They believe that, much like after World War I, America can now step back from the responsibilities of leadership. They argue that to be secure we need only to keep our own borders safe and that the time has come now to leave to others the hard work of leadership beyond our borders. I strongly disagree.

As the cold war gives way to the global village, our leadership is needed more than ever because problems that start beyond our borders can quickly become problems within them. We're all vulnerable to the organized forces of intolerance and destruction; terrorism; ethnic, religious, and regional rivalries; the spread of organized crime and weapons of mass destruction and drug trafficking. Just as surely as fascism and communism, these forces also threaten freedom and democracy, peace and prosperity. And they, too, demand American leadership.

But nowhere has the argument for our leadership been more clearly justified than in the struggle to stop or prevent war and civil violence. From Iraq to Haiti, from South Africa to Korea, from the Middle East to Northern Ireland, we have stood up for peace and freedom because it's in our interest to do so and because it is the right thing to do.

Now, that doesn't mean we can solve every problem. My duty as President is to match the demands for American leadership to our strategic interest and to our ability to make a difference. America cannot and must not be the world's policeman. We cannot stop all war for all time, but we can stop some wars. We cannot save all women and all children, but we can save many of them. We can't do everything, but we must do what we can.

There are times and places where our leadership can mean the difference between peace and war, and where we can defend our fundamental values as a people and serve our most basic, strategic interests. My fellow Americans, in this new era there are still times when America and America alone can and should make the difference for peace.

The terrible war in Bosnia is such a case. Nowhere today is the need for American leadership more stark or more immediate than in Bosnia. For nearly 4 years a terrible war has torn Bosnia apart. Horrors we prayed had been banished from Europe forever have been seared into our minds again: skeletal prisoners caged behind barbed-wire fences; women and girls raped as a tool of war; defenseless men and boys shot down into mass graves, evoking visions of World War II concentration camps; and endless lines of refugees marching toward a future of despair.

When I took office, some were urging immediate intervention in the conflict. I decided that American ground troops should not fight a war in Bosnia because the United States could not force peace on Bosnia's warring ethnic groups, the Serbs, Croats, and Muslims. Instead, America has worked with our European allies in searching for peace, stopping the war from spreading, and easing the suffering of the Bosnian people.

We imposed tough economic sanctions on Serbia. We used our airpower to conduct the longest humanitarian airlift in history and to enforce a no-fly zone that took the war out of the skies. We helped to make peace between two of the three warring parties, the Muslims and the Croats. But as the months of war turned into years, it became clear that Europe alone could not end the conflict.

This summer, Bosnian Serb shelling once again turned Bosnia's playgrounds and marketplaces into killing fields. In response, the United States led NATO's heavy and continuous air strikes, many of them flown by skilled and brave American pilots. Those air strikes, together with the renewed determination of our European partners and the Bosnian and Croat gains on the battlefield, convinced the Serbs, finally, to start thinking about making peace.

At the same time, the United States initiated an intensive diplomatic effort that forged a Bosnia-wide cease-fire and got the parties to agree to the basic principles of peace. Three dedicated American diplomats, Bob Frasure, Joe Kruzel, and Nelson Drew, lost their lives in that effort. Tonight we remember their sacrifice and that of their families. And we will never forget their exceptional service to our Nation.

Finally, just 3 weeks ago, the Muslims, Croats, and Serbs came to Dayton, Ohio, in America's heartland, to negotiate a settlement. There, exhausted by war, they made a commitment to peace. They agreed to put down their guns, to preserve Bosnia as a single state, to investigate and prosecute war criminals, to protect the human rights of all citizens, to try to build a peaceful, democratic future. And they asked for America's help as they implement this peace agreement.

America has a responsibility to answer that request, to help to turn this moment of hope into an enduring reality. To do that, troops from our country and around the world would go into Bosnia to give them the confidence and support they need to implement their peace plan. I refuse to send American troops to fight a war in Bosnia, but I believe we must help to secure the Bosnian peace.

I want you to know tonight what is at stake, exactly what our troops will be asked to accomplish, and why we must carry out our responsibility to help implement the peace agreement. Implementing the agreement in Bosnia can end the terrible suffering of the people, the warfare, the mass executions, the ethnic cleansing, the campaigns of rape and terror. Let us never forget a quarter of a million men, women, and children have been shelled, shot, and tortured to death. Two million people, half of the population, were forced from their homes and into a miserable life as refugees. And these faceless numbers hide millions of real personal tragedies, for each of the war's victims was a mother or daughter, a father or son, a brother or sister.

Now the war is over. American leadership created the chance to build a peace and stop the suffering. Securing peace in Bosnia will also help to build a free and stable Europe. Bosnia lies at the very heart of Europe, next-door to many of its fragile new democracies and some of our closest allies. Generations of Americans have understood that Europe's freedom and Europe's stability is vital to our own national security. That's why we fought two wars in Europe. That's why we launched the Marshall plan to restore Europe. That's why we created NATO and waged the cold war. And that's why we must help the nations of Europe to end their worst nightmare since World War II, now.

The only force capable of getting this job done is NATO, the powerful military alliance of democracies that has guaranteed our security for half a century now. And as NATO's leader and the primary broker of the peace agreement, the United States must be an essential part of the mission. If we're not there, NATO will not be there; the peace will collapse; the war will reignite; the slaughter of innocents will begin again. A conflict that already has claimed so many victims could spread like poison throughout the region, eat away at Europe's stability, and erode our partnership with our European allies.

And America's commitment to leadership will be questioned if we refuse to participate in implementing a peace agreement we brokered right here in the United States, especially since the Presidents of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia all asked us to participate and all pledged their best efforts to the security of our troops.

When America's partnerships are weak and our leadership is in doubt, it undermines our ability to secure our interests and to convince others to work with us. If we do maintain our partnerships and our leadership, we need not act alone. As we saw in the Gulf war and in Haiti, many other nations who share our goals will also share our burdens. But when America does not lead, the consequences can be very grave, not only for others but eventually for us as well.

As I speak to you, NATO is completing its planning for IFOR, an international force for peace in Bosnia of about 60,000 troops. Already more than 25 other nations, including our major NATO allies, have pledged to take part. They will contribute about two-thirds of the total implementation force, some 40,000 troops. The United States would contribute the rest, about 20,000 soldiers.

Later this week, the final NATO plan will be submitted to me for review and approval. Let me make clear what I expect it to include and what it must include for me to give final approval to the participation of our Armed Forces.

First, the mission will be precisely defined with clear, realistic goals that can be achieved in a definite period of time. Our troops will make sure that each side withdraws its forces behind the frontlines and keeps them there. They will maintain the cease-fire to prevent the war from accidentally starting again. These efforts, in turn, will help to create a secure environment so that the people of Bosnia can return to their homes, vote in free elections, and begin to rebuild their lives. Our Joint Chiefs of Staff have concluded that this mission should and will take about one year.

Second, the risks to our troops will be minimized. American troops will take their orders from the American general who commands NATO. They will be heavily armed and thoroughly trained. By making an overwhelming show of force, they will lessen the need to use force. But unlike the U.N. forces, they will have the authority to respond immediately and the training and the equipment to respond with overwhelming force to any threat to their own safety or any violations of the military provisions of the peace agreement.

If the NATO plan meets with my approval, I will immediately send it to Congress and request its support. I will also authorize the participation of a small number of American troops in a NATO advance mission that will lay the groundwork for IFOR, starting sometime next week. They will establish headquarters and set up the sophisticated communication systems that must be in place before NATO can send in its troops, tanks, and trucks to Bosnia.

The Implementation Force itself would begin deploying in Bosnia in the days following the formal signature of the peace agreement in mid-December. The international community will help to implement arms control provisions of the agreement so that future hostilities are less likely and armaments are limited, while the world community, the United States and others, will also make sure that the Bosnian Federation has the means to defend itself once IFOR withdraws. IFOR will not be a part of this effort.

Civilian agencies from around the world will begin a separate program of humanitarian relief and reconstruction, principally paid for by our European allies and other interested countries. This effort is also absolutely essential to making the peace endure. It will bring the people of Bosnia the food, shelter, clothing, and medicine so many have been denied for so long. It will help them to rebuild, to rebuild their roads and schools, their power plants and hospitals, their factories and shops. It will reunite children with their parents and families with their homes. It will allow the Bosnians freely to choose their own leaders. It will give all the people of Bosnia a much greater stake in peace than war, so that peace takes on a life and a logic of its own.

In Bosnia we can and will succeed because our mission is clear and limited and our troops are strong and very well-prepared. But my fellow Americans, no deployment of American troops is risk-free, and this one may well involve casualties. There may be accidents in the field or incidents with people who have not given up their hatred. I will take every measure possible to minimize these risks, but we must be prepared for that possibility.

As President, my most difficult duty is to put the men and women who volunteer to serve our Nation in harm's way when our interests and values demand it. I assume full responsibility for any harm that may come to them. But anyone contemplating any action that would endanger our troops should know this: America protects its own. Anyone, anyone, who takes on our troops will suffer the consequences. We will fight fire with fire and then some.

After so much bloodshed and loss, after so many outrageous acts of inhuman brutality, it will take an extraordinary effort of will for the people of Bosnia to pull themselves from their past and start building a future of peace. But with our leadership and the commitment of our allies, the people of Bosnia can have the chance to decide their future in peace. They have a chance to remind the world that just a few short years ago the mosques and churches of Sarajevo were a shining symbol of multiethnic tolerance, that Bosnia once found unity in its diversity. Indeed, the cemetery in the center of the city was just a few short years ago a magnificent stadium which hosted the Olympics, our universal symbol of peace and harmony. Bosnia can be that kind of place again. We must not turn our backs on Bosnia now.

And so I ask all Americans and I ask every Member of Congress, Democrat and Republican alike, to make the choice for peace. In the choice between peace and war, America must choose peace.

My fellow Americans, I ask you to think just for a moment about this century that is drawing to close and the new one that will soon begin. Because previous generations of Americans stood up for freedom and because we continue to do so, the American people are more secure and more prosperous. And all around the world, more people than ever before live in freedom. More people than ever before are treated with dignity. More people than ever before can hope to build a better life. That is what America's leadership is all about.

We know that these are the blessings of freedom. And America has always been freedom's greatest champion. If we continue to do everything we can to share these blessings with people around the world, if we continue to be leaders for peace, then the next century can be the greatest time our Nation has ever known.

A few weeks ago, I was privileged to spend some time with His Holiness Pope John Paul II, when he came to America. At the very end of our meeting, the Pope looked at me and said, "I have lived through most of this century. I remember that it began with a war in Sarajevo. Mr. President, you must not let it end with a war in Sarajevo."

In Bosnia, this terrible war has challenged our interests and troubled our souls. Thankfully, we can do something about it. I say again, our mission will be clear, limited, and achievable. The people of Bosnia, our NATO allies, and people all around the world are now looking to America for leadership. So let us lead. That is our responsibility as Americans.

Good night, and God bless America.

NOTE: The President spoke at 8 p.m. from the Oval Office at the White House.










http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/research/public_papers.php?id=1116&year=1989&month=10

George Bush

Presidential Library and Museum

Public Papers - 1989 - October

Remarks to Schoolchildren at the White House Halloween Party

1989-10-31


The Turtle is our grandchild named Marshall, going as a turtle. You see how it is? It's on the back there. You've got to see that.










http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101393/quotes

IMDb


Backdraft (1991)

Quotes


Donald 'Shadow' Rimgale: [at Ronald's parole hearing] What about the world, Ronald? What would you like to do to the whole world?



- posted by H.V.O.M - Kerry Wayne Burgess 11:55 AM Pacific Time Spokane Valley Washington USA Friday 05 June 2015