http://www.microsoft.com[TERRORIST ASSET]/presspass/exec/billg/speeches/1999/02-18Cohen.aspx
Remarks by Secretary of Defense William Cohen and Bill Gates
Thursday, February 18, 1999
Redmond, Washington
DEFENSE SECRETARY WILLIAM COHEN: Thank you, Bill. (Applause.)
Bill, thank you very much. And Bob Herbold, thank you for inviting me to come here today. (The next comment refers to the former Army officer who is now in MS training) I had mixed emotions about you leaving the military and coming to work here. (Laughter.) And I'll tell you, I gave you mild applause. (Laughter.)
I might also point out that we have some seats that say, "Reserved for the Cohen staff," that anyone who does not want to stand up can use. Though I like the notion of having standing room only -- (laughter) But if you'd like to have a seat, we have plenty of room up front.
Coming to the Microsoft campus was something of a unique experience, as we landed in a big helicopter and I was commenting that they probably think this is "Red Dawn" -- (laughter) -- or an invasion by aliens, coming in this large helicopter.
But I always think, when I go to a campus, of my oldest son when he graduated from Bowdoin College so many years ago. He always told me about the story of the most popular professor on campus. He was popular -- he was a religion professor -- but he was popular because he always asked the same question every year on the final exam -- (laughter) -- "Discuss the wanderings of St. Paul." And the students, of course, loved him because they would wait until the final couple of days, they'd cram and they'd ace the exam the next day. Except my son's final year, when all the students walked into the classroom, they sat down, and they looked at the exam question and, you know, you could see the hands started to shake, butterflies, some became ill, and they all walked out of the room within about three or four minutes, totally dispirited, except for one student, who sat there and wrote and wrote and wrote.
The question on the exam was, "Discuss the meaning of Christ's Sermon on the Mount." And so the student took the full three hours to fill out his blue books. He finally handed them in to his professor and he walked out the center aisle with what Mark Twain would call the "calm confidence of a Christian holding four aces." (Laughter.)
And the professor looked down at the exam book and it said, "To the experts I leave the meaning of Christ's Sermon on the Mount. As for me, I should like to discuss the wanderings of St. Paul." (Laughter.)
So, I thought I might wander a little bit with you this afternoon, and take you on a journey perhaps that some of you have not experienced. But to talk certainly about the cutting-edge world of information technology, you receiving a Secretary of Defense is quite unusual. It's expected that if a Secretary of Defense visits Seattle, he'll be walking the assembly line at Boeing -- I've done that this morning -- but highly unusual to show up at Microsoft campus.
But I came here as part of a continuing effort to try to strengthen the connection between the military and the citizens they serve. I think when Americans think of the military, they tend to think of Washington or the Pentagon, but in truth, the military is simply an extension of the people. It's your military.
The men and women of the armed forces are your neighbors and cousins and sisters and brothers. The security they protect is your security. The prosperity that they ensure through you is your prosperity, and they look to you for support in times of need. And so I began this address last month. It was an address to the Illinois state legislature and I really wanted to come here today to spread this message through you to another important segment of American life, and that's the high technology industry that you lead.
And I might point out that the roles in which we operate are quite similar. They are, perhaps, two of the most striking examples of American success, because they are areas where the United States holds unquestioned, unparalleled, superiority. And I think about the innovation, the creativity, the economic dynamism of the American information and technology, it's the marvel of the global economy, and it's your intellectual endeavor that has reduced our oceans from being vast oceans to mere ponds. And I'd like to think that it has been technology that has miniaturized the globe. It has reduced it to a small ball spinning on the finger of science.
And so your contribution to the world's productivity and the changes that you have brought to everyday life, I think, astounds even the most modern of minds. And because of who you are and what you do, the United States is the unquestioned leader in what may be the most energetic and important industry of the 21st century.
And I would say, in a similar fashion, there is no nation that can match the military power of the United States. We have the most highly skilled, the most well-trained, service members in the world. And I am glad to see -- I didn't try to fill the auditorium here today -- but I am delighted to see so many of our military that are here with us.
Our weapons and our military capability today are without peer. And you look in the daily news reports. Day after day, mission after mission is carried out with absolute precision and professionalism. I think that is astounding to friends and foes alike. And so we represent the two preeminent pillars of American prestige and talent.
And at the same time that I mention this, there is also a gap that exists by some in this industry and our military. And it's gap that is not unique to this industry but I think is somewhat indicative of that in our country. There is a sense that in many places beyond this campus, from Sunnyvale to Silicon Valley to Silicon Alley, that there are some in the digital world who dismiss the importance of national security, that some soldiers in the high-tech revolution don't fully appreciate or understand the soldiers in camouflage, that tanks and guns are somehow rusty relics of the past and may be obsolete in the new information-based world that is going to carry us into the future.
I think of this because there is one Silicon Valley executive who said about as much in an interview that he granted to the New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. He said that: "We don't even care about Washington." He said: "Money is extracted from Silicon Valley and then wasted by Washington. And why would I care about wealth destroyers?"
I am not even going to bother turning around to see if there is any kind of receptivity behind my shoulder. (Laughter.)
But we do live in a world where the private-sector innovation is so powerful that it's tempting to view the world through that lens alone, where the intellectual property and the virtual assets of Yahoo! are more highly valued by Wall Street than the oil reserves and supertankers of Texaco. So I think it can be easy to forget that this global marketplace was neither created by magic nor will it be kept by marketing.
And I wanted to be here today because I believe that Microsoft does understand the crucial connection between our national security and our national prosperity. And Bill Gates a moment ago talked about the connection that we do in fact have.
You do work on information and issues that are of critical importance to us. Critical infrastructure is something that we have to devote more and more time and thought and resources to. We have a new initiative to train those who are departing service members for information technology careers. It's very important to us, as it is to you; and even your support for the restoration of the historical battleship Missouri. So I think you appreciate the connection perhaps more than others do.
1990 film "Navy Seals" DVD movie:
01:47:33
US Navy Lieutenant junior grade Dale Hawkins - United States Navy SEAL: How long you guys want to wait?
JOURNAL ARCHIVE: From: Kerry Burgess
To: Kerry Burgess
Sent: Mon, May 1, 2006 8:34:22 PM
Subject: OK
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12577236/
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Monday that one-time stripper and Playboy Playmate Anna Nicole Smith could pursue part of her late husband’s oil fortune.
[I wonder what her measurements are.]
[JOURNAL ARCHIVE]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099810/quotes
IMDb
The Internet Movie Database
Memorable quotes for
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