Transcript of a press briefing by National Security Advisor Tony Lake and Director for Strategic Plans and Policy General Wesley Clark on reforming multilateral peacekeeping operations

We cannot remove the military option.

We cannot afford to shortchange our national security.

I believe that you cannot lead the world from this country unless we are strong at home.

The White House announced the appointment of Stanley Roth as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asian Affairs, Sandra Kristoff as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Asia-Pacific Economic Affairs, and Robert L. Suettinger as Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council.

The United States recognizes that the Republic of Georgia faces new challenges in ensuring its national security and is ready to work closely with Georgia to assist it in finding ways to meet these challenges.

I have valued his wise counsel as a key member of our national security team.

Together, we have made major strides in bringing down the deficit while still taking the steps we need to ensure national security and economic growth.

We must not, and we will not, surrender our borders to those who wish to exploit our history of compassion and justice.

I am determined to take the steps necessary to keep our Nation secure.

He concluded that there was a real and present danger; that if we failed to act and to act now, the Iraqis might continue attempting such acts of state-sponsored terrorism.

The successful conversion of resources no longer needed for defense is in the long-term economic and national security interests of their peoples.

It is important to explore the role for defenses in protecting against limited ballistic missile attacks.

I hereby report that I have exercised my statutory authority in order to declare a national emergency to respond to the threat to the national security created by the actions and policies of the Governments of Serbia and Montenegro.

We continued to address the threat to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

The magnitude of the reductions in funding would significantly impact the Intelligence Community's ability to meet today's intelligence challenges.

Put simply, he ensured that I received the unfettered advice of our key national security members.

The proliferation of chemical and biological weapons continues to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.