Bill Clinton: “Bondsteel November 23, 1999 Thank you. Well, the people at my table said that the speech I gave to the other troops was…”

“Bondsteel November 23, 1999 Thank you. Well, the people at my table said that the speech I gave to the other troops was piped in here, which means it either was or it wasn't. And if it was, you heard it, and if it wasn't, you get relieved of hearing it. [Laughter] Let me say to all of you how very grateful I am for your service here and for the power of your example here. As I said to the other troops, NATO won the military victory, but now the people of Kosovo have to win the peace, and you have to help them win it, not only by doing your jobs but by setting a good example. This was a war caused by a man's determination to drive a whole people out of a country because of their ethnic and religious background. It's the opposite of everything we believe in, everything we live by, and everything the United States military stands for. And you just look around this room today. We just celebrated Thanksgiving with, I bet you, conservatively, 25 different ethnic groups represented among the American military forces here in this room--maybe 50, maybe it's more. We are interested and proud in and proud of our background, and we should be, but we know that our common humanity and our shared values are more important. That's the message that the children need to get here in Kosovo.…”