Jim Kolbe: “Mr. Chairman, this evening we are beginning what I believe is a very historic debate in this body. I know that is…”

“Mr. Chairman, this evening we are beginning what I believe is a very historic debate in this body. I know that is sometimes an overworked word; but I think one has to go back to the last century, to the early part of the last century, and look at the vote and debate on the League of Nations, or the middle of the century to look at the debate on lend-lease, or towards the end of the century to look at the debate on Desert Storm, to find issues and foreign policy that really were pivotal to the future of this country. I say pivotal to the future of this country, because I believe, as important as the issues about trade and human rights and economic advantages are, this issue is not really about China, it is about America. As we embark on this century and this new millennium, the United States has to decide what role it is going to play in the world. There is this much discussed 'death of distance' that we hear about today, but it is real. State-of-the-art telecommunications systems have brought about a global village. Now people from every corner of the planet are only a phone call, a satellite hookup, an e-mail away from each other. But in the wrong hands, technology has the potential to do great harm.”