George H.W. Bush: “We see less--because of the hostility that existed, cold war hostility--we see less imminent threat. But who knows in…”

“We see less--because of the hostility that existed, cold war hostility--we see less imminent threat. But who knows in this changing world where the security threats will come to the freedom of small ASEAN countries, for example. And what we will do is preserve a certain security presence. But I think it's fair to say that as the world has changed dramatically, as the cold war is over, the threat that existed between the Soviet Union and the United States is certainly way, way, way down. And I think our friends in Asia see it that way. But I think everyone recognizes that there can be untoward happenings. We saw one just a year ago in the Persian Gulf that required a mobility and a presence eventually in the Gulf by the United States. So, we are not in a war frame of mind. We're in a peace frame of mind, but we're keeping our eyes open. And there are certain security considerations that ASEAN countries agree with us exists, and we'll just act accordingly.”