That production, in turn, makes possible the application of advanced civilian technologies to military uses. Because of the increasingly diverse regional threats to our security interests particularly in regions where U.S. forces are now or may be deployed, the U.S. must demonstrate leadership, in part, by maintaining a strong, effective export control system as one element of a broader nonproliferation and regional strategy. In this regard, DOD has a special responsibility to provide our armed forces with the best and most technologically advanced equipment for fighting future conflicts and for protecting their safety. Our fighting men and women performed brilliantly in Desert Storm, in large measure because they had the advanced technology needed to service and maintain conventional superiority on the battlefield. We must continue to provide the most advanced equipment to our fighting forces, and ensure that this equipment is superior to that of any foe.
Export controls are essential in maintaining our technology lead in key military systems.
Let me emphasize a few major principles that I believe should be kept in mind in implementing export controls. First is the need for a strong policy basis on which to control and, as required, to impose conditions or to deny sensitive exports to any destination for reasons of national security or foreign policy. Second is the need to retain substantial Administration flexibility in both establishing and implementing controls. Third is the need to maintain a sufficiently broad basis for imposing unilateral controls under certain circumstances, while we endeavor at the same time to make such controls more effective by multilateralizing them to the greatest extent possible. I believe that we have already moved effectively to implement these principles by improving the efficiency and transparency of the U.S. Government export control process.