So we represent two pre-eminent pillars of American prestige and talent. At the same time, I believe there exists a gap between some in this industry and our military, a gap that is not unique to this industry, but rather indicative of our country. That some soldiers in the high tech revolution do not fully understand or appreciate the soldiers in camouflage. That tanks and guns are somehow rusty relics of the past, nearly obsolete in the new information-based world that will carry us into the future. One executive in Silicon Valley said as much to New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman.
Money is extracted from Silicon Valley and then wasted by Washington.
Indeed, we live in a world where private sector innovation is so powerful that it is tempting to view the world in that fashion, where the intellectual property and virtual assets of Yahoo are more highly valued by Wall Street than the oil reserves and supertankers of Texaco. So it can be easy to forget that this global marketplace was neither created by magic nor will it be kept by marketing. I am here today because I believe that Microsoft does understand the crucial connection between our national security and our national prosperity. Your work on issues of critical infrastructure, your new initiative to train departing service members for information technology careers, and even your support for the restoration of the historic battleship Missouri show that you know and appreciate this connection. And, as an icon of the Information Age, I believe you are in a unique position to help engender greater understanding of this central role of our armed forces in our national life.