I particularly want to echo the Secretary-General's praise for the courage of UN peacekeepers, both military and civilian. They have performed ably. They have earned the gratitude of us all. Today, I want to expand on the preliminary assessment I gave to the Secretary-General when he first presented his report to us earlier this month. In offering my government's perspective on past lessons and future challenges, let me begin by saying that the Secretary-General has correctly pointed out that we are still in a time of transition.
Transitions go on for a long time.
But the experience of the last six years suggests that unfortunately turbulence, unrest and sometimes violent change will be with us for a Protracted period. Instead, our task is to make sense of the current era and learn to adjust our policies so that we may pursue the goal of a more secure world despite the turbulence we see around us. But the results of our efforts, to date, have been mixed. Success in Namibia, Iraq, Cambodia, El Salvador and Mozambique. Accomplishment diluted by frustration in Bosnia and Somalia.