Yet, we have been blind to the fact that this promising new century has arrived at a time of plague. It is twenty years since the onset of the HIV/AIDS crisis, but we have only just begun to grasp the threat it poses to this promising new world.

AIDS is often likened to the Bubonic plague of the 14^th century, which killed one-third of Europe. But this is not the Middle Ages, ladies and gentlemen. Back then, people did not know what caused the pestilence or how it spread. They thought that it resulted from an alignment of the planets, or was visited upon them for their sins by a wrathful God.

We of the 21^st century know better. We know that a virus causes AIDS. And we know how to prevent its spread. Treatments have been developed. Science has given us grounds to hope for vaccines and, ultimately, for a cure.

All this is known. Yet, to date, our global response to this rapidly spreading scourge has been woefully inadequate. What will historians say of us if we continue to delay? Will history record a fateful moment in our time, on our watch, when action came too late?

AIDS respects no man, woman or child. It knows no race, religion, class or creed. No community, country, or continent is immune from its ravages. Let us resolve that, from this moment on, our response to AIDS must be no less comprehensive, no less relentless and no less swift than the pandemic itself.

President Bush joins Secretary General Annan in the conviction that AIDS is so immense in its scope and profound in its impact that it compels new thinking and concerted action. As the President has said: "Only through sustained and focused international cooperation can we address problems so grave and suffering so great."

Last month President Bush announced a pledge of $200 million to jump start the global fund, a bold, new public/private partnership to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. We hope this seed money will help generate billions more from donors all over the world. And more will come from the United States as we learn where our support can be most effective.

Beyond the global fund, I am proud to say that my government has been, and will continue to be, the largest bilateral donor in the fight against AIDS, providing 50 percent of all international funding. To date, the United States has dedicated over $1.6 billion to combat AIDS in the developing world. President Bush's budget for the next fiscal year seeks $480 million, more than double the fiscal year 2000 amount. The President is also requesting over $3.4 billion for AIDS research. The United States -- I pledge today -- will continue to lead the world in funding vital research.

President Bush has put the full force of his government, the full force of his cabinet, behind the U.S. response to this crisis. He has named Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, who is here today, and me to co-chair a special task force to ensure that my government's efforts are comprehensive and coordinated.

Comprehensive and coordinated these efforts must be, for AIDS is not just a humanitarian or health issue. It not only kills. It also destroys communities. It decimates countries. It destabilizes regions. It can consume continents. No war on the face of the earth is more destructive than the AIDS pandemic.

I was a soldier. But I know of no enemy in war more insidious or vicious than AIDS. An enemy that poses a clear and present danger to the world. The war against AIDS has no front lines. We must wage it on every front. And only an integrated approach makes sense. An approach that emphasizes prevention and public education. But it also must include treatment, care for orphans, measures to stop mother-to-child transmission, affordable drugs, delivery systems and infrastructure, medical training. And of course, it must include research into vaccines and a cure.

All of these elements are essential and must be aggressively pursued. But unless a strong emphasis is put on prevention, prevention and more prevention, this pandemic will continue to rage out of control.

In this global war against AIDS, everyone can and must be a leader. Everyone can and must be an ally. We are all vulnerable -- big nations and small, the wealthy and the poor. We cannot let AIDS divide us. My country is ready to work with all nations to build a global coalition of action against this common foe.

It is not just governments who can play leadership roles. Philanthropists, foundations and corporations must step up to the challenge. Contributing to the global fund is one important way to do that, and I urge all the members of the international community, public and private, to join in making substantial pledges to this crusade.

I do not, however, want to leave the impression that the global fund is only for big donors. UNICEF is a wonderful example of how grassroots efforts can raise significant money and international awareness.

Leadership also comes from individuals, non-governmental institutions and faith-based organizations. Let me describe just a few of those kinds of organizations that are doing such wonderful work, people who are doing such wonderful work, the kind of people and organizations we can help with this trust fund.

For example, there is Dr. Jean William Pape, who co-founded the only institution in Haiti that gives post-graduate AIDS training to medical workers. Or in Poland, Father Arkadiusz Nowak speaks out against the misperception that AIDS is a punishment from God. He has established a foundation and homes for people with AIDS. In Tahiti, twenty-six year-old journalist Maire Bopp Dupont has used her HIV-positive status to raise awareness through a popular radio show.

All of these people doing what they can, speaking out. And we should help encourage millions more to do so.

Silence kills. Silence kills. Breaking the silence is a powerful way that people at all levels of society can combat the disease. I do not minimize the courage it can take to come forward, to challenge taboos and change traditions. But that kind of courage is needed or more people will die.

Opinion leaders from all walks of life must deliver the message that AIDS is real. That our enemy is the HIV virus, not its victims. That those who carry HIV deserve compassion, not ostracism. That they deserve to be treated with dignity, not with disdain. I must, you must, all public officials must use the spotlight we are given to speak out and make AIDS a top priority.

Many speakers have noted the dreadful toll that AIDS is taking. And after the tenth or the twentieth speech, even the most shocking statistics start to numb. But let me try to make it more relevant.

This hall holds about 2,000 people. By the time three hours of this session elapse, 2,000 people around the world -- just about the same number who are here -- will be newly infected with HIV/AIDS. That's one for every one in this room.

In some countries the infection rate is so high that one in three of us -- the delegate to your right, the delegate to your left, or you, yourself -- would be HIV positive. If this disease goes unchecked, the misery and the destruction will continue to grow exponentially. It can rob us all of our future. We must not let it rob us of our future.

The world is looking to us today. The world wants us to act. We must act, and we must act now. This is the time. This is the place. And we must not fail the people of the world who are looking to us for leadership.

Thank you very much.