A third challenge is to keep the inexorable march of technology from giving terrorists and potentially hostile nations the means to undermine our defenses.  The same advances that have shrunk cell phones to fit in the palms of our hands can also make weapons of terror easier to conceal and easier to use.

We must meet this threat:  by making effective agreements to restrain nuclear and missile programs in North Korea, curbing the flow of lethal technology to Iran; preventing Iraq from threatening its neighbors; increasing our preparedness against chemical and biological attack; protecting our vital computer systems from hackers and criminals; and developing a system to defend against new missile threats—­while working to preserve our Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia.

I hope we can have a constructive bipartisan dialogue this year to build a consensus which will lead eventually to the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

A fourth challenge is to ensure that the stability of our planet is not threatened by the huge gulf between rich and poor.  We cannot accept a world in which part of humanity lives on the cutting edge of a new economy, while the rest live on the bare edge of survival.  We must do our part, with expanded trade, expanded aid, and the expansion of freedom.

From Nigeria to Indonesia, more people won the right to choose their leaders in 1999 than in 1989, the year the Berlin Wall fell.  We must stand by democracies—­like Colombia, fighting narco-traffickers for its people’s lives, and our children’s lives.  I have proposed a strong two-year package to help Colombia win this fight; and I ask for your support.  And I will propose tough new legislation to go after what drug barons value most—­ their money.

In a world where 1.2 billion people live on less than a dollar a day, we must do our part in the global endeavor to reduce the debts of the poorest countries so they can invest in education, health and economic growth—­as the Pope and other religious leaders have urged.  Last year, Congress made a down payment on America’s share.  And I ask for your continued support.

And America must help more nations break the bonds of disease.  Last year in Africa, aids killed ten times as many people as war did.  My budget invests $150 million more in the fight against this and other infectious killers.  Today, I propose a tax credit to speed the development of vaccines for diseases like malaria, TB and aids.  I ask the private sector and our partners around the world to join us in embracing this cause.  Together, we can save millions of lives.