Audio mp3 of Address Audio AR-XE mp3 of Address
Thank you very much. Thank you. And
excellencies and colleagues, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon.
And thank you,
Madam Minister, for your
historically informed and
stirring words. They remind me of the legacy now shared on both sides
of the Atlantic. It's a legacy of freedom, it's a legacy of friendship
and a trusted alliance. With the ingrained respect that two democracies
share for each other and the trust we share with 26 other democracies in
the NATO alliance, your words highlight our enduring transatlantic bond.
I'm grateful to be among so many leaders in our democracies as we forge
our path ahead. This is how we build approaches to working together for
a peaceful and prosperous future.
When it comes to security, no one goes their own way in this world
alone. Security is always best when provided by a team. So it's a
particular honor for me to be here with Minister von der Leyen. Ursula
and I met last week in Washington where we had an excellent in-depth
discussion about the security situation facing not only our nations and
the alliance, but the broader global community as well.
In this regard, I have great respect -- I must put in here -- for
Germany's leadership in Europe and for the ethical performance of their
professional troops on the battlefield.
Like many of us, we just came from Brussels, where we participated in
the NATO defense ministerial. There I found the transatlantic bond
strong and my fellow defense ministers under no allusions about the
threats to our nations face together, and Article V is a bedrock
commitment.
Transatlantic unity buttresses European unity, a fact that we recognize
in the context of cooperation between NATO and the European Union. The
United States welcomes improvements to defense cooperation in Europe,
those that increase capabilities and make European defense more
efficient without lessening NATO interoperability. The NATO-E.U. joint
declaration signed in Warsaw reflects the reality that American security
is permanently tied to the security of Europe. Done correctly, European
initiatives and NATO unity are mutually reinforcing.
Standing on the bedrock of our NATO alliance, 28 democracies help
preserve the rules-based international order, serving to keep the peace
and to defend shared values that grew out of the enlightenment. I was
heartened by the appreciation of our European allies for the increased
threats we face and appreciation that was consistent around the table in
Brussels. The allies recognized 2014 as a watershed year and we could
no longer deny reality.
As guardians for our nations and as sentinels for new threats, we all
see our community of nations under threat on multiple fronts as the arc
of instability builds on NATO's periphery and beyond. Unified by these
growing threats to our democracies, we possess strong resolve. We're
going to adapt the alliance. And now comes the hard part, as Ursula
said, and that's the -- as prudent dictates, moving forward together,
reinforcing deterrence and defense and more directly addressing
terrorist threats along NATO's southern flank, from the Mediterranean to
Turkey's border.
NATO has only two supreme allied commanders. Such is the importance
NATO places on adaption that one of those two commanders is assigned the
sole mission of charting NATO's constant transformation. Supreme Allied
Command for Transformation is the only NATO headquarters in the United
States. Commanded by a four-star French general, he leads some of the
best strategic thinkers from our nations drawn from all the nations, and
this demonstrate the level of importance that we in NATO place on
adapting the alliance to new threats such as terrorism, cyber threats
and hybrid war.
We are engaged as we speak to ensure the alliance is relevant and fit
for its time. The United States is moving units into the Baltic states,
Poland, Romania and Bulgaria, under Operation Atlantic Resolve. And we
joined the United Kingdom, Germany and Canada, nations leading our
combined forward presence forces, as Ursula mentioned, in Poland and the
Baltic states and this is a wholly defensive deployment to maintain
deterrence.
To confront the threats facing our alliance, we must recognize not just
strategic realities, but also political realities. President Trump came
into office and has thrown now his full support to NATO. He too
espouses NATO's need to adapt to today's strategic situation for it to
remain credible, capable and relevant.
Further, as Minister van der Leyen noted last week, it is a fair demand
that all who benefit from the best alliance in the world carry their
proportionate share of the necessary costs to defend our freedoms and we
are committed to passing those freedoms in tact to the next generation.
The message I delivered in Brussels was expected. It was well received
by my fellow defense ministers, as you heard a moment ago, and aligned
with the message of Secretary General Stoltenberg. I stand here with
you, I'm confident that our alliance will be unified in meeting today's
security challenges and I'm also confident that the alliance will adopt
a plan this year, including milestone dates, to make steady progress
toward meeting Warsaw and Wales commitments to carry our fair share of
the security burden.
Ladies and gentlemen, the transatlantic bond remains our strongest
bulwark against instability and violence. NATO exists to protect our
way of life, to include the free exchange of ideas that characterizes
this annual conference in one of the world's great cities. Here, I am
confident that we will strengthen our partnerships, confronting those
who chose to attack innocent people or our democratic processes and our
freedoms.
Thank you very much for having me with you today. Thank you.
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