German-American Young Leaders Group, American Council on Germany

Berlin
August 27 2006

It is a pleasure to welcome you all here in Berlin at the start of the 28th annual American Council on Germany conference for young leaders. I would like to congratulate the Council on the caliber of the delegates and for putting together an excellent program. Having just arrived in Berlin myself, I wish I could sit in on more of the meetings that Bill and his staff have planned for you.

My most recent assignment was in Brussels at NATO headquarters and so I will frame my remarks in terms of transatlantic policy agendas and transatlantic cooperation. But now I am here in Germany – and I couldn’t be more delighted to be here. The meetings I had with senior officials in Washington earlier this month, and my experience since arriving in Berlin last week only confirms what I had come to recognize at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Germany has moved to the very center of our transatlantic partnership.

It is an exciting time to be here -- a time of challenge, it is true, but also a time of extraordinary potential to work together for our common good and a better world. The last time I served in this country, Germany was a divided country. I was posted in the Embassy in East Berlin. Looking back, that time was marked by events like the shooting death of Major Nicholson of our military mission in Potsdam, the release of Natan Scharansky at the Glienicke Bridge, the Labelle Disco bombing in West Berlin, Markus Wolff’s press conference, glasnost, perestroika.

In contrast, my assignment in Brussels was about unity of purpose, not division. A little over a decade ago, NATO was a security alliance facing a threat from the East. It included 16 countries – with a high state of planning, well trained and exercised – but it had never conducted military operations. In my day-to-day work at NATO’s Brussels headquarters over the last three years, I worked with 25 other Alliance members and 31 partners, providing security in eight different operations.

When I arrived at NATO in 2003, the Alliance had just taken the lead international role for security in the Afghan capital, Kabul. When I left last month, NATO had the lead in three quarters of the country, and was preparing to take command for all of Afghanistan later this year. It was Germany that led NATO to begin expanding Kabul, and Germany remains the lead Ally in the north. This is a difficult mission, and we are fulfilling it together – like true partners.

Within NATO, we have seen a strengthening and deepening of the strategic dialogue among allies. This reinforces the concept of dialogue that President Bush called for in February of 2005, when he visited NATO headquarters in Brussels. The round table at NATO headquarters is most definitely a place where members talk about all of the challenges that we face. There have been meetings with Africanists from around the Alliance and with energy security specialists. There are regular briefings on Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and discussions on how to work together to strengthen China’s peaceful rise. Today we have a flexible, open, and collaborative NATO that is increasingly looking at global partnerships. That is indicative of the transatlantic relationship as a whole.

Despite the tensions and disagreements of 2003, it is very obvious that Europe and the United States have consulted and developed joint approaches to common problems. We especially appreciate the steps Chancellor Merkel has taken to carry forward the momentum of the President’s visit to Brussels and Mainz in February 2005. Chancellor Merkel and President Bush speak frequently and have developed a strong personal relationship. She has done much to uphold the tradition and spirit of German-American relations and place proper emphasis on transatlantic cooperation, focusing attention on common strategies and policies to meet the globe's great challenges.

The recent headlines on terrorist plots in the UK and Germany remind us that five years after 9/11 the world still faces a very real and significant terrorist threat – a new face of violent Islamic extremism, closer to home, indeed right at home. Yesterday, I was in the beautiful city of Hamburg, a city that has been open to the world for centuries. It is also where Mohammed Atta and others planned the September 11 attacks. How do we deal with this, and how do we deal with home grown Islamic terrorism? This demands more sharing of information, more committed and cooperative action, both within and between nations. There is a strong domestic, even local dimension to this new challenge, but there is also a strong transnational dimension that we much address together.

Terrorists like those who were responsible for September 11 or those who appear to be behind recent plots have long targeted the United States and partners who stand for freedom. No cause, no grievance, no political agenda can justify terrorism and the murder of innocent people. Terrorists ignore borders as much as they disregard human life. They attack airplanes, trains, buses, schools, ships, hotels, and restaurants. They change their tactics as often as they change their targets. Through the indiscriminate killing of innocent people, they have repeatedly shown their contempt for human life, regardless of race, ethnicity or religion. International cooperation and vigilance remain essential to fighting this determined enemy.

We must succeed in the struggle against terrorism, and we can succeed. Earlier this summer, Germany hosted the World Cup – with great success. Germany ensured the safety of hundreds of thousands of spectators in stadiums and at Fan Fests. That was no coincidence. It was the result of excellent planning -- and extensive and groundbreaking cooperation with participating, neighboring and transit countries. British bobbies, Dutch border guards, U.S. experts, and NATO AWACS planes all played their part. Effectiveness requires cooperation.

The international community also has the responsibility to help the people of Lebanon and Israel to secure the lasting peace they both desire -- and both deserve. The people of the Middle East have lived for too long at the mercy of extremists. The UN Security Council resolution provides an opportunity to overcome old patterns of violence and build a new foundation for stable and sustainable peace.

The ceasefire agreement reached last week was a good first step. Now comes the long, hard work to secure the peace. The conditions of a lasting peace must be nurtured over time, with the goodwill of the Lebanese and Israeli governments, and with the sustained commitment of the international community. The resolution is very clear about how this tragedy began. Six years after Israel withdrew completely from Lebanon, Hezbollah, a terrorist group, crossed an international boundary, captured and killed Israeli soldiers, and began firing thousands of rockets into Israeli cities.

Hezbollah and its sponsors have brought devastation upon the people of Lebanon, dragging them into a war they did not choose, and exploiting them as human shields. A durable ceasefire will require changed circumstances so that the government of Lebanon, not a terrorist organization, controls all of the weapons and territory of Lebanon.

Looking ahead, the pressing challenge is to help the hundreds of thousands of displaced people within Lebanon to return to their homes and rebuild their lives. The government of Lebanon will lead this reconstruction effort, but it will demand the generosity of the entire world. To secure the gains of peace, the Lebanese people must emerge from this conflict with more opportunities and greater prosperity.

In closing, I'd like to salute the participants of this year’s Young Leaders Conference and leave you with a challenge. During the course of my career, I have learned that transatlantic relations, indeed, nation-to-nation relationships anywhere, are not just about governments talking to each other. International relations are based on personal associations. Strong people-to-people connections and networks and sustained dialogue and information exchange are at the foundation of any partnership -- and the transatlantic relationship in particular.

So while on this trip to Germany, expand your network. In doing so, each one of you can make a crucial difference in helping us fulfill our mission: to work with all our partners to create a more secure, democratic and prosperous world for the benefit of the international community.

Thank you.