PRESIDENT BUSH: Thank you all. Labdien! (Applause.)
Madam President, thank you for your kind words. Thank you for your
leadership, and thank you for your friendship. Mr. Speaker; Mr. Prime
Minister; Senator Sessions from the great state of Alabama, who is with
us; Mark Leland, my friend from a long period of time. I want to thank
the Rector of this important university. Distinguished guests, ladies
and gentlemen, thank you for your warm welcome. I'm delighted to be back
in Riga.
I appreciate the Latvian Transatlantic Organization, the Commission
of Strategic Analysis, and the German Marshall Fund of the United States
for organizing this important conference. This is my third visit to the
Baltics as the President of the United States, and it's my second visit
to this beautiful city. I just can't stay away. I'm thrilled and honored
to be back here, and I bring the greetings and good wishes of the
American people.
Not far from where we meet today stands Riga's Freedom Monument. It
was erected in 1935, during this country's brief period of independence
between the two world wars. During the dark years of Soviet occupation,
the simple act of laying flowers at the foot of this monument was
considered a crime by Communist authorities. In 1989, the monument was
the scene of one of the most remarkable protests in the history of
freedom. Hundreds of thousands of people stood together and formed a
human chain that stretched nearly 400 miles across the Baltics -- from
Tallinn in the north, through downtown Riga, and into the heart of
Vilnius. By joining hands, the people of this region showed their unity
and their determination to live in freedom -- and it made clear to the
Soviet authorities that the Baltic peoples would accept nothing less
than complete independence.
It took more years of struggle, but today the Baltic nations have
taken their rightful place in the community of free nations, and Latvia
is a host for an important NATO Summit -- the first time our Alliance
has met in one of the "captive nations" annexed by the Soviet Union.
This is a proud day for the people of Latvia, and all the Baltic states
-- and on behalf of the American people, I thank you for your
hospitality, your friendship, and the courage you are showing in the
NATO Alliance.
As members of NATO, you are a vital part of the most effective
multilateral organization in the world, and the most important military
alliance in history. As NATO allies, you will never again stand alone in
defense of your freedom and you'll never be occupied by a foreign power.
Each of the Baltic countries is meeting its obligations to strengthen
NATO by bringing new energy and vitality and clarity of purpose to the
Alliance. Your love of liberty has made NATO stronger -- and with your
help, our Alliance is rising to meet the great challenges and
responsibilities of this young century, by making NATO the world's most
effective united force for freedom.
One of the great responsibilities of this Alliance is to strengthen
and expand the circle of freedom here in Europe. In the nearly six
decades since NATO's founding, Europe has experienced an unprecedented
expansion of liberty. A continent that was once divided by an ugly wall
is now united in freedom. Yet the work of uniting Europe is not fully
complete. Many nations that threw off the shackles of tyranny are still
working to build the free institutions that are the foundation of
successful democracies. NATO is encouraging these nations on the path to
reform -- and as governments make hard decisions for their people, they
will be welcomed into the institutions of the Euro-Atlantic community.
After I took office in 2001, I declared that the United States
believes in NATO membership for all of Europe's democracies that seek it
-- and are ready to share the responsibilities that NATO brings. The
following year in Prague, we invited seven nations to join our Alliance
-- Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, and
Slovenia. Here in Riga, allies will make clear that the door to NATO
membership remains open, and at our next summit in 2008, we hope to
issue additional invitations to nations that are ready for membership.
Today, Croatia, Macedonia, and Albania are all participating in
NATO's Membership Action Plan, and the United States supports their
aspirations to join the Atlantic Alliance. Georgia is seeking NATO
membership, as well, and as it continues on the path of reform, we will
continue to support Georgia's desire to become a NATO ally. We are also
supporting the leaders of Ukraine, as they work to curb corruption,
promote the rule of law, and serve the cause of peace. Our position is
clear: As democracy takes hold in Ukraine and its leaders pursue vital
reforms, NATO membership will be open to the Ukrainian people if they
choose it.
We're also working with Russia through the NATO-Russia Council. We
recognize that Russia is a vital and important country, and that it's in
our interests to increase our cooperation with Russia in areas such as
countering terrorism, and preventing the spread of weapons of mass
destruction. By building ties between Russia and this Alliance, we will
strengthen our common security and we will advance the cause of peace.
As we help the new democracies of Europe join the institutions of
Europe, we must not forget those who still languish in tyranny. Just
across the border from here lies the nation of Belarus -- a place where
peaceful protesters are beaten and opposition leaders are "disappeared"
by the agents of a cruel regime. The existence of such oppression in our
midst offends the conscience of Europe, and it offends the conscience of
America. We have a message for the people of Belarus: The vision of a
Europe whole, free, and at peace includes you -- and we stand with you
in your struggle for freedom.
Another great responsibility of this Alliance is to transform for new
challenges. When NATO was formed in 1949, its principal mission was to
protect Europe from a Soviet tank invasion. Today, the Soviet threat is
gone. And under the able leadership of the Secretary General, NATO is
transforming from a static alliance focused on the defense of Europe,
into an expedentiary* [sic] alliance ready to deploy outside of Europe
in the defense of freedom. This is a vital mission.
Over the past six years, we've taken decisive action to transform our
capabilities in the Alliance. We created a new NATO transformation
command, to ensure that our Alliance is always preparing for the threats
of the future. We created a new NATO battalion to counter the threats of
enemies armed with weapons of mass destruction. We created a new NATO
Response Force, to ensure that our Alliance can deploy rapidly and
effectively.
Here in Riga, we're taking new steps to build on this progress. At
this summit, we will launch a NATO Special Operations Forces Initiative
that will strengthen the ability of special operations personnel from
NATO nations to work together on the battlefield. We will announce a new
Strategic Airlift Initiative that will ensure that participating NATO
members have a dedicated fleet of C-17 aircraft at their disposal. We
will launch the Riga Global Partnership Initiative that will allow NATO
to conduct joint training and joint exercises and common defense
planning with nations like Japan and Australia -- countries that share
NATO's values and want to work with our Alliance in the cause of peace.
We will launch a new NATO Training Cooperation Initiative that will
allow military forces in the Middle East to receive NATO training in
counter-terrorism and counter-proliferation and peace support
operations. And as we take these steps, every NATO nation must take the
defensive -- must make the defensive investments necessary to give NATO
the capabilities it needs, so that our Alliance is ready for any
challenge that may emerge in the decades to come.
The most basic responsibility of this Alliance is to defend our
people against the threats of a new century. We're in a long struggle
against terrorists and extremists who follow a hateful ideology and seek
to establish a totalitarian empire from Spain to Indonesia. We fight
against the extremists who desire safe havens and are willing to kill
innocents anywhere to achieve their objectives.
NATO has recognized this threat. And three years ago, NATO took an
unprecedented step when it sent allied forces to defend a young
democracy more than 3,000 miles from Europe. Since taking command of the
International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, NATO has
expanded it from a small force that was operating only in Kabul into a
robust force that conducts security operations in all of Afghanistan.
NATO is helping to train the Afghan National Army. The Alliance is
operating 25 Provincial Reconstruction Teams that are helping the
central government extend its reach into distant regions of that
country. At this moment, all 26 NATO allies, and 11 partner nations are
contributing forces to NATO's mission in Afghanistan. They're serving
with courage and they are doing the vital work necessary to help this
young democracy secure the peace.
We saw the effectiveness of NATO forces this summer, when NATO took
charge of security operations in Southern Afghanistan from the United
States. The Taliban radicals who are trying to pull down Afghanistan's
democracy and regain power saw the transfer from American to NATO
control as a window of opportunity to test the will of the Alliance. So
the Taliban massed a large fighting force near Kandahar to face the NATO
troops head on. It was a mistake. Together with the Afghan National
Army, NATO forces from Canada and Denmark and the Netherlands and
Britain and Australia and the United States engaged the enemy -- with
operational support from Romanian, Portuguese, and Estonian forces.
According to NATO commanders, allied forces fought bravely and inflicted
great damage on the Taliban.
General David Richards, the British commander of NATO troops in
Afghanistan, puts it this way: "There were doubts about NATO and our
ability to conduct demanding security operations. There are no questions
about our ability now. We've killed many hundreds of Taliban, and it has
removed any doubt in anybody's mind that NATO can do what we were sent
here to do."
Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, and drug traffickers and criminal
elements and local warlords remain active and committed to destroying
democracy in Afghanistan. Defeating them will require the full
commitment of our Alliance. For NATO to succeed, its commanders on the
ground must have the resources and flexibility they need to do their
jobs. The Alliance was founded on a clear principle: an attack on one is
an attack on all. That principle holds true whether the attack is on our
home soil, or on our forces deployed on a NATO mission abroad. Today
Afghanistan is NATO's most important military operation, and by standing
together in Afghanistan, we'll protect our people, defend our freedom,
and send a clear message to the extremists the forces of freedom and
decency will prevail.
Every ally can take pride in the transformation that NATO is making
possible for the people of Afghanistan. Because of our efforts,
Afghanistan has gone from a totalitarian nightmare to a free nation,
with an elected president, a democratic constitution, and brave soldiers
and police fighting for their country.
Over 4.6 million Afghan refugees have come home. It's one of the
largest return movements in history. The Afghan economy has tripled in
size over the past five years. About two million girls are now in
school, compared to zero under the Taliban -- and 85 women were elected
or appointed to the Afghan National Assembly. A nation that was once a
terrorist sanctuary has been transformed into an ally in the war on
terror, led by a brave President, Hamid Karzai. Our work in Afghanistan
is bringing freedom to the Afghan people, it is bringing security to the
Euro-Atlantic community, and it's bringing pride to the NATO Alliance.
NATO allies are also making vital contributions to the struggle for
freedom in Iraq. At this moment, a dozen NATO allies, including every
one of the Baltic nations, are contributing forces to the coalition in
Iraq. And 18 NATO countries plus Ukraine are contributing forces to the
NATO Training Mission that is helping develop the next generation of
leaders for the Iraqi Security Forces. To date, NATO has trained nearly
3,000 Iraqi personnel, including nearly 2,000 officers and civilian
defense officials trained inside Iraq, plus an additional 800 Iraqis
trained outside the country. NATO has also helped Iraqis stand up a new
military academy near Baghdad, so Iraqis can develop their own military
leaders in the years to come. And NATO has contributed $128 million in
military equipment to the Iraqi military, including 77 Hungarian T-72
battle tanks. By helping to equip the Iraqi Security Forces and train
the next group of Iraqi military leaders, NATO is helping the Iraqi
people in the difficult work of securing their country and their
freedom.
Tomorrow, I'm going to travel to Jordan where I will meet with the
Prime Minister of Iraq. We will discuss the situation on the ground in
his country, our ongoing efforts to transfer more responsibility to the
Iraqi Security Forces, and the responsibility of other nations in the
region to support the security and stability of Iraq. We'll continue to
be flexible, and we'll make the changes necessary to succeed. But
there's one thing I'm not going to do: I'm not going to pull our troops
off the battlefield before the mission is complete.
The battles in Iraq and Afghanistan are part of a struggle between
moderation and extremism that is unfolding across the broader Middle
East. Our enemy follows a hateful ideology that rejects fundamental
freedoms like the freedom to speak, to assemble, or to worship God in
the way you see fit. It opposes the rights for women. Their goal is to
overthrow governments and to impose their totalitarian rule on millions.
They have a strategy to achieve these aims. They seek to convince
America and our allies that we cannot defeat them, and that our only
hope is to withdraw and abandon an entire region to their domination.
The war on terror we fight today is more than a military conflict; it is
the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century. And in this
struggle, we can accept nothing less than victory for our children and
our grandchildren.
We see this struggle in Lebanon, where last week gunmen assassinated
that country's Industry Minister, Pierre Gemayel, a prominent leader of
the movement that secured Lebanon's independence last year. His murder
showed once again the viciousness of those who are trying to destabilize
Lebanon's young democracy. We see this struggle in Syria, where the
regime allows Iranian weapons to pass through its territory into
Lebanon, and provides weapons and political support to Hezbollah. We see
this struggle in Iran, where a reactionary regime subjugates its proud
people, arrests free trade union leaders, and uses Iran's resources to
fund the spread of terror and pursue nuclear weapons. We see this
struggle in the Palestinian Territories, where extremists are working to
stop moderate leaders from making progress toward the vision of two
democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace
and security.
In each of these places, extremists are using terror to stop the
spread of freedom. Some are Shia extremists, others are Sunni extremists
-- but they represent different faces of the same threat. And if they
succeed in undermining fragile democracies, and drive the forces of
freedom out of the region, they will have an open field to pursue their
goals. Each strain of violent Islamic radicalism would be emboldened in
its efforts to gain control of states and establish new safe havens. The
extremists would use oil resources to fuel their radical agenda, and to
punish industrialized nations, and pursue weapons of mass destruction.
Armed with nuclear weapons, they could blackmail the free world, spread
their ideologies of hate, and raise a mortal threat to Europe, America,
and the entire civilized world.
If we allow the extremists to do this, then 50 years from now history
will look back on our time with unforgiving clarity, and demand to know
why we did not act. Our Alliance has a responsibility to act. We must
lift up and support the moderates and reformers who are working for
change across the broader Middle East. We must bring hope to millions by
strengthening young democracies from Kabul to Baghdad, to Beirut. And we
must advance freedom as the great alternative to tyranny and terror.
I know some in my country, and some here in Europe, are pessimistic
about the prospects of democracy and peace in the Middle East. Some
doubt whether the people of that region are ready for freedom, or want
it badly enough, or have the courage to overcome the forces of
totalitarian extremism. I understand these doubts, but I do not share
them. I believe in the universality of freedom. I believe that the
people of the Middle East want their liberty. I'm impressed by the
courage I see in the people across the region who are fighting for their
liberty.
We see this courage in the eight million Afghans who defied terrorist
threats and went to the polls to choose their leaders. We see this
courage in the nearly 12 million Iraqis who refused to let the car
bombers and assassins stop them from voting for the free future of their
country. We see this courage in the more than one million Lebanese who
voted for a free and sovereign government to rule their land. And we see
this courage in citizens from Damascus to Tehran, who, like the citizens
of Riga before them, keep the flame of liberty burning deep within their
hearts, knowing that one day its light will shine throughout their
nations.
There was a time, not so long ago, when many doubted that liberty
could succeed in Europe. Here in the Baltics, many can still recall the
early years of the Cold War, when freedom's victory was not so obvious
or assured. In 1944, the Soviet Red Army reoccupied Latvia, Lithuania,
and Estonia, plunging this region into nearly five decades of communist
rule. In 1947, communist forces were threatening Greece and Turkey, the
reconstruction of Germany was faltering, and mass starvation was setting
in across Europe. In 1948, Czechoslovakia fell to communism, France and
Italy were threatened by the same fate, and Berlin was blockaded on the
orders of Josef Stalin. In 1949, the Soviet Union exploded a nuclear
weapon -- and weeks later, communist forces took control in China. And
in the summer of 1950, seven North Korean divisions poured across the
border into South Korea, marking the start of the first direct military
clash of the Cold War. All of this took place in the six years following
World War II.
Yet today, six decades later, the Cold War is over, the Soviet Union
is no more, and the NATO Alliance is meeting in the capital of a free
Latvia. Europe no longer produces armed ideologies that threaten other
nations with aggression and conquest and occupation. And a continent
that was for generations a source of instability and global war has
become a source of stability and peace. Freedom in Europe has brought
peace to Europe, and freedom has brought the power to bring peace to the
broader Middle East.
Soon after I took office, I spoke to students at Warsaw University. I
told them America had learned the lessons of history. I said, "No more
Munichs, and no more Yaltas." I was speaking at the time about Europe,
but the lessons of Yalta apply equally across the world. The question
facing our nations today is this: Will we turn the fate of millions over
to totalitarian extremists, and allow the enemy to impose their hateful
ideology across the Middle East? Or will we stand with the forces of
freedom in that part of the world, and defend the moderate majority who
want a future of peace?
My country has made its choice, and so has the NATO Alliance. We
refuse to give in to a pessimism that consigns millions across the
Middle East to endless oppression. We understand that, ultimately, the
only path to lasting peace is through the rise of lasting free
societies.
Here in the Baltic region, many understand that freedom is universal
and worth the struggle. During the second world war, a young girl here
in Riga escaped with her family from the advancing Red Army. She fled
westward, moving first to a refugee camp in Germany, and then later to
Morocco, where she and her family settled for five-and-a-half years.
Spending her teenage years in a Muslim nation, this Latvian girl came to
understand a fundamental truth about humanity: Moms and dads in the
Muslim world want the same things for their children as moms and dads
here in Riga -- a future of peace, a chance to live in freedom, and the
opportunity to build a better life.
Today, that Latvian girl is the leader of a free country -- the Iron
Lady of the Baltics, the President of Latvia. (Applause.) And the
lessons she learned growing up in Casablanca guide her as she leads her
nation in this world. Here is how she put it earlier this year, in an
address to a joint meeting of the United States Congress: "We know the
value of freedom and feel compassion for those who are still deprived of
it. Every nation on Earth is entitled to freedom," your President said.
She said, "We must share the dream that some day there won't be a
tyranny left anywhere in the world. We must work for this future, all of
us, large and small, together."
Like your President, I believe this dream is within reach, and
through the NATO Alliance, nations large and small are working together
to achieve it.
We thank the people of Latvia for your contributions to NATO, and for
the powerful example you set for liberty. I appreciate your hospitality
at this summit. America is proud to call you friends and allies in the
cause of peace and freedom. May God bless you, and may God continue to
bless America. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
* expeditionary |