speeches
15th Meeting of Atlantik Bruecke with Military Commanders - Welcome Dinner
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Berlin
September 12, 2006
In the year that I have been in Germany, I have had the opportunity to participate in a number of Atlantik Bruecke events. Your programs focus on the nuts-and-bolts issues of strengthening structures of transatlantic cooperation. These are important goals and I would like to thank the staff and members of the Atlantik Bruecke for their ongoing initiative and commitment to our transatlantic ideals. It is crucial that the commitment to transatlantic bridge-building that we saw over the last half-century be adapted for the future.
The accomplishments of the transatlantic alliance in the period since the World War II far exceeded what even optimists could have hoped for in the late 1940s.
There are few, if any, alliances that have yielded such benefits for their members or for the broader international community. The postwar German-American partnership itself is said to be the greatest diplomatic success story in modern history. It was the keystone to the remarkable changes that led to the building of a Europe, whole, free and at peace. That achievement would not have been possible without the Atlantic Alliance and its manifestations - NATO, American troops in Europe, the Marshall Plan, the U.N., and other international institutions.
The first years of this new century have also been times of amazing change and transformation. Yesterday, we commemorated the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. As we mourn those we lost and honor the heroes who gave up their own lives to try to save others, we also reflect on the challenges we have faced in waging an unprecedented war against an enemy unlike any we have fought before. In order to be effective, our military forces have had to become more agile, more expeditionary, more deployable, than the massed armies of the past.
The Global War on Terrorism is not just a military war. National intelligence organizations, police departments at all levels around the world, and financial institutions have worked to address the difficult problems of tracking down terrorists. It is important that the international community work together to build a common foundation that will allow us to attack these problems together.
This evening I would like to salute a 21st century optimist. General James L. Jones assumed the duties of NATO supreme allied commander in Europe and commander of the United States European Command in January 2003. Those were challenging days for the United States and its longtime allies and friends.
I met General Jones just shortly after we arrived in Berlin last year. In fact, the occasion was the 2005 annual Atlantik Bruecke Expert Meeting with the U.S. European Command. Sue and I hosted a dinner at the Residence for General Jones where we had the chance to talk at some length.
Since then, of course, we have met on several occasions and I have come to respect and value his opinion as both a friend and an expert. It must be the Marine Corps background combined with the Georgetown School of Foreign Service degree that makes General Jones stand out.
That’s why General Jones has said repeatedly he feels that he is in Europe at the most exciting time possible. In the four years that he has served, we have entered the 21st century in ways that we would not have thought possible as recently as 2002-2003. As General Jones himself admitted, no one would have thought in 2003, that today we would be standing on the verge of asking NATO to take over the entire operation in Afghanistan, or that we would ever be able to muster any kind of political consensus to have a mission in Iraq,
For the past 4 years, General Jones has directed efforts to support and achieve U.S. interests and objectives in 91 countries in Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and portions of the Middle East.
Most importantly for us here today, as head of EUCOM, General Jones has demonstrated his ability has continually reached out to our Host Nation. His positive, forward-thinking approach has measurably strengthened the relationship with the government and leadership of Germany. General Jones has led with tremendous intelligence, industry, and integrity.
I'd like to publicly thank him for his service to the nation and to our transatlantic partnership.
As prepared for delivery/
