speeches
15th Meeting of Atlantik Bruecke with Military Commanders - Opening Session
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Berlin
September 13, 2006
I appreciate the chance to greet the organizers and participants of the 15th annual Atlantik Bruecke conference to highlight the unique relationship between the United States and Germany. This regular examination of post Cold War security parameters and the transatlantic relationship is testimony to the ongoing dedication of the Atlantik Bruecke.
For the last six decades, Europeans and Americans have stood together in friendship, united in purpose – with historic results. Nowhere is the success of the transatlantic partnership more obvious than right here in Berlin, the capital of a reunited Germany. Over the past 15 years, we have also seen NATO rise to meet many post-Cold War security challenges, from Bosnia and Kosovo to Afghanistan, and just recently, Lebanon.
Two days ago, we commemorated the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That event, too, has taken its place in history. The larger lesson of September 11 is that all those who love freedom must be prepared for surprise – from wherever it may appear and however it may threaten. The recent headlines on terrorist plots in the UK and Germany remind us five years after 9/11 that the world still faces a very real threat – a new face of violent Islamic extremism, closer to home, indeed right at home.
The threat of terrorism raises many questions about the foreign policy premises and defense capabilities of the United States and its NATO partners. Today warfare is increasingly asymmetric. One side puts their men and women in uniform at risk, obeying the laws of war, while the other side uses those laws and conventions against us.
2006 is a very important year for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. At the Riga summit in November, heads of state will have the opportunity to validate a number of things that have been happening in NATO over the past few years. They will be mapping the future direction of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in this very difficult world where transformation is, by necessity, ongoing. Whether leading peacekeeping in Afghanistan, training Iraqi military leaders, patrolling the Mediterranean, delivering humanitarian aid, or helping transport African Union troops, NATO is the place where transatlantic democracies gather, consult, forge strategic consensus, and make decisions on joint action. NATO is where leaders turn when they want to get something done in partnership. We must be prepared for this to happen more, not less. The threats facing our societies are enormous but so too are the opportunities. Together we can achieve our ultimate goal of a democratic, peaceful and prosperous world for all.
I am sure your meetings will be fascinating. Thank you again to the organizers and participants.
As prepared for delivery/
