speeches
U.S.-German Legal Conference
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.
Berlin
October 13, 2006
As prepared for delivery.
I would like to thank the Foreign Ministry and the Max Plank Institute for bringing together this distinguished group of legal experts. The goal you have set out – discussing the values and legal bases upon which our two countries are joined in fighting international terrorism – is a crucial one. Your initiative further demonstrates the constructive cooperation that exists between our two countries. President Bush and Chancellor Merkel have dedicated themselves to working together closely – and they are. At the same time, both our governments are reaching out to our other friends in Europe and around the world to win the fight against terrorism. These talks in Berlin are an important contribution to that outreach and cooperation.
Partnership with Germany and other countries is essential to countering global terrorism. As a result of our improved cooperation, we are more effective today in facing terrorist threats than we were 5 years ago. Together we have thwarted attacks and plots. We found out about plans to blow up planes en route to the U.S. from London before anything happened. Without cooperation, we would not have prevented a catastrophe. Similarly, when terrorists planted bombs in German trains this summer, international cooperation brought swift arrests. This summer, Germany ensured the safety of millions of spectators at World Cup events. That was no coincidence. It was the result of excellent planning -- and extensive cooperation with participating, neighboring and transit countries. Minister Schaeuble was in Washington two weeks ago to discuss ongoing cooperation and what more we can do.
The threats we face are real. We must use all the tools at our disposal – law enforcement, intelligence, financial, diplomatic and military means – to make the world safer. All of us in this room know, contrary to what some try to allege, that we are not creating terrorism by fighting terrorism. We have learned that it is not what individual countries do – or where they stood on the use of military force in Iraq – that makes them a target. It is what free, democratic countries stand for that makes them the target of terrorists. The innocent civilians targeted may be train passengers in Dortmund, office workers in New York’s Twin Towers, vacationers in Bali or Djerba, or school children in Beslan. Germany and the United States have seen history vindicate our faith in freedom and the rights and the worth of the individual. That is a lesson Americans will not, and cannot, forget. But citizens in democracies also need to keep asking themselves tough questions about the laws and rules of previous generations. They were designed for different times, and must be adapted to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
We are very fortunate to have State Department Legal Advisor John Bellinger here with us today. Better than anybody I know, he can discuss the domestic and international legal foundations of American counter-terrorism initiatives. He knows how our laws relate to our shared values. He can explain the new U.S. legislation governing the detention, treatment and trial of unlawful combatants. The legislation is groundbreaking. It has been controversial – on both sides of the Atlantic. That is not surprising; it is in fact a normal result of the democratic process in the United States: the independent judiciary renders a judgment, and the President and the Congress debate a new law. Germany's experience has been similar: the German Constitutional Court ruled that some of the laws enacted after 9/11 had to be changed. So the Bundestag and other authorities have acted.
While our two countries have are many common values and traditions, there are times when we each think that a different path is the better way to reach a goal. We respect and honor that. Both our countries deeply respect the right of an individual’s privacy. Germans have told me their concern about supplying certain bits of personal data when traveling to the United States. I can also tell you that Americans are amazed that in Germany, everyone carries a national ID card and has to report their address to local authorities. This would be unthinkable in America: Congress was not able to enact a national ID card system -- even right after 9/11. Too much of an invasion of privacy, people said. The point is that we have different means, but shared values. Before 9/11, no country had laws on the books to deal with the transnational terrorism that confronts us today. Establishing new structures is not easy.
The recent German Marshall Fund survey on transatlantic trends showed Americans and Europeans share a concern over global threats. But while Americans and Europeans see the same threat, they may disagree about the solution. I find it disturbing that many in Germany apparently do not understand or appreciate the positive, intense working relationship between us. We need to publicize our partnership because it is providing results on terrorism and many serious world issues.
Many have called the postwar German-American partnership 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. It did not happen overnight. It was a long-term process, built upon the foundation of new transatlantic and international institutions that were revolutionary at the time. It took the hard work and determination of many individuals. That is a lesson for us now as we proceed further with the international fight against terrorism. We can and must draw on our long history of working together to defeat common enemies while preserving our shared values.
Minister Steinmeier, thank you again for your initiative and making this conference possible. My thanks as well to all the participants gathered here today. My best wishes for a productive, constructive discussion.
