| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Let me begin by thanking and congratulating Secretary-General Solana for the immense contributions he has already made to the Alliance in his first six months in office. I also want to thank our German hosts, and Foreign Minister Kinkel in particular, for their hard work in organizing this historic Ministerial -- the first meeting of the North Atlantic Council in a free and unified Berlin.
That we can come together in an undivided Berlin fulfills one of the central hopes of the founders of our Alliance. And it reflects our own aspirations for a Europe in which every nation enjoys the blessings that the citizens of Berlin can now begin to take for granted: a free Europe without walls of any kind.
It was here, in the shadow of the Soviet threat, that NATO played its most visible and important role. But holding the Soviet Army at bay was not NATO's only achievement and it was not its only purpose. Our predecessors created NATO to be a permanent alliance that would meet emerging threats to our security and deter new ones from arising. And they succeeded.
Today, for the United States, NATO remains the linchpin of our engagement in Europe and our most effective instrument for political cooperation and military action with our European allies. For Europe's new democracies, which have endured so many years of subjugation and strife, a burgeoning relationship with NATO offers new confidence in a secure and undivided Europe. For the people of Bosnia, NATO has simply made the difference between war and peace, life and death. Among all Western institutions, only NATO had the strength and credibility to bring the brutal war in their country to an end.
NATO is thriving in the post-Cold War world because we have rejected the counsel of those who would have us abandon its fundamental strengths. In the real world, there is no substitute for a real security alliance. NATO is the essential and most realistic foundation upon which to build a secure and undivided Europe. And the qualities that have made NATO the most successful alliance in history -- its core purpose of collective defense, its integrated command structure, and the transatlantic link -- must and will be preserved.
At the same time, with the Soviet threat gone and freedom ascendant throughout Europe, NATO must not stand still. In January, 1994, our leaders set a far-reaching agenda to renew our Alliance. They called on NATO to assume new roles and missions in support of European security and to extend its reach to Europe's emerging democracies. They also recognized that the Alliance should no longer be organized to meet a threat that no longer exists, and so they decided to adapt NATO's internal structures to meet new challenges. Since then, we have demonstrated our resolve to realize each of these goals, and more.
NATO has established the Partnership for Peace and begun the process of enlargement. In Bosnia, we have launched the largest operation in NATO's history. The United States has maintained our engagement, and our forces, in Europe -- and we reaffirmed our commitment in the most tangible way by contributing 20,000 troops to IFOR. Our European allies, who have provided over half of IFOR's strength, are taking on new responsibilities. France has taken a historic step in drawing closer to the military side of NATO.
Today, we are meeting one of the central challenges in maintaining NATO's viability for the 21st century. We are taking a dramatic step forward in NATO's internal adaptation. Our decisions will achieve two vital goals: They will give NATO the flexibility to meet its new, post-Cold War responsibilities, while preserving its fundamental mission. They will also strengthen the European dimension within NATO, while maintaining our unity of command and the vital transatlantic link.
Today's agreement gives NATO the means to help provide stability throughout Europe -- to respond rapidly to crises that are likely to happen, but which cannot now be foreseen. We are establishing a new Policy Coordination Group for political and military issues. We are also introducing a new command and control concept, the Combined Joint Task Force, for missions that involve peacekeeping. It builds on the approach that was so successful during the Persian Gulf War and will draw from our current experience in Bosnia. It will give NATO a permanent institutional capacity to plan, to train for, and to deploy complex operations like IFOR. It will make it easier for members of the Partnership for Peace to join with NATO forces when the Alliance responds to emergencies.
Our decisions will also allow our European allies to take on even greater responsibilities. Today, we have agreed on a process by which we can make NATO assets available for military operations led by the Western European Union, and we will develop European command arrangements within the Alliance that preserve NATO's transatlantic foundation. Under President Clinton's leadership, the United States has strongly supported the development of a European Security and Defense Identity in the Alliance. Indeed, President Clinton has provided stronger support for the process of European integration than any other post-war American president.
Now we must do the hard work that is necessary to bring these commitments to life. I am convinced we can get the details right while preserving NATO's fundamental strength and character.
I also want to stress that in a very real sense, our progress today was made possible by France's decision to take part more completely in the work of NATO. President Clinton and I warmly welcome President Chirac's historic choice to pursue ESDI within the Alliance. France has now rejoined the Military Committee; its Defense Minister will now once again participate in NATO Defense Minister meetings; its soldiers are playing a critical role under NATO command in Bosnia; and it is playing an indispensable part in our common effort to build a new NATO in a secure and undivided Europe. I know I speak for all my colleagues in welcoming the steps France has taken.
It is important to remember that NATO's internal adaptation is not an end in itself. The point is to strengthen the Alliance so that all its members can act to make a broader transatlantic community more secure. That is our fundamental purpose in the years to come, a purpose embodied by our mission in Bosnia.
When we last met, we agreed that Bosnia posed a defining challenge for NATO. As we meet today, our forces, under the leadership of General Joulwan, Admiral Smith, General Walker and General Heinrich are deployed for the first time outside the area of the Alliance. I want to salute them for their immense professionalism and skill.
Our soldiers have come together as a single force to execute an extraordinarily complex assignment. Now the armies that contested the war are withdrawing to their barracks, their heavy weapons are being placed in cantonment, and the land over which they fought has peacefully changed hands. In less than six months, our troops have already achieved what the cynics once thought impossible.
Their progress has important implications: First, though Bosnia is still a troubled country, the prospect that its communities will again seek to resolve their disputes by force of arms is fading. Second, while IFOR will stay focused on its main military mission, it will now also be in a position to expand its presence through all of Bosnia to establish a safe and secure environment for civilian implementation. Our troops have already supported hundreds of civil projects, including road, rail and bridge repairs. They will also conduct more visible and proactive patrols throughout the country. This will improve conditions for freedom of movement and put war criminals at greater risk of apprehension.
We are also establishing more hopeful conditions for the people of the region. Croatia and Serbia have taken important steps to open roads, to restore communications, and to normalize ties. In Bosnia, IFOR reports that 10,000 to 15,000 people are crossing the inter-entity boundary every day. Reconstruction is gaining momentum. Work will soon begin on the road to Gorazde. And this summer, the United States will begin refurbishing 2,500 homes damaged in the war. We have pledged over a billion dollars to support reconstruction; all of us share a responsibility to meet our pledges in full. We have given our forces in Bosnia a precisely defined set of tasks, and we continue to foresee that they will complete them by the end of this year. In the meantime, we must all focus on the next critical milestone: holding free and fair elections throughout Bosnia.
In our talks yesterday in Geneva, the three Balkan presidents joined together to call for elections in Bosnia by September 14, the date established at Dayton. They also agreed that an exact date should be announced to provide a focus for the work that remains. This is a significant agreement. It is the necessary precondition to create a democratic government for all of Bosnia and its diverse communities. And it will increase pressure on the parties to meet their commitments to respect freedom of movement and a free media. As the three Presidents made clear yesterday, "any delay in the elections will risk widening the divisions which already exist."
I also made it very clear to the parties yesterday that indicted war criminals must be removed from all positions of authority and turned over to the War Crimes Tribunal. There is a growing determination in the international community to see these commitments fulfilled.
This is a difficult process and it will remain difficult. But while the glass is not yet full in Bosnia, it is filling. Let me assure you that the United States is determined to stay engaged to push the parties toward a lasting peace -- the kind of peace I believe can only be built one step at a time.
Our mission in Bosnia is unique in another important way. The broad coalition we have assembled takes the Partnership for Peace to new heights. It shows us how far Europe's new democracies have come and how much they have to contribute as our partners to European security. Our success in Bosnia will have immensely positive implications for the future of Europe. This gives us yet another incentive to succeed.
Today, one of NATO's greatest challenges is to help reunite this continent, to erase forever the outdated boundaries of the Cold War. To that end, President Clinton has advanced, and NATO has embraced, a comprehensive strategy for European security. It includes a robust and permanent Partnership for Peace. It includes NATO's steady, transparent process of enlargement. It includes support for a broader and deeper European Union and a stronger OSCE. It includes building a productive relationship with Russia. The Partnership for Peace continues to exceed all expectations. The Partnership has encouraged and assisted our Partners to reform their military and defense structures in ways that are consistent with democratic standards. It has established the habits of cooperation that made IFOR possible. This year, we are conducting over fifteen major Partnership exercises, from the Black Sea coast of Romania to the green fields of North Carolina.
Last December in Brussels, we agreed to move forward in five specific areas to permit the Partnership for Peace and the North Atlantic Cooperation Council to reach their potential. Although we are making good progress in each of these areas, we must work hard to implement these commitments in full.
First, the North Atlantic Cooperation Council should move forward to develop standards for civilian and democratic control of defense forces. Second, we should make the Partnership Planning and Review Process conform more closely to NATO's internal defense planning and review procedures so that Partner and Allied forces can work even more effectively together in joint missions and exercises. Third, we should give Partners greater responsibility for shaping cooperation programs through our dialogue in the NACC and NATO senior committees. Fourth, we should continue to encourage greater Partner participation in all stages of planning exercises. Finally, Allies and Partners alike should dedicate greater financial resources so that the Partnership for Peace can meet its goals.
While we fulfill our December commitments, I propose that we consider several other ways to strengthen the Partnership for Peace in particular. First, Allies and Partners should apply our experience in IFOR to future Partnership exercise, planning, and training activities. Second, we should consider expanding the focus of the Planning and Review Process beyond its current peacekeeping, humanitarian and search and rescue tasks. Finally, I am pleased we have agreed to involve Partners in CJTF planning for possible missions that do not involve Article V security guarantees. For every Partner, these proposals can lead to a deeper long-term relationship with the Alliance. They will also help prepare some Partners to share the full responsibilities and benefits of membership in NATO.
Today, NATO is on track to fulfill its decision to take in new members. We are now actively engaged in intensive consultations with interested partners to determine what they must do, and what the Alliance must do, to prepare for enlargement. Based on the results, we will decide on next steps in December.
Already, the Partnership for Peace and our process of enlargement have made what was once thought impossible in Europe appear routine. We see that in Bosnia, where soldiers from NATO and Europe's new democracies are cooperating effectively under a unified command. We can see it in the steady and serious efforts so many of our Partners have made to place their armed forces under democratic, civilian control and to bring them up to NATO standards. We can see it in the remarkable consensus emerging among our Partners: that they wish to join our community of democracies for the same reasons we would never want to leave it.
Most dramatically, we can see it in the steps our Partners are taking to overcome ancient disputes. Hungary and Slovakia have ratified a treaty guaranteeing respect for minority rights, and we hope Hungary and Romania will reach a similar agreement soon. Poland is reaching across an old divide to build a security relationship with Lithuania and to establish a joint peacekeeping battalion with Ukraine. Like NATO, our Partners have recognized that we cannot promote any one nation's integration at the expense of its neighbors.
Ukraine's emergence as a sovereign and prosperous democracy is especially important to the security of Europe. That is why we value Ukraine's participation in IFOR and the Partnership for Peace, and why we want NATO and Ukraine to build an enhanced relationship. As we speak, we are participating with Russia and 8 other nations in a major military exercise in the western part of Ukraine. In a place that has come to symbolize central Europe's tragic history of conquest and shifting frontiers, we will help build a future in which every European nation is secure enough to shape its destiny.
I want to commend Ukraine for reaching another historic milestone: The last Soviet-era nuclear warheads have now been removed from its territory under its Trilateral agreement with the United States and Russia. That is a powerful reminder of the benefits we have already gained from our cooperation with Ukraine and with Russia as well.
In two weeks, the world will be watching as Russia holds its first presidential elections in the post-Soviet era. Far from fearing the result, we should be confident that in the long run, democracy in Russia can only benefit Europe, America and the world. Whatever Russia's future holds in store, our interests will remain the same: to keep our people safe and to consolidate the gains for peace and freedom made possible by the Cold War's end. Our support for the democratic process in Russia and our cooperation on security issues will be critical in the months and years ahead.
Many people have doubted whether NATO and Russia could ever work together. Our forces in Bosnia are proving them wrong every day. At tomorrow's 16 plus 1 meeting with Foreign Minister Primakov, we will have an opportunity to strengthen the NATO-Russia relationship further. Russia can take an important step by providing a positive response to NATO's proposals for a political framework that includes permanent consultative arrangements. I also look forward to more intensive cooperation with Russia in the Partnership for Peace.
Another positive note for our further cooperation came last week with the resolution of the dispute over equipment levels permitted on the north and south flanks of the CFE region. This agreement is the culmination of two years of negotiation -- and I congratulate all who participated in its resolution. Now our efforts to build European security will go forward with this crucial treaty strengthened and setting a stable foundation for us all.
At the outset, I remarked that Berlin is a fitting place from which to advance our hopes for the future of our transatlantic community. We should remember that in the long years of the Cold War, it was our unity in the western half of this once divided city, and our unity in the western half of this once divided continent, that brought us to this hopeful point in history.
In those years, we stood together in part because our survival depended on it. Today, we are united in a time of peace, and we are taking the decisions we must to keep it that way for good. There should be no doubt that NATO is here to stay as a guarantor of transatlantic security and freedom, and that we are determined to renew our alliance for the immense challenges to come.
[end of document]
Back
| Home Page
| What's New
| Hot Topics
| Policy
| Travel
| Careers
