Ambassador April H. Foley

NATO and the Riga Summit - Remarks to University Students in Veszprém 

December 8, 2006

Ambassador Foley (Embassy photo by Attila Németh)

Good morning. 

Thank you for inviting me speak about NATO and last week's NATO Summit in Riga, Latvia. This is a topic of much importance:

• to our two countries,
• to the NATO Alliance,
• and to the people of Afghanistan and elsewhere who seek freedom and stability.

Today I will talk first about the NATO Summit in Riga and what it achieved. Then, I'd like to offer some thoughts about Hungary's participation in NATO from the perspective of a NATO ally.

Let me get straight to the point: NATO is important. Not because of its past during the Cold War - but because of its future.

NATO is one of the most effective multilateral organizations in the world. It is the most important military alliance in history. And it is the essential forum for security discussions between North America and Europe.

That said, every great organization is constantly looking for ways to improve itself. The challenge of the NATO Summit on November 28 and 29 was to agree on NATO improvements. And it was a great success. It marked another step in NATO's transformation from a Cold War instrument to a 21st century organization -- one with increasingly:

• global missions,
• global capabilities
• and global partners.

Global Missions

NATO has come far from its traditional geographic area of the North Atlantic countries. The transatlantic alliance remains the center of democratic strength in the world, but NATO is looking outward. We now know that the threats to NATO partners are global, so NATO's agenda must be global as well. NATO is now engaged in 6 challenging missions in 3 geographic regions, from Afghanistan to the Balkans and from the Mediterranean Sea to Darfur.

NATO has come far from it traditional mission of being a military effort alone. NATO now recognizes that military efforts must be supplemented with reconstruction efforts. A nation's security is not sustainable without development, and a nation's development is not sustainable without security. So NATO now promotes political reconciliation and economic reconstruction to cement our military success.

Global Capabilities

NATO has also had to transform its operational capabilities. At Riga, NATO agreed on a long term framework to give it:

• more flexibility,
• a better ability for different countries to work together,
• and more cost effective support services.

For example:
-- a NATO Special Operations Initiative will strengthen the ability of forces to work together on the battlefield.
-- a new Strategic Airlift Initiative provides members the flexibility to transport troops when they need to on a C-17 shared aircraft.
-- a NATO Cooperative Training Initiative helps share the Alliance's training expertise with partner countries in the broader Middle East. 

Global Partners

To meet 21st century challenges, NATO will need assistance from new Allies and partners, and from the international community. At Riga, NATO committed to continuing to strengthen and expand the circle of freedom within Europe. Members reaffirmed that the Alliance remains open to new European members who are willing to accept the responsibilities. It welcomed the progress of Albania, Croatia and Macedonia in preparing for membership. It invited the countries of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia to join the Partnership for Peace. It declared its readiness to play a part in implementing a settlement in Kosovo. And it called for enhanced cooperation with Russia on key security issues, including the fight against terrorism. Beyond Europe, NATO also emphasized the political and operational value of its partnership programs, as well as its strong relationships with countries that do not belong to any formal NATO arrangements, but share many of the alliance's security goals. 

So NATO today, coming out of a very productive Summit in Riga, is outward-looking. It is expeditionary. And it is creating new partnerships and flexible arrangements to meet its goals.

To put the new NATO in perspective, I would like now to focus on Afghanistan, where Hungary is playing a key role. 

NATO's mission in Afghanistan is not only its biggest combat mission ever; it is NATO's top priority. At this moment, all 26 NATO allies, and 11 partner nations, are contributing forces to NATO's mission in Afghanistan. There are 25 Provincial Reconstruction Teams, or PRTs, that are helping the Afghan government defend its people and reconstruct the nation. Hungary is very much a part of this great effort. 

Just as Hungary's decision to join NATO was a matter of national consensus, so too is Hungary's decision to lead a PRT in the northern part of Afghanistan, at Pol-e-Khomri. 

All Hungarians can be proud of that national decision and of your national effort: 

• It demonstrates that Hungary is not just a believer in democracy but an actor for democracy.
  
  
• It demonstrates that Hungary is no longer a receiver of aid but a donor to those in need; 
  
  
• Hungary has generously committed itself to offering its own successful experience and expertise to nations who share the same desire for freedom and prosperity.

Early reports from Afghanistan indicate that Hungary's PRT in Pol-e-Khomri has "hit the ground running". It is off to a strong start. They have reported that Hungary is clearly sending its best and brightest talent to support this important effort; Hungary is working closely and productively with Afghan officials to identify development priorities.  

Afghanistan is already a better place because of Hungary's efforts. Several initial reconstruction projects are already complete and more are underway. 

Throughout Afghanistan,

• children are going to school,
• goods are going to market,
• patients are going to clinics,
• voters are going to the polls.  
• And Hungary is a vital part of those successes.

Hungary's assistance includes support for Afghanistan's security forces. At the Riga Summit, Hungary announced it would donate 20,000 rifles to Afghan forces. This is an extremely generous and highly appreciated donation from Hungary. And just this week, the charity organization, Hungarian Baptist Aid, offered medical assistance to a flood-stricken province of Afghanistan.

In my brief time here, I have come to appreciate how well the people of Hungary understand the power of generous acts. I have come to recognize how well the people of Hungary understand the importance of doing the right thing.

That's why, as U.S. citizens, we too are proud that our troops are serving under the NATO flag in Afghanistan. That's why we are proud that an officer from the U.S. Agency for International Development has been assigned to serve with the Hungarian PRT. 

I am delighted that Hungary has offered other nations the opportunity to work side-by-side with your PRT in Afghanistan. I am hopeful that Hungary's efforts to include other nations will continue. Because there is much work still to be done in Afghanistan. The deployment of troops is the first but not the final step in a long-term process. 

PRT success will mean providing Afghans with the means to defend themselves and to determine their own future free from fear. PRT success will mean matching this security effort with civil initiatives to promote development and the institutions of democracy. NATO's experience is that civil reconstruction is absolutely critical to maintaining stability and hope in the new Afghanistan. Civil initiatives provide Afghan institutions the support they need to take on more responsibility.

In Hungary, success will require the continued broad-based commitment that has been the hallmark of this initiative so far.

Like much of what is happening within NATO today, the PRT is born of necessity. It is born of the recognition that threats can come at any time from any place around the globe, and that solutions must go to the source of the problem.

The NATO alliance has always been a community of shared values. The NATO alliance is now a community of shared values in action. And that Alliance will not fail.

The challenge before us is neither easy not short-term. To succeed, NATO must be united now more than ever. NATO Allies must share risks, and they must share costs. NATO allies must realize that a lack of investment in security is only an invitation to those who do not share our commitment to freedom.

At the Riga Summit, Allies committed both the political resolve and the economic resources to prevail, not only for Afghanistan, but for the future strength of the NATO alliance. 

The United States believes in NATO:

• in its global responsibilities,
• its global capabilities,
• and its global partnerships.

The United States is honored to be standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Hungary in the NATO alliance.

Thank you.