Remarks by NATO Secretary General at the Wilson Center Auditorium, 17 JUN 2024

Remarks by NATO Secretary General at the Wilson Center Auditorium, 17 June 2024. 🗣 | NATO Secretary General: Ambassador Green, good morning everyone. It is great to be back in Washington. Great to be here at the Wilson Center. And as you all know, this institution has a reputation for academic and policy excellence. It carries the name of a Democratic President, Woodrow Wilson and it is located in a landmark building named after a Republican President, Ronald Reagan. And it is supported by the United States Congress. So, the Wilson Center truly embodies bipartisanship and American leadership on the world stage which has been crucial to keeping transatlantic relations and NATO strong for over 75 years. Our security is closely intertwined. President Wilson learned that lesson over one hundred years ago. At first, he wanted to keep the US out of the ‘Great War’. But he eventually changed course, realising that America could never be safe without a Europe at peace. Just two decades later, Franklin D. Roosevelt promised not to send American boys to yet another war in Europe and to maintain America’s neutrality. But after Pearl Harbor, he decided otherwise. So twice when Europe has been at war, the U.S. chose isolationism. And twice, it realised that this did not work. That was true then, and it is even more true today. The vast Atlantic and Pacific Oceans do not protect the U.S. in an age of rising global challenges. Intercontinental ballistic missiles, strategic submarines, the weaponization of space, and increased cyber and terrorist attacks. All of these are threats to the United States. So, we must counter these threats together. Presidents Putin and President Xi are adamantly opposed to NATO, because they know that in NATO, the United States has something they don’t have. 31 friends and Allies, which help to advance U.S. interests, multiply U.S. power, and keep Americans safe. Alone, the United States represents a quarter of the world economy, but together with NATO Allies, we represent half of the world’s economic might, and half of the world’s military might. So together, we are much stronger. Next month, NATO leaders will convene for the NATO Summit here in Washington D.C., to make decisions on issues that matter greatly, for Americans as much as for Europeans. Continued: ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬ SUBSCRIBE to this channel SUBSCRIBE to NATO News SUBSCRIBE to NATO History Connect with NATO online: Visit the Official NATO Homepage: Receive NATO updates via email: Find NATO on FACEBOOK: Follow @NATO on X/TWITTER: Follow NATO on Instagram: Find NATO on LinkedIn: Find NATO on Flickr: #NATO #OTAN