Speech at Narva College
November 19, 2002

Thank you very much. It is a pleasure to be here in Narva and an honor to speak at Narva College today.

It is particularly fitting that I give this lecture here in Narva, a city rich in the history of this entire region. In times past, Narva has marked the border between western and eastern powers, between branches of Christianity and between peoples. It has been an object of contention between those major powers. It has also served as regional center in Northern Europe.

As we begin a new chapter in European history, this place and this country will play a role again in determining how Europe evolves. It is my view that rather than serving again as the border between civilizations, Narva and Estonia will be part of the development of a Europe whole, free and at peace. That Europe will not stop at the shores of the Narva River.

I would like to speak to you today about United States foreign policy, the United States' vision for Europe, and how the United States (from so far away) sees Estonia's role in the future development of this continent.

Since I am speaking on the eve of NATO's Prague Summit, I will focus my remarks on the NATO Alliance and security questions. Economic and trade issues are no less important, but it's security and alliances that will be in the news this week.

U.S. Perspectives on Europe

In June of last year at Warsaw University, President George W. Bush expressed his vision of Europe as "the house of freedom -- whose doors are open to all of Europe's peoples and whose windows look out to global challenges beyond."

For the first time in many hundreds of years, this vision is achievable. This vision of Europe is what is guiding our decision to seek an enlarged and robust NATO that is capable of meeting the challenges of the 21st century. The President said, "I believe in NATO membership for all of Europe's democracies that seek it and are ready to share the responsibilities that NATO brings."

The United States is looking for new Allies at a time when threats we all face are changing. NATO is not just enlarging, it is also transforming. The immediate threat we face is not some rerun of the Second World War in Europe. The threat of the past for NATO of a major conventional and perhaps nuclear war in Europe against the Soviet Union exists no longer.

The threats we face are now frequently located far from Europe. Indeed, many are not posed to us by states at all, but rather by clandestine groups that hold no territory. The clearest example of this is the current war against terrorism. We are threatened by the spread of weapons of mass destruction which in the hands of those terrorists can doom our civilization.

In such an environment, no country is too remote to be a target, and no country is too small to be an ally in the fight. Every country willing and ready to share the responsibility is welcome. But, every country involved must be ready to operate in a coalition and to transfer forces far from their homes.

But, today I don't want to focus my remarks entirely on the sorts of people who think day-in and day-out about European security architecture. I want to spend a short time talking about a few questions I receive from everyday people.

I am often asked why the United States would consider Estonia a suitable and capable prospective ally in NATO. They ask me, "What is it the United States wants from us? We understand how Estonia benefits from NATO, but we do not see how you will benefit from Estonia."

Behind this question is frequently the suspicion that NATO or the U.S. has some hidden plan to use Estonia as it has been used in the past by other powers. Trapped in the experiences of the past, they assume alliance with a great power implies being used as a base or as a battlefield.

Let me be clear. An alliance is not an occupation. Those who view the activities of the NATO alliance through the prism of Estonia's experience with the Soviet occupation will fail to understand the world around them and will not be able to contribute to the alliance.

Should Estonia achieve NATO membership, it will enter an alliance of equals. Each member of the alliance has one vote. Alliance decisions are made by consensus. Each, therefore, bears the full responsibility for the security of all. To succeed as a NATO member, a country must, therefore, welcome responsibility.

What do we want then? We want you and your neighbors to succeed. If we invite Estonia into NATO, it will not primarily be because Estonia is making progress in defense reform, but because Estonia shares the same values as the United States: a commitment to democracy, free markets, and tolerance.

We want Estonia and its neighbors to succeed, because a Europe whole, free and at peace is a Europe that will not draw my country into another global conflict and because it will be a full partner in the vital task of preserving peace in the world.

I have heard a great deal since I have been here about Estonia's experiences in the last century. They were, indeed, tragic. Let me say a few words about my country's experience in Europe in the last century.

Three times, my nation was drawn across the Atlantic Ocean in the last century because of war or the threat of war in Europe.

My grandfather lost the use of his legs in the First World War. The man after whom I am named is buried in a World War II cemetery in Belgium.

I spent a significant fraction of my life fighting the Cold War in Europe. We Americans have learned through a long, expensive century that the troubles of Europe will inevitably be our troubles.

We want Europe to be free and at peace, because it is what will guarantee our freedom and our peace as well.

NATO is not only a military organization (the strongest and most capable alliance in the history of the world), but it also an organization of shared values -- an organization of democracies and free markets. Enlarging NATO enlarges the zone of Europe in which democracy and free-enterprise are strong, solid, and secure. Enlarging NATO permanently enlarges the zone of stability.

AFTER PRAGUE: EXPECTATIONS FOR ESTONIA

I often host American Congressmen and Senators who travel to the Baltic States. Those who have come here to visit Estonia have been very impressed with the work your country has done so far. Economically, socially, politically -- Estonia has shown that it is on the right track as the Prague Summit approaches.

My message to Estonia is to keep up the good work . . . but keep working! NATO is an institution engaged in radical transformation, and joining NATO is just the first step among many, many tasks. Joining NATO is the easy part; making the difficult decisions that Allies have to make is far harder.

What should Estonia expect should it join NATO? My short answer is: partnership, equality, responsibility and much more hard work.

If Estonia is invited to become a member of NATO, it will have to deal with issues of a global nature more than ever before. NATO is engaged in providing security in Afghanistan as we speak. There is probably no security issue anywhere in the world that is not discussed within the alliance. Estonia will have to have views on these issues. By joining the alliance, Estonia will be joining the most serious discussions on security that exist.

Your former Defense Minister, former Foreign Minister, and former Ambassador to NATO Jüri Luik, has written on this topic. "We [Estonians]," he wrote last week, "have to be intellectuals to be part of the world security system...  Are we educated enough to see the connection between Afghanistan and Iraq events and our own security?"

The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Nicholas Burns, spoke about this recently in Berlin. He said, "Prague will be a critical turning point for NATO because we will shift the mission and full military might of 19 countries from an inward focus on Europe outward to the new threats that we must all face together."

I would add that the security of our small globe is now more interconnected than ever. We have learned -- painfully -- that our enemy can strike anywhere at any time. No longer can NATO's focus be limited only to the European landmass. The threats to our security are global -- and our outlook must be global as well. This will have real world effects on our security forces and our national budgets.

The United States, for example, is now proposing the creation of a new NATO Response Force, which will be, multinational combat force able to deploy in- or out-of-area, ready for action within 7 to 30 days, and able to sustain itself in the field for up to a month.

NATO is already saying that the NATO Response Force will be made up of contributions from member states. As NATO Secretary General George Robertson remarked, "The new NATO is going to be about countries who do different things, and do each of them well." Even a small country like Estonia can make a substantial contribution to NATO by specialization - that is, by filling a particular security niche.

Such specializations do not require enormous amounts of ground troops or expensive, sophisticated weaponry. But they do require brains, commitment, and an understanding of the current global security context. Specializations offer a way for new members to make an immediate contribution to NATO's common security.

In a sense, the preparation of the Baltic States for NATO membership has given them advanced preparation for just such a new structure. The Baltic States have developed joint military units and training and they have learned to partner their contributions with those of larger NATO militaries from this region.

What did I mean, however, when I said Estonia also could expect more work? If Estonia is offered membership, it will negotiate with the Alliance to develop an accession agreement. This will specify what steps the country will take to prepare itself for being a full partner. Among the items that will be considered might be:

Continued Estonian defense reforms. The Estonian Defense Forces are working hard on a good plan for structuring the defense forces, but there is much more to do to implement those plans. It is important to remember that those plans were not created to get into NATO but to be used once the country was actually in the alliance.

It goes without saying that all those invited into the alliance will be expected to continue their successful commitment to NATO principles of democracy, free-enterprise, stability, prosperity, and good-neighborly relations.

Perhaps most important, the alliance will be watching for any signs that successful candidates might wish to slack off on the efforts they have made up until now. One important symbol of continued commitment (and one that is also critical to the security of the candidate states is maintaining defense spending at a level that will permit development of the defense capabilities a transforming alliance needs.

Russia

For Estonia, if it is invited, NATO membership will represent the culmination of many years of work to integrate itself into European and trans-Atlantic structures. By joining NATO, Estonia will have achieved one of its most significant and demanding foreign and security policy goals. Entry into NATO and the European Union will confirm -- once and for all -- that Estonia's place is in Europe with the Western democracies.

Securing Estonia's place in Europe will almost certainly improve its relations with its neighbors. This is especially true given the changes in the relations between NATO and those neighbors. In this city we can see two possible approaches to dealing with your neighbor to the East. One is represented by the two castles on the two sides of the river that have glowered at each other for centuries. The other is the bridge that runs right past the two of them.

A secure Estonia inside the EU and NATO and a Russia committed to increasing partnership with those organizations will need more bridges and fewer castles. I believe by making unlikely a renewal of the many conflicts between the Eastern and Western halves of Europe, we have an opportunity to make Estonia and Narva contributors to the opening of the doors between those two halves of the continent, politically, economically, and culturally.

The students of Narva College and the region

You students, so energetic, so optimistic, and so lucky to be young now, live in a unique region, since it will form NATO's and EU's border with Russia. A psychiatrist once said that borders are places of great energy and great risk. A border region such as Ida-Virumaa poses unique challenges but also offers enormous potential. You will each be part of history as your country establishes its rightful membership in global and regional institutions. In the coming years, you will have the opportunity to make this city and this country a renewed regional center, a bridge and gateway that helps create the new, democratic and peaceful Europe.

As individuals, many of you are part of both those worlds. You represent the promise of the region, as young people who can demonstrate how to be good citizens both of Estonia and of Europe, and who can model the integration of Russian-speakers into Estonian society.

The future that lies before you is exciting, challenging, and historic. I wish you great success on your journey -- and on your country's as well.