Keynote speech

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Iam delighted to be here this morning, and I want to express my sincerethanks to “Women in International Security” and NATO’s Public DiplomacyDivision for organising this event. It is the first cooperation betweenWIIS and NATO. And it demonstrates that security is clearly no longer amale-dominated profession. Because the issue is not gender, but talent.An Alliance as active as NATO needs the support by the best and thebrightest of our strategic community.

Just a few weeks ago, NATOentered a new phase in its evolution. We agreed to help the AfricanUnion to expand its peacekeeping mission in the Sudanese province ofDarfur. The Alliance will airlift additional African Union peacekeepersinto this crisis-stricken region, and it will also assist with trainingand planning.

NATO’s decision demonstrates that we donot turn a blind eye to a continent that has already seen far too muchsuffering. I have always been convinced that, if called upon to assist,the 26 NATO Allies would be ready.

But NATO’s supportfor Darfur not only shows our willingness to live up to our moralobligations. It is also a demonstration of the changing transatlanticsecurity agenda. Simply put, we must find ways to cope with the darkerside of globalisation.

Terrorism is perhaps the mostobvious example as we have again witnessed last Thursday with thebarbaric attacks in London. Terrorism has mutated from a nationalproblem of law enforcement into a threat to international security andstability. But there is more. Failed states now produce spill overeffects – from drugs to terrorism – that affect all our societiesdirectly. And the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction makesthe use of such weapons against our countries much more likely than itwas during the Cold War.

In such a volatile securityenvironment, cooperation is our only option. Indeed, in the yearsahead, we will see the need for transatlantic coordination andcooperation increase even further, and on an ever wider range ofissues. And not only will Europe and North America have to intensifytheir cooperation; we will also have to work together more and moreclosely with other players in other parts of the world.

In managing transatlantic security cooperation, NATO remains key. It isthe only permanent structure where Europe and North America can shape acommon approach to the new security challenges. And it is the onlyforum where political decisions can be seamlessly translated intoeffective transatlantic military action.

It is thisunique symbiosis between political consensus-building and militarycompetence that explains why NATO is so busy. The Alliance has longceased to be a “single issue” institution, geared exclusively towardsdeterring an overwhelming threat. Instead, NATO has become a much moreflexible and versatile institution, delivering security in manydifferent ways, and in many different places.

In myremarks this morning, I want to provide you with an overview of themost pressing tasks we are facing. So let me share with you our “to do”list – the agenda of an Alliance that is very much in demand.

Une des tâches les plus importantes pour l’avenir est de poursuivrel’extension de notre présence en Afghanistan. Nous devons aider leprésident Karzaï à relever trois défis de taille : construire un étatdémocratique, s’attaquer au problème des stupéfiants et veiller à ceque l’Afghanistan ne redevienne jamais un sanctuaire pour lesterroristes.

À l’automne dernier, l’OTAN a contribué àpermettre la tenue des toutes premières élections présidentiellesorganisées en Afghanistan. La participation au scrutin a été de 80%, cequi est en soi un taux impressionnant. Mais j’ai trouvéparticulièrement encourageant que 40% de ces électeurs aient été desfemmes. Y a-t-il plus belle preuve de la volonté farouche detoutes ces femmes et de tous ces hommes d’avoir leur mot à dire ausujet de leur propre avenir ? Existe-t-il meilleur argument pournous inciter à augmenter encore le nombre d’équipes de reconstructionprovinciale et à mettre en place l’environnement de sécurité quipermettra à tous les citoyens d’Afghanistan de trouver la place quileur revient dans la société? N’est-ce pas là pour nous la meilleureraison de tout mettre en oeuvre afin que les élections législatives deseptembre prochain soient aussi un succès ?

Unautre défi majeur est de maintenir notre engagement à l’égard duKosovo. Ce pays traverse une période déterminante pour son avenir, etc’est pourquoi nous devons rester pleinement engagés :militairement, dans le cadre de la KFOR, plus grande opérationmilitaire jamais menée par l’OTAN, et aussi politiquement, grâce autravail du Groupe de contact et au soutien que nous apportons auprocessus d'application des normes.

Il va de soi quel’attention que nous accordons au Kosovo ne signifie pas que nousnégligeons pour autant le reste des Balkans. Nous coopérons étroitementavec l’Albanie, la Croatie et l'ex-République yougoslave de Macédoine (ª)dans le cadre du Plan d'action pour l'adhésion. Nous conservonsl’espoir d’un renforcement marqué de la coopération avec laBosnie-Herzégovine et la Serbie-Monténégro, pour autant que ces paysrespectent certaines conditions, notamment une pleine coopération avecle Tribunal pénal international pour l'ex-Yougoslavie de La Haye.

L’Iraq est un autre enjeu majeur de notre agenda. Tout comme enAfghanistan, les élections de février dernier en Iraq ont apporté unedémonstration éclatante de l’aspiration de la population à uneexistence meilleure et plus sûre. Bien évidemment, il faudra du tempspour mettre en place des institutions solides et efficaces en Iraq,pour asseoir la notion d’état de droit et pour encourager le progrèséconomique. Tous ces efforts dépendront essentiellement de la capacitédes autorités iraquiennes d’assurer à leur population un niveau desécurité minimum. L’OTAN reste déterminée à aider les autoritésiraquiennes à relever ce défi, notamment dans le cadre de notre missionde formation. Celle-ci devrait permettre chaque année à un millier demembres de haut niveau des forces de sécurité de suivre un entraînement.

Another challenge is to bring Ukraine closer to Euro-Atlanticstructures. What happened in Ukraine last December was the proverbial“acceleration of history”. The courage and determination shown by theUkrainian people has earned them worldwide respect and goodwill. And,as I could see firsthand during my recent visit to Kyiv, it has givennew momentum to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic ambitions. How far and how fastthese ambitions can be realised will be determined by Ukraine itself,not least by the progress in domestic reform. But it is clear that NATOwill continue to assist Ukraine, as this country charts its way intothe future.

We must also develop further ourrelationship with Russia. The opportunities are clearly there. Over thepast years, we have intensified our cooperation in preventing,combating and managing the consequences of terrorism. Russia hasoffered practical support to NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, and morerecently, to our anti-terrorist naval patrols in the Mediterranean Sea.We have also broadened our political dialogue – exchanging views onIraq, Georgia, Uzbekistan, and other sensitive subjects. To be sure, wedon’t always agree, but we work and talk together in a spirit ofpartnership and mutual respect. This is a relationship that still has alot of untapped potential. During my recent meeting with PresidentPutin in Moscow, I made it clear that NATO is keen to develop thatpotential.

We must also build new ties to our Partnersin the Caucasus and Central Asia. Both are regions of considerablegeopolitical importance. Both are regions that face daunting challengesof transition. And both are regions where NATO has a lot to offer.That’s why we have stepped up our cooperation with our Partners inthese regions. We want to develop a partnership that is a real two-waystreet – for the benefit of the entire Euro-Atlantic area.

We must also develop our relations with countries across theMediterranean and into the broader Middle Eastern region. No otherregion’s evolution could have a greater impact on transatlanticsecurity. That’s why finding ways to influence positive developments inthese regions has to be a joint transatlantic effort. NATO has taken upthe challenge through a reinvigorated Mediterranean Dialogue with NorthAfrican and Middle Eastern countries and a new cooperative outreach tothe Gulf States. And we are pleased to see that our efforts in thatpart of the world have met with a lot of interest and eagerness tojointly start a new partnership.

Another task ahead ofus is to deepen the strategic partnership between NATO and the EU. Thetransatlantic community must come to terms with the reality of theEuropean Union as a genuine security actor. The EU may be the “new kidon the block” of security institutions, but it needs to be recognised.That’s why NATO and the EU need to build a closer relationship. We havealready had two significant successes in developing our cooperation. Inthe former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as well as in Bosnia andHerzegovina, the EU took over from NATO the responsibility to keep thepeace. But as Darfur demonstrates, NATO and the EU should aim further.Our goal must be to consult and coordinate our approaches to allcentral security problems of our age: terrorism, failed states,humanitarian disasters, and the spread of weapons of mass destruction.

We must also develop a more structured relationship between NATO andthe United Nations beyond our excellent cooperation in the differenttheatres. I intend to go in September to New York to do just that.

We must continue NATO’s military transformation. Today, no country canafford to maintain forces just for national territorial defence. EachNATO member must be able to make a contribution to the full spectrum ofoperations. What we need, therefore, are forces that can react quickly,that can be deployed over strategic distance, and then sustained over along period of time. And we need a better mix of forces that arecapable of performing both high intensity combat tasks andpost-conflict reconstruction work.

Within NATO, we havemade good progress in developing such capabilities. We have streamlinedour military structure and created a strategic command specificallydevoted to operations. The NATO Response Force will enable us to reactto new challenges even more quickly. We are taking a hard look at ourforce planning and force generation procedures. And we have created astrategic command dealing exclusively with transformation, which willhelp us ensure sure that future missions can be better planned,equipped, and paid for.

But we have also looked beyondmere capabilities. For example, NATO has adopted a comprehensive policyto contribute to international efforts to combat the trafficking inhuman beings. And we are working closely with our Partner countries andother organisations to combat this scourge.

Finally, wemust strengthen NATO’s political dimension. For a long time, and quiterightfully, we have focused our transformation efforts on becoming morecapable militarily. This focus must be maintained. After all, militarycompetence is what distinguishes NATO from many other multilateralframeworks. However, all these transformed military capabilities willbe worthless if Allies don’t agree on whether or how to use them.That’s why our military transformation must be complemented by apolitical one. Simply put, we must use NATO not only as a mechanism formilitary planning, but also as a forum for political debate.

Today, terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts andfailed states pose new challenges. New security players, such as theEU, are finding their role. Other parts of the world are growing inrelevance. We must adapt deterrence and established non-proliferationregimes to the new circumstances. And we must discuss new approaches tothe Caucasus, the broader Middle East, and other regions.

In the face of such enormous challenges, how could we avoid debate –and more importantly, why would we? We should welcome debate, not fearit. Because it will ultimately strengthen our political cohesion,reinforce our operational effectiveness, and enhance our credibility inthe eyes of our publics.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

What I have presented here today is what you might call “a full plate”.Today, NATO is pursuing an ambitious agenda that ranges frompeacekeeping in Kosovo to fostering defence reform in Ukraine, and fromtraining security forces in Iraq to providing security for the upcomingAfghan elections.

Let there be no illusions: this agendais as difficult politically as it is challenging in military terms. Butif we are able to maintain the spirit of transatlantic cooperation thatis our hallmark, we can succeed. As long as Europe and North Americaunderstand that their partnership is unique – and precious – thisAlliance will continue to project security and stability in new waysand in new places.

Thank you.

(ª) La Turquie reconnaît la République de Macédoine sous son nom constitutionnel.