Speech by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte

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Thank you so much for that, and good morning to all of you.

And good morning, Ambassadors. I see so many here, so many friends. Matt Whitaker is here, Ambassador to United States to NATO, my good friend, and so many other faces I know so well. So, we are really among friends this morning.

And it is a pleasure to be back in the United States, and particularly to be back here in Washington D.C.

And yes, I am such an admirer of the 40^th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan, and I am particularly honoured to be with you today – at the Reagan Institute.

“…if peace is to have a chance, if the hope for freedom is to be kept alive, the United States must play a powerful and active role in world affairs.”

When President Reagan offered those words at a gathering of the Reserve Officers Association on January 27, 1988, the world was a very different place.

The Berlin Wall still held people’s hopes and dreams captive. More than 100 million men, women, and children lived in European countries behind an Iron Curtain.

Those differences notwithstanding, what President Reagan knew then, and what I know today, is quite simple: American leadership is absolutely essential if freedom is to be the rule and not the exception.

As Prime Minister of the Netherlands and now as Secretary General of NATO, I have developed an unflinching appreciation for the value of American leadership.

And yes, I was raised with Ronald Reagan. He was my youth time President. And I still remember how important he was for so many people in Europe, because in the end under Bush, his successor, the Cold War ended. It ended by winning it. And it was won by Reagan and, can I add, Maggie Thatcher. And the two of them working in conjunction, making the whole world safer and ending the Cold War. And I think everybody in Europe and everybody in the world should be eternally grateful to that leadership.

But I have also had the opportunity to reflect on what happens when America’s Allies take that leadership, that US leadership, for granted.

In the years following President Reagan’s address to those reserve officers, as we entered the so-called “end of history.” While those newly free sought a path into NATO and began to build their own capacities to contribute to our shared security, other European Allies shifted away from decades of investing in conventional military partnership with the United States during the Cold War, in favour of an unhealthy co-dependence.

So convinced that peace was permanent and didn’t demand the investment we now know is essential, Western European forces shrank and defence budgets shrivelled into irrelevance. Overreliance on the notion that security was just the new norm, and the United States would take care of any threats further afield, caused us Europeans to imagine that hard power was something to be embarrassed by. A relic of a bellicose past that humankind had now outgrown.

But recent years have made abundantly clear that history is alive and kicking. That while Europe may not think in spheres of influence, countries like Russia certainly do. And we have seen that Putin is all too willing to use force to press the point.

Thankfully, though, the same American leadership that set the conditions for staring down an evil empire has helped keep an Alliance that ensured freedom and security during the Cold War, that Alliance going. Retaining the foundations and tools we need, even while many of its Allies underinvested.

President Trump’s commitment to progress reversed more than a generation of stagnation and atrophy by reminding Europe that values must be backed by hard power. Hard power provided not only by the United States, but through the collective effort of countries who are part of the most successful military alliance ever built.

The President drove Allies toward a historic decision at NATO’s Summit in The Hague last summer – to invest 5% of GDP into defence. And this will help to ensure that the NATO of the future is not an Alliance in which Allies are unhealthily dependent on the United States. And in which the United States knows that it has capable partners who are ready, willing, and able to defend our freedom and security.

Those investments are already laying the foundation for a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO. For a genuine partnership. And the security that our freedom deserves.

These investments are crucial. And allies are moving quickly to secure the budgets, grow their armed forces and feel the capabilities we know we need. But even with this progress, it is clear we will need more.

More high-end, exquisite capabilities to defend against the modern missiles our adversaries are employing against Kyiv and Tel Aviv.

More scalable, adaptable drone interceptor technology.

And here, Ukraine’s hard-earned battlefield lessons are saving lives beyond its own borders.

At this moment, Allies on NATO’s eastern flank and our dear friends in the gulf are defending against Russian and Iranian drones – thanks in part to Ukrainian technology that did not exist even one year ago.

So, business as usual will not meet this moment.

And allow me, here, to applaud President Trump for his bold leadership and vision. The United States, and this is just an example from last week, just announced a framework agreement to triple production of certain types of Patriot missiles. And this is absolutely crucial.

And it is another example of American leadership, and it is essential to refilling our magazines and building the arsenal of freedom.

As I look toward the Ankara Summit, I am confident NATO collectively and Allies individually will similarly act to break down barriers and unleash the potential of defence industry on both sides of the Atlantic.

So, the money is flowing. Industry and government will cooperate to ensure that money translates into the capabilities we need.

Why, then, does everyone in this room have a knot in their stomach about the future of the transatlantic Alliance?

Why, when we turn on our televisions or scroll on our phones, do we see eager early drafts of NATO’s obituary?

Let me be clear: this Alliance is not “whistling past the graveyard,” as you would say in the United States. Allies recognise, and I recognise, we are in a period of profound change in the transatlantic Alliance.

Europe is assuming a greater and fairer share of the task of providing for its conventional defence. And from that, there will be no going back, and nor should there be.

This is a move from unhealthy co-dependence to a transatlantic Alliance grounded in true partnership.

For increased investments and improved production to matter, they must be accompanied by a mindset shift. That mindset shift is well underway. But such shifts are often only fully appreciated with the benefit of time. And the space between can be precarious.

Let’s consider the most recent events.

When it came time to provide the logistical and other support the United States needed in Iran, some Allies were a bit slow.

In fairness, they were also a bit surprised. To maintain the element of surprise for the initial strikes, President Trump opted not to inform Allies ahead of time. And I understand that.

But what I see, when I look across Europe today, is Allies providing a massive amount of support. Basing, logistics, and other measures – to ensure the powerful US military succeeds in denying Iran a nuclear weapon and degrading its capacity to export chaos.

Nearly without exception, Allies are doing everything the United States is asking. They have heard and are responding to President Trump’s requests.

The United Kingdom is leading a coalition of countries that are aligning the military, the political, and the economic tools that will be required to ensure free passage through the Strait of Hormuz. This is evidence of a mindset shift.

And, right now, European Allies play leading roles in NATO’s operations to secure our eastern flank, the Baltic Sea, and the Arctic – acting rapidly to field personnel, aircraft, naval vessels and more to bolster our security in the face of emerging threats in these regions.

When Russian MIG-31s crossed the Estonian airspace last fall, it was European aircraft – Italians in the lead, backed up by Finns and Swedes – that turned them back.

When a flock of Russian drones wandered recklessly into Poland around the same time, I’m proud to say that it was a Dutch F-35 that fired the shot that took down the danger.

In my estimation, Secretary Rubio is spot on when he says that an alliance cannot be a one-way street. It was not a one-way Alliance when US, European, and Canadian troops fought and sacrificed shoulder-to-shoulder in Afghanistan.

And I am heartened by the knowledge that, every day, US, European, and Canadian troops continue to train and deploy in support of our shared security.

I am confident that a stronger Europe in a stronger NATO will not take US leadership for granted.

On the 40^th anniversary of D-Day in 1984, standing atop the cliffs at Point du Hoc, where the US 2^nd Ranger Battalion had fought to carve out a toe-hold on the continent, President Reagan offered an apt reflection.

“[I]t is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.”

NATO is changing.

Thanks to American leadership, and the collective commitment to ensuring continued freedom and security, NATO is growing stronger.

Thanks to the mindset shift that is happening, I see a true partnership on the transatlantic horizon.

“The future doesn’t belong to the fainthearted,” Reagan famously said.

As we brave this new path before us, I am confident that together – the United States and its Allies in NATO – will deliver on our shared commitment to securing our freedom today, tomorrow, and well beyond.

Thank you.