Speech by the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Mr. John Tanner (United States), to the Plenary of the Spring Session (May 26, 2009)
Oslo, May 26, 2009
"Mr. Prime Minister
Mr. President of the Storting
Ministers,
Secretary General,
Ambassadors,
Dear Colleagues and Friends of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,
It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this Spring Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Oslo. It is a particular pleasure to welcome the North Atlantic Council here today, and I look forward to an engaging debate later this morning between the Ambassadors and the members of this Assembly.
Norway is a small country in terms of population, but it has a large presence in international affairs. From the Oslo Accords that marked a major step in the international community’s attempt to bring a lasting peace to the Middle East, to the many members of the Norwegian armed forces deployed in NATO missions, Norway casts a much larger shadow on the global stage than we might expect from a country of less than 5 million inhabitants.
And of course the Norwegian people have left their mark on the world as well including internationally recognized names such as the composer, Edvard Grieg, the author Henrik Ibsen and the explorers Roald Amundsen and Thor Heyerdahl.
As you might know, the United States has a large community of Norwegian immigrants and they and their descendents have contributed to the nation in many ways.
One of the most famous was Knute Rockne, a football coach who was known almost as much for his sayings as his incredible winning record. He was a successful coach because he understood that building a winning team was much more about working together than it was about having a few star players. “The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team,” Rockne was fond of saying. “As a coach, I play not my eleven best players, but my eleven who work best together.”
It is a fitting way to think about this Alliance. Like any sports team, we bring different strengths and weaknesses to the field. But the ultimate success of the Alliance is not about the individual attributes of each member, rather it is determined by how well we work together to build collective strength from one another. Like a sports team, all members will vary in their roles and capabilities. What cannot vary among the members of a successful team, however, is their commitment.
I like to think of this Alliance in those terms. Whatever our differences, we are all committed to the same values, and that is what makes us strong. But now is the time, today, to redouble our efforts to show that we are equally determined to live up to the obligations we took on as an Alliance.
A few moments ago I mentioned Norway’s contribution to the Alliance’s mission in Afghanistan. It is a very welcome contribution and I am also pleased that so many members of the Alliance are participating in that mission in ways that would have been unthinkable ten years ago. It is a testament to the commitment that many have made to make their militaries more deployable and usable for the current range of Alliance missions.
But what is more important than the absolute number of troops on the ground is the sharing of risk and the commitment that this demonstrates to the Afghan people, to the enemies of our values, and to our constituents at home. An Alliance in which risk is not fairly shared creates serious potential difficulties for itself. As elected representatives, we are ultimately responsible to our constituents. When they ask us why their sons and daughters should be exposed to serious danger in Afghanistan, we can say it is because of a decision that we took together as an Alliance for their individual and our collective security. But when those same voters see that some members bear a disproportionate share of the risk to life and limb of their troops, they will ask us why and we will owe them an answer.
As members of this Alliance, we share a common heritage in the values that underpin democracy: tolerance, individual freedom, and mutual respect. What we are fighting in Afghanistan is a force that rejects those principles. And the Taliban is only a piece of a larger problem. Tolerance of those who seek to undermine our common values is not a virtue. It will not make us safer, and we need to explain clearly to our publics why it is necessary to confront them.
I was unfortunately unable to attend the Italian parliament’s 60th anniversary commemoration to which we were all generously invited. By all accounts it was a remarkable event and I did have the chance to read the comments of one of the speakers, Professor Musa Maroofi, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Italy. I think we all benefit from reconsidering his words. “The average men and women in the NATO nations need to know that if the war is not won in Afghanistan, then they should be prepared to fight it in their own cities and streets.” It’s a serious warning from man who knows all too well from personal experience what is truly at stake.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly can play an important role regarding this last point. We can help encourage a public discussion about Afghanistan and build support for NATO’s mission. We are an alliance of democracies, and building public support for our efforts in Afghanistan is critical. But to do that we need to show that we are united, that we are committed and that we are an Alliance.
I believe we can do that. It is a difficult mission, but many Alliance members and partners are redoubling their efforts. We are forging closer links with countries in the region based on a mutual appreciation of the danger that an Afghanistan that descends into chaos once again represents to all of us. We are moving forward on a comprehensive approach that encompasses the political, economic and military challenges we face in Afghanistan in a coordinated manner. We can succeed, but we can only do so as a team with a shared commitment.
Of course, good teamwork requires preparation and training. In that context, I would like to commend the work of two institutions which are helping member and partner countries to work together.
In February I visited the NATO School in Oberammergau and The George C. Marshall Center in Garmisch. These are two truly exceptional NATO facilities in Germany dedicated to training military leaders in NATO and partner countries. At the NATO School I saw how they jointly educate personnel who are soon to be deployed to Afghanistan. At the Marshall Center, I was impressed by its programmes to train personnel from partner countries and help them reach NATO standards. Educational facilities such as these are vital tools that enable us to work together more efficiently, and give our partners the tools they need to be providers, not consumers, of security resources.
Ladies and gentlemen, I have focused on our mission in Afghanistan because I believe we are at a critical juncture. There are many other issues I could have raised such as the new strategic concept, our relationship with Russia, terrorism or cyber-security. Please know that these issues are no less important but I believe there is an urgency in the way forward in Afghanistan that commands our prompt attention. Be assured that I have only started my Presidency and we will make appropriate time to discuss these and other issues.
Of course, all of the security challenges we face are only amplified by the financial crisis and the global economic downturn. Unless we can turn the global economic situation around, we face compounding problems. Hard times can be a source of conflict between countries and within societies. Global economic slumps can spark protectionism that only makes matters worse. As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to help chart a way forward.
This is why I think you will agree that this Assembly and its work are more important now than ever before. It is one of the few forums where parliamentarians from across the Euro-Atlantic area can discuss these issues that are of critical interest to all of our constituents. The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is an embodiment of the democratic nature of the transatlantic Alliance. May we have the wisdom and courage to maintain and nurture such a noble undertaking."