February 24, 2003
Romania's Role in NATO: Borders, Bridges, Horizons
Speech by Ambassador Guest
on the occasion of the Annual Awards of the George C. Marshall Association of Romania
Military Circle, Marble Room, Bucharest, Romania
as prepared for delivery
I know that many of you celebrated, as I did, NATO's decision to invite Romania to join the North Atlantic Alliance. That decision confirmed President Bush's vision of a Europe whole and free, stretching from the Baltics to the Black Sea. I am proud of that decision - I believe it is the right one for your country, for my country, for our trans-Atlantic partnership, and for history.
I've been asked to offer thoughts tonight on Romania's place in the Alliance. Allow me to put those thoughts forward based on three concepts: borders, bridges and horizons.
Borders
First, Romania's role in an enlarged Alliance can be viewed in terms of borders. September 11 has taught us that NATO and, indeed, the rest of the world cannot think of security in a narrow, Cartesian way. In that respect, within the Alliance, Romania and other of NATO's new border states will be part of a first line of defense against a range of modern-day problems - including terrorism, human trafficking, and the illicit trade of arms, narcotics, and weapons of mass destruction. No doubt Romania will have a key voice in NATO's discussions of any and all of these trans-border threats.
Romania won't face this task alone, of course. NATO will help Romania strengthen its borders, and will assure that Alliance forces, including those of Romania, can be successfully deployed here or elsewhere in any crisis. In parallel, Romania will benefit from a range of border security assistance programs. These include an active FBI presence, equipment to detect weapons of mass destruction, and training and advice provided by our Customs and Drug Enforcement Agency personnel. Of course, Romania will work from different angles on these problems through cooperation with SECI and Interpol, and through help provided by the European Union as Romania takes its place in the Schengen area.
Bridges
Romania's position at the forefront of the Alliance also requires that it help build bridges of cooperation across NATO's new frontier. Some of these may be bridges of stone or steel, to facilitate trade and cross-border family visits. Other bridges of cooperation are embodied in the mission of the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative - commonly known as SECI - which is working to strengthen regional cooperation against some of the problems I've mentioned this evening.
Romania's greater mission, however, and that of NATO, is to build bridges of friendship and understanding - a breathtakingly historic mission, and one that will assign Romania a shared and special place in modern history. When President Bush spoke to Romanians in Revolution Square, he referred to Romania's role as a bridge to Russia. Already NATO and Russia are joined in a range of important activities, including civil emergency and crisis management planning, military-to-military cooperation, search and rescue at sea, and the struggles against terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. As Romania takes its place along NATO's new frontier, it can play a key role in NATO's historic efforts to develop a stronger partnership with Russia. The progress that Romania has made toward democracy and free markets will guide its outreach. So can the bilateral treaty that it and Russia are preparing - a treaty to put behind historic Cold War divisions, and to create the basis for a renewed bilateral relationship.
Romania's bridges also should span to other countries closer to home, of course. Romania shares a common language, culture and history with the Republic of Moldova. Similarly, its history and multi-ethnic population is interlaced with those of Ukraine and Serbia. I hope that Romania will enlarge its trade and other contacts with these non-NATO states, and will promote with them a clear understanding of the democratic and market values that undergird membership in the Alliance - encouraging the adoption of those values throughout the region. I also trust that, as a NATO member, Romania will work to resolve any unsettled border disputes with its neighbors peacefully, by negotiation.
Finally, Romania's bridges must extend in other directions as well: to Hungary and Bulgaria, NATO allies with which it shares borders; to other members of the Alliance, many in the European Union that Romania aspires to join; and to the United States and Canada, important pillars of the Trans-Atlantic community.
New Horizons
The bridges are, in fact, bridges to NATO's new horizons. Westward, these horizons embrace a Europe that is unified, free, and at peace, and a North American continent that is Europe's strongest and most valued partner. To the northeast, they embrace a Russia with which we are engaged on common concerns and which may, in fact, one day aspire to Alliance membership. To the south and east of here, they find a Black Sea region moving towards its full potential for cooperation and prosperity. Further eastward, these horizons extend to the Caucasus, where Romania already is playing an important role in strengthening the security of Georgia, and to Central Asia, where the growth of democracy and free markets is important to long-term stability.
Romania has the vision and will to be a strong partner in reaching these horizons. The United States sees this country as a mature and responsible ally that shares our commitment to ensuring NATO's continued strength. Our partnership is growing, based on a shared appreciation of values, principles, and the dangers facing the modern world. We look forward to the continued growth of that partnership as Romania prepares to enter a changing and renewed Alliance. Thank you.