09 October 2001
Text: Anti-Terror Cooperation a New Foreign Policy Standard, Jones Says
(Oct. 5: Asst. Secretary of State for European, Eurasian Affairs)
(2910)
"The quality of U.S. foreign relations in the future will be measured
by new standards: either a country is with us or is with the
terrorists," said Elizabeth Jones, assistant secretary of State for
European and Eurasian affairs October 5.
In the battle against terrorism "nations have a real opportunity to
change the way they're positioned in the world and play a positive
role," Jones said. "This is particularly true for those nations like
Iran, Sudan and Syria that have been cited for their sponsorship or
support of terrorism. Sudan, for example, is already taking positive
steps to cooperate with international efforts to combat terrorism."
Speaking at the annual conference of the German Studies Association,
which took place near Washington, D.C., Jones went on to say that
"nations unprepared to provide full cooperation will not be able to do
'business as usual' with the international community."
The United States and Europe "cannot forget the friends who contribute
at this time. Those who stand with us now can count on us standing
with them in the future," she said.
Jones reiterated that the enemy is terrorism, not Islam and not the
people of Afghanistan. "We call on every member of our coalition to
make a substantial, immediate contribution to the humanitarian crisis
in Afghanistan before many more lives are unnecessarily lost."
Regarding U.S.-Russian relations, she said that cooperation against
terrorism "will reshape our entire relationship with Russia."
On multilateral efforts, Jones cited resolutions adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly and Security Council that impose "binding
obligations on U.N. members to limit the ability of terrorists to
operate."
The United States has also been "actively engaged with the European
Union and its leadership," she said. Additionally, the countries of
the Caucasus and Central Asia "will play a critical role in this
campaign against terrorism.... They will be strong and reliable allies
in this new fight, but will require all of us in NATO, the EU and the
OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] to look for
ways to support and encourage them to make the tough decisions ahead."
The assistant secretary also reviewed other key items on the
U.S.-European agenda.
Following is the text:
(begin text)
U.S. Department of State
October 5, 2001
SPEECH BY AMBASSADOR A. ELIZABETH JONES, ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE FOR
EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS
As prepared for delivery to the German Studies Association Annual
Conference
Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel
Crystal City, VA
I am pleased to be here with you this evening during your jubilee
year. The shadow of the September 11th terrorist attacks has darkened
what was to be a more festive gathering tonight. I am sure this fact
saddens those who have worked so hard to build the Association's
annual conference into the impressive intellectual endeavor it has
become.
All of us have shared much sadness over the past few weeks. The World
Trade Center images will never leave us. The lives lost and
destruction wrought at the Pentagon, a short distance from here, are
tangible reminders for us in Washington.
I originally wanted to talk about how much the U.S. shares with the
German-speaking nations of Europe and how many opportunities remain on
our common agenda. Through this tragedy the need for such a message
seems less pressing. We all see that in times of trouble you know who
your true friends are.
The vicious terrorist attacks of September 11 have provided abundant
evidence of the enduring ties and common values between the U.S. and
Europe.
The American people were comforted by the expressions of support and
offers of assistance from world leaders after the attack. We were
touched by the popular expressions of support and concern expressed by
individuals and organizations representing European publics. There
were religious and public ceremonies in nearly every European capital.
People spontaneously brought flowers and candles to impromptu
memorials, many near our embassies. The sight of some 200,000 people
gathered in sympathy at Brandenburg Gate was very moving.
I was recently told of a magnificent gesture by the captain and crew
of the German warship Lutjens (D185) a few days after the attack.
Departing Plymouth, England, the Lutjens drew up alongside the USS
Winston Churchill on the high seas for a farewell salute. When the
American captain called his crew topside, they were stunned to see the
entire crew of the Lutjens standing at their ship's rails in dress
blue uniforms, flying an American flag at half-mast and holding a
large sign, with the words, "We Stand by You."
Donations have been coming from all over the world to aid the victims
of the terror attack and their families. A fund put together by German
friends and companies has now raised over $30 million. This is a truly
generous testament to heartfelt friendship, all the more striking
because there are 5,559 people among the dead and missing as a result
of the September 11th attacks, including the citizens of 80 other
nations. Germans, Swiss and Austrians are among them. This is truly a
world tragedy.
A Changed America, a Changed World
September 11 fundamentally changed the way we see ourselves, our
country, and the world. We are embarked on a long-term battle against
terror. The quality of U.S. foreign relations in the future will be
measured by new standards: either a country is with us or is with the
terrorists.
We have found many partnerships in our battle and are welcoming those
who join us. We fully acknowledge that the challenge of international
terror networks can be defeated only in the context of the
international community.
Out of the ashes of Ground Zero rises an opportunity to make the world
a safer place. Nations have a real opportunity to change the way
they're positioned in the world and play a positive role. This is
particularly true for those nations like Iran, Sudan and Syria that
have been cited for their sponsorship or support of terrorism. Sudan,
for example, is already taking positive steps to cooperate with
international efforts to combat terrorism.
This is not the time for neutrality. There can be no fitful periods of
cooperation. Nations that support, facilitate or provide havens to
terrorists are on the wrong side of the line. Nations unprepared to
provide full cooperation will not be able to do "business as usual"
with the international community.
The nations of the world are uniting to combat global terror. Our
alliance is resolved that terrorism, not Islam, is our enemy. The
United States has built a persuasive case to the international
community that the al-Qaida terrorist network, led by Usama bin Laden,
is responsible for September 11 and other acts of terror. These
criminals are being sheltered by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
For years, their actions have wreaked havoc on the people of
Afghanistan and their economy and they threaten more damage. Even
before this latest crisis, more than five million people in
Afghanistan depended on the international community for survival.
The United States is already Afghanistan's largest donor of
humanitarian assistance, giving $184 million in the last fiscal year.
On October 4, President Bush announced an additional $320 million in
humanitarian assistance for food and medicine, to help the Afghan
people face the coming winter. Now is the time for the nations of the
world to live up to our words that this is a global war against
terrorism -- not against Afghans. We call on every member of our
coalition to make a substantial, immediate contribution to the
humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan before many more lives are
unnecessarily lost.
The Coalition: Russia
Russia is a prime example of how the fight against terror has recast
our relationships. President Putin has joined the broad coalition
against terror. He has offered to share intelligence information,
granted overflight permissions, and promised joint search and rescue
operations.
There has been an unprecedented sharing of intelligence and
information on both sides of this new, fast-changing relationship. For
example, in Brussels we briefed Russia on the case against Usama bin
Laden and al-Qaida - sharing the same information that we had
delivered to our NATO allies.
President Bush and President Putin will be meeting in Shanghai October
21 to discuss next steps and to further expand our agenda for
cooperation. It will be followed by President Putin's visit to the
United States in November. As we prepare for these meetings, we
anticipate that our cooperation in the battle against terror will
begin to set a pattern of cooperation and partnerships that will
reshape our entire relationship with Russia.
We may have an opportunity to make progress on the painful issue of
Chechnya. Last week we called upon the Chechen nationalist leadership,
which has been fighting a long-running battle for independence from
Moscow, to make a choice: separate your political and social agenda
from that of international terrorist groups, disassociate from those
with ties to al-Qaida and renounce terror. At the same time, we have
encouraged both the Russian leadership and Chechyns to take advantage
of the opening for peace that was created by President Putin on
September 24.
Traditional Friends/Allies and Aspirants
Europeans leaders rightly recognized September 11 as a call to action.
Beyond the words of support and expressions of solidarity, the U.S.
expects such action. Our traditional friends and allies immediately
recognized that the steps we take now can have a permanent effect on
the ability of terrorists to act against our societies.
Germany joined other European friends to invoke the NATO collective
defense mechanism - the "all for one and one for all" clause in the
Washington Treaty. Our NATO allies pledged military support for the
United States while fires still burned at the Pentagon and the World
Trade Center.
German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer was among the first European
officials to visit Washington in the wake of the attack. In meetings
with Secretary Powell and the President on September 19, he promised
his country's full commitment to the struggle against terrorism.
Germany was also among the first of our allies to take action by
helping the United States to investigate the terror attacks, pursuing
and arresting several suspected conspirators. Switzerland froze
suspected al-Qaida assets. Austria is joining both nations in moving
new legislation to prevent financing of terrorists.
The NATO aspirant countries have all fully pledged their support for
the coalition against terror. Their willingness to embrace this major
Alliance agenda shows they recognize the responsibilities of
collective action as expressed in the Washington Treaty.
The Multilateral Agenda
The need to build a broad alliance against terrorism has also begun to
shape our interactions with multilateral organizations. The United
Nations rightly saw September 11 as an attack on its "home town" and
was galvanized into action. The General Assembly and U.N. Security
Council quickly adopted firm resolutions in the wake of the September
11 attacks, but did not stop there.
On September 28, the Security Council took aggressive action, agreeing
unanimously to impose binding obligations on U.N. members to limit the
ability of terrorists to operate. Security Council Resolution 1373 is
a landmark decision that requires worldwide legal and banking system
reforms to prevent movement, funding, training and supply of
international terrorists.
We have been actively engaged with the European Union and its
leadership. The agenda for action includes committing our nations to
joint work on projects such as airline security, export and border
controls, nonproliferation, police and judicial cooperation and
extradition.
Our experts in these fields have gone to work. Europe must develop a
common arrest policy that does not undercut our current, good
bilateral working relationships with EU countries. We will need to cut
through the red tape that hinders our intelligence and law enforcement
agencies from fully sharing information, while protecting the civil
liberties of our citizens and the legitimate privacy needs of our
businesses. Europe needs to act quickly to replace outdated laws to
cut off terrorists' financing and to share information on movements of
suspicious funds.
The New Europeans and Eurasia
As former U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan, I often felt that our friends
in Europe needed to look more closely at what should be done in terms
of the Caucasus and Central Asian countries. These countries will play
a critical role in this campaign against terrorism. Many of them have
fought their own long battles with terrorism on their own soil. They
will be strong and reliable allies in this new fight, but will require
all of us in NATO, the EU and the OSCE [Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe] to look for ways to support and encourage them
to make the tough decisions ahead.
We are already looking at ways to improve their security and
counter-terrorism capabilities -- not to do it for them but to help
them develop their local resources. President Shevardnadze of Georgia
was here in Washington today and met with the President, the Vice
President and Secretary Powell, and Deputy Defense Secretary
Wolfowitz. They had detailed discussions about how we could assist
them in their own domestic fight against terrorism. At the same time
we are exploring proposals to strengthen Central Asian and Caucasus
economies and promote the kinds of political reforms that will
ultimately give them long-term stability and security. I know we can
count on our allies in Europe to support the same goals.
These countries have all pledged their support to the coalition
against international terror. We will need their help when military
action against al-Qaida leaders and cells in the region becomes
necessary. One consequence of our engagement with these countries will
be a long-term responsibility to work together with other Europeans to
help these new European nations.
America and Europe cannot forget the friends who contribute at this
time. Those who stand with us now can count on us standing with them
in the future.
Beyond the Campaign Against Terror
Our response to September 11 has created a series of flexible
bilateral and multilateral relationships. Beyond the effort to destroy
the network that brought about the attacks on September 11, the
international community now has a substantial agenda designed to
protect the civilized world from further terror attacks. We will
continue to pursue this agenda vigorously.
The sheer volume and complexity of America's relationship with Europe
requires us to press forward on the many other items on our agenda.
It does not detract from our close relations that Europe and the
United States will periodically have differences on various matters.
We often refer to them as "issues." But these differences or issues
amount to background noise in the context of our strong, shared
values. This is a reflection of the mature U.S. - European
relationship.
Before the full emergence of the terrorist threat on September 11, the
U.S. agenda with Europe was already large -- much larger than most
people are aware. We have been, and will be, working closely within
NATO, the central institution of our strategic vision, on a variety of
security issues: the prospect of enlargement to include some of
Europe's newest democracies; the need to pursue a rational program of
defense against missile threats; and on efforts to ensure peace in
Macedonia and stability throughout the Balkans.
We are pressing for trade liberalization in our talks with the
European Union and have begun planning the beginning of a new trade
round. We will have to resolve our differences on U.S. foreign sales
corporations (FSCs) and look at a common philosophy on anti-trust
issues.
The U.S. has joined European leaders in the OSCE to expand the circle
of peace and democracy. Bringing peace to the Balkans is an important
common goal. We will uphold the principles of democracy, monitoring
elections and speaking the truth about them. We did this in September
by jointly pronouncing the Belarusian elections stolen by Alexander
Lukashenko, Europe's last dictator.
We do not intend to put aside these tasks and responsibilities.
The Agenda without End
Your impressive conference program details over 150 sessions of
scholarly papers on a broad variety of topics. I can identify with
Americans who have devoted their professional lives to studying
Germany -- I lived many years in Germany, as a child, as a student and
as a diplomat. I share your deep interest in this region.
Those of us in government count on you, the academic community, to
help provide the overarching political and historical explanations for
our times that help us learn which paths to seek out. In future
conferences, students and scholars will be presenting papers about the
relationship between Europe and America at this critical juncture of
history. I am confident that the days ahead will bring out the best in
each of us and provide new demonstrations of our friendship and
partnership, even as we are called to deal with a variety of complex
issues and differences. It is a partnership that emerged from the
ashes of a previous war and which is destined only to grow stronger as
we face today's battle.
The period ahead looks somber and dangerous, yet we see opportunity as
well. Europe and the United States are again joined in a major
alliance that protects not only our people but also our way of life
and basic values. We shall triumph. And we shall do it together.
Thank you very much.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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