    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1997, Book II)]
    [July 8, 1997]
    [Pages 923-925]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks to the Community at the United States Embassy in Madrid
    July 8, 1997

        Thank you. Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I thank all of
    you for being here, for all the service that you have given either
    through this Embassy or through our NATO mission. Whether you are an
    American working for some branch of the United States Government or a
    foreign national who has contributed to our success here, we're very
    grateful to you.
        And I thank those of you who have brought your children. I thank you
    for doing that because, after all, what we are celebrating today are
    actions taken to make the future of these children more secure, more
    rich, more full of promise, more dependent upon their own abilities and
    not the whims of some dictator who would seek to advance the cause of
    his or her power at the expense of their dreams. So I'm very, very glad
    to see all of you here today.
        Let me begin by thanking our delegation. I thank Secretary Albright
    for bringing her personal life story and her vision into her work every
    day. I thank Secretary Cohen for his leadership at the Defense
    Department and for helping us to prove that our politics can still stop
    at the water's edge and we can work across party lines to do what's
    right for America.

    [[Page 924]]

        I thank the members of this distinguished congressional delegation:
    the chairman of the delegation, Senator Roth, who spoke today on behalf
    of parliamentarians in all the NATO countries; Senator Biden, who had to
    leave; Senator Mikulski; Senator Smith; and Congressmen Gilman, Solomon,
    Gejdenson and Sisisky. I thank them for coming, Members of both parties
    in both Houses of Congress, proving that we are united on this issue.
        Let me also say a special word of thanks to our distinguished
    Ambassador, Dick Gardner, for the fine job he has done here for the last
    4 years. He and Danielle have done very well, and we will always be
    grateful for their service. I also thank them for their astonishing
    hospitality to me, to Hillary, to our family, and to many others who
    have come to Spain in search of peace and beauty--and just being happy
    tourists. We're very grateful to you for all that you've done.
        I want to say a special word of thanks to Ambassador Hunter and the
    NATO mission for all they have done to make this a success. All of you
    know what happened today. We bridged a chasm in history and began a
    journey to a new Europe and a new century by inviting Poland, the Czech
    Republic, and Hungary to join NATO and making clear that the door is
    open for others to follow.
        We have taken a giant stride in our efforts to create a Europe that
    is undivided, democratic, and at peace literally for the first time
    since the rise of the nation-state on the European Continent. There has
    never been a time when the entire continent was not divided, was
    democratic, and was at peace. All three conditions have never prevailed
    on this continent at the same time. We have a chance to make it so now.
    It's a result of hard work by all the members of the alliance. This is
    not an American achievement; this is a NATO achievement. Every country
    had its say. The statement we released today and the decision we made
    was a genuine consensus effort. And I am profoundly grateful to all of
    my fellow world leaders who are part of NATO.
        I also would say to the people of Poland and Hungary and the Czech
    Republic, your heroism made this day possible. Through long years of
    darkness, you kept alive the hope of freedom. I still remember the
    Hungarian uprising of 1956, the Prague Spring of 1968, the Gdansk
    Shipyards in 1981. But we also appreciate the fact that when these three
    nations threw off the shackles of tyranny, they embraced democracy and
    tolerance. They devoted themselves to reforming their economies and
    their societies, to settling age-old disputes with their neighbors. They
    have done the hard work of freedom now for over 7 years, and they have
    proved that they are ready to share in the full responsibility of NATO
    membership.
        They have also set an extraordinary example for the other new
    democracies of Central and Eastern Europe. From the northwest to the
    southeast corner of Europe, we see other countries now engaged in
    partnerships with us through the Partnership For Peace, also interested
    in being considered for NATO membership. These three nations have paved
    the way for others to follow. They have paved the way by showing that
    with a long-term commitment to strengthening democracy and reforming an
    economy, to settling ancient quarrels, a nation can become a full
    partner in that free, peaceful, undivided Europe. And I am very
    grateful.
        We actually did three things here. First, we made NATO stronger by
    taking in new members and making clear that others will be allowed to
    come in the future. And we will continue to work to make sure we can
    meet the challenges of tomorrow. Second, we're working to adapt NATO
    internally to meet the new challenges of tomorrow, not the old ones of
    yesterday. And there will be more responsibility for Europeans in a
    separate security defense initiative. The third thing we're doing is
    reaching out to have more partners. You know we signed this historic
    agreement with Russia. Tomorrow there will be another historic signing
    with Ukraine. We have over two dozen countries in the Partnership For
    Peace that are working with us in Bosnia and in other ways, and they
    will be permitted to have a political arm through a partnership council
    that will give them a greater say over decisions that they will be
    expected to participate in.
        This is a very great day, not only for Europe and the United States,
    not simply for NATO but, indeed, for the cause of freedom in the
    aftermath of the cold war. And every one of you who had anything to do
    with it, and every one of you who has a child with a big stake in it,
    should be very happy and very proud.
        Thank you very much.

    [[Page 925]]

    Note: The President spoke at 6:05 p.m. at the Embassy. In his remarks,
    he referred to U.S. Ambassador to Spain Richard N. Gardner and his wife,
    Danielle; and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Robert E. Hunter.