[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2004, Book I)]
[March 29, 2004]
[Pages 475-477]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Ceremony Honoring Seven Nations on Their Accession to the 
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
March 29, 2004

    Thank you all. Good afternoon, and welcome to the White House.
    Fifty-five years ago, the representatives of 12 nations gathered 
here in Washington to sign the North Atlantic Treaty, which established 
the most successful military alliance in history. Today we proudly 
welcome Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and 
Slovenia. We welcome them into the ranks of the North Atlantic Treaty 
Organization.
    When NATO was founded, the people of these seven nations were 
captives to an empire. They endured bitter tyranny. They struggled for 
independence. They earned their freedom through courage and 
perseverance, and today they stand with us as full and equal partners in 
this great Alliance.
    It has been my honor to host the Prime Ministers of 
each new 
NATO member in the Oval Office. I want to thank 
them for their friendship. I want to thank them for their leadership. I 
look forward to working with them to make the world more peaceful and 
more free. Welcome to America.
    I want 
to thank 
the foreign 
and defense 
ministers of 
the new NATO members who are with us 
today. I want to thank the Prime Ministers of Albania, Croatia, and 
Macedonia, who are with us today. Jaap de 
Hoop Scheffer is 
with us today, who is the Secretary General of NATO. Thank you for 
coming, Mr. Secretary General. I thank the Ambassadors of all the 
members of NATO, both old and new.
    I want to thank the Vice President, 
Secretary of State Powell, Secretary of 
Defense Rumsfeld, General Dick 
Myers, General Jones, members of my administration. I want to thank the Members 
of Congress who are with us today: Majority Leader Bill Frist of the United States Senate; Members of the Senate which 
voted unanimously in support of the admission of the new members that we 
welcome today. I want to thank the Members of the House of 
Representatives who have joined us today. I want to thank those who are 
here today whose vision years ago helped make this moment a reality. I 
want to thank other distinguished guests. Welcome.
    Today marks a great achievement for each of the nations joining our 
Alliance. All member nations of NATO must be free and democratic and 
fully committed to defending the principles of liberty. All member 
nations must be willing and able to contribute to the common defense of 
our Alliance. Our seven new members have built free institutions. 
They've increased their military capabilities in the span of a decade. 
They are stronger nations because of that remarkable effort, and the 
NATO Alliance is made stronger by their presence.
    Since NATO's founding, the assurance of mutual defense has been a 
safeguard for peace. As President Truman said, ``By this treaty, we are 
not only seeking to establish freedom from aggression and from the use 
of force in the North Atlantic community,

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but we are also actively striving to promote and preserve peace 
throughout the world.''
    Under NATO's banner, the nations of Europe put aside rivalries that 
had divided the Continent for centuries. NATO members stood watch on 
freedom's borders for two generations of the cold war. Because of NATO's 
vigilance, free people lifted the Iron Curtain and tore down the Berlin 
Wall and replaced dictators with democratic governments.
    In the aftermath of this victory, some questioned whether NATO could 
or should survive the end of the cold war. Then the Alliance proved its 
enduring worth by stopping ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and by ousting the 
armies of a tyrant in Kosovo. Some 
wondered whether NATO could adapt to the new threats of the 21st 
century. Those doubts were laid to rest on September the 12th, 2001, 
when NATO invoked for the first time in its history Article 5 of our 
Charter, which states that an attack against one NATO Ally is an attack 
against all.
    NATO's core mission remains the same, the defense of its members 
against any aggression. Today, our Alliance faces a new enemy, which has 
brought death to innocent people from New York to Madrid. Terrorists 
hate everything this Alliance stands for. They despise our freedom. They 
fear our unity. They seek to divide us. They will fail. We will not be 
divided. We will never bow to the violence of a few. We will never--we 
will face the mortal danger of terrorism, and we will overcome it 
together.
    The countries we welcome today were friends before they were Allies, 
and they were allies in action before becoming Allies by treaty. Today, 
all seven of these nations are helping to bring lasting freedom to 
Afghanistan and Iraq. Bulgaria provided refueling facilities during the 
early days of Operation Enduring Freedom and has deployed more than 400 
soldiers to Iraq. Military engineers from Estonia and Latvia are helping 
to clear explosive devices from Iraq. Forces from Lithuania and Slovakia 
are helping to secure Iraq. Romanian troops have sacrificed their lives 
fighting terrorists in Afghanistan. And troops from Slovenia are serving 
in the international force that is protecting the city of Kabul in 
Afghanistan.
    Forces from Albania and Croatia and Macedonia are also contributing 
in Afghanistan or Iraq, proving their mettle as they aspire to NATO 
membership. These three nations, joined together under the Adriatic 
Charter, are building strong democracies at home that can contribute to 
NATO efforts abroad. The United States supports these efforts. The door 
to NATO will remain open until the whole of Europe is united in freedom 
and in peace.
    As witness to some of the great crimes of the last century, our new 
members bring moral clarity to the purposes of our Alliance. They 
understand our cause in Afghanistan and in Iraq, because tyranny for 
them is still a fresh memory. These nations know that when great 
democracies fail to confront danger, far worse peril can follow. They 
know that aggression left unchecked can rob millions of their liberty 
and their lives. And so now, as members of NATO, they are stepping 
forward to secure the lives and freedom of others.
    The NATO Alliance now flies seven new flags and reaches from the Bay 
of Biscay to the Black Sea. And Europe, once the source of global 
conflict, is now a force for stability and peace. Our great 
transatlantic Alliance has met and overcome great dangers in the past, 
and our work in NATO is not done. In the past, many assumed that NATO 
represented a pledge that America would come to the aid of Europe. 
Today, by our words and by our actions, we know that NATO means much 
more. It is a solemn commitment that America and Europe are joined 
together to advance the cause of freedom and peace.
    NATO is acting to meet the challenges of our time. NATO forces are 
securing Afghanistan. NATO ships are patrolling the

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Mediterranean, and NATO is supporting the Polish-led division in Iraq. 
NATO is widening the circle of its friends by creating a new chapter in 
our relationship with Russia. NATO members are reaching out to the 
nations of the Middle East to strengthen our ability to fight terror and 
to provide for our common security. And we're discussing how we can 
support and increase the momentum of freedom in the greater Middle East.
    Our unity and our commitment to freedom carried us to victory in the 
cold war, and they showed us the way to victory in the war on terror. 
Together, Europe and America can lead peaceful nations against the 
dangers of our time. Europe and America can advance freedom and give 
hope and support to those who seek to lift the yoke of isolation and 
fear and oppression. That is the mission that history has set for NATO--
this great and confident alliance of 26 nations--and we proudly accept 
this mission.
    May God bless you all.

Note: The President spoke at 3:42 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg-
Gotha, Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov, and Foreign Minister Solomon 
Pasi of Bulgaria; Prime Minister Juhan Parts, Defense Minister Margus 
Hanson, and Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland of Estonia; Prime 
Minister Indulis Emsis, Defense Minister Atis Slakteris, and Foreign 
Minister Rihards Piks of Latvia; Prime Minister Algirdas Mykolas 
Brazauskas, Defense Minister Linas Linkevicius, and Foreign Minister 
Antanas Valionis of Lithuania; Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, Defense 
Minister Ioan Mircea Pascu, and Foreign Minister Mircea Dan Geoana of 
Romania; Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, Defense Minister Juraj Liska, 
and Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan of Slovakia; Prime Minister Anton Rop, 
Defense Minister Anton Grizold, and Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel of 
Slovenia; Prime Minister Fatos Nano of Albania; Prime Minister Ivo 
Sanader of Croatia; Prime Minister Branko Crvenkovski of Macedonia; NATO 
Secretary General Jakob Gijsbert ``Jaap'' de Hoop Scheffer; Gen. James 
L. Jones, USMC, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe; and former 
President Slobodan Milosevic of the former Federal Republic of 
Yugoslavia.