[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2008, Book I)]
[April 5, 2008]
[Pages 469-471]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



The President's Radio Address
April 5, 2008

    Good morning. I'm speaking to you from Europe, where I attended the 
NATO summit and witnessed the hopeful progress of the continent's 
youngest democracies.
    The summit was held in Romania, one of the 10 liberated nations that 
have joined the ranks of NATO since the end of the cold war. After 
decades of tyranny and oppression, today, Romania is an important member 
of an international alliance dedicated to liberty, and it is setting a 
bold example for other former Communist nations that desire to live in 
peace and freedom.
    One of those nations is Croatia, which I'm also visiting on my trip. 
Croatia is a very different place than it was just a decade ago. Since 
they attained their independence, the Croatian people have shown the 
world the potential of human freedom. They've overcome war and hardship 
to build peaceful relations with their neighbors, and they have built a 
maturing democracy on the rubble of a dictatorship.

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    This week, NATO invited Croatia, as well as the nation of Albania, 
to join the NATO alliance. These countries have made extraordinary 
progress on the road to freedom, prosperity, and peace. The invitation 
to join NATO represents the alliance's confidence that they will 
continue to make necessary reforms and that they will become strong 
contributors to NATO's mission of collective defense.
    I regret that NATO was not able to extend an invitation to a third 
nation, Macedonia, at this week's summit. Like Croatia and Albania, 
Macedonia has met all the criteria for NATO membership. Unfortunately, 
its invitation was delayed because of a dispute over its name. I made 
clear that the name issue should be resolved quickly, that NATO should 
intensify its engagement with Macedonia, and that we look forward to the 
day when this young democracy takes its place among the members of the 
NATO alliance.
    After a century when the great wars of Europe threatened destruction 
throughout the world, the continent has now entered into a promising new 
era. Less than two decades ago, Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia suffered 
under the yoke of Communist oppression. The people in these countries 
know what the gift of liberty means, because they know what it is like 
to have their liberty denied. They know the death and destruction that 
can be caused by the followers of radical ideologies who kill the 
innocent in pursuit of political power. And these lessons have led them 
to work alongside America in the war on terror.
    Today, soldiers from Croatia, Albania, and Macedonia are serving 
bravely in Afghanistan, helping the Afghan people defeat terrorists and 
secure a future of liberty. And forces from Albania and Macedonia are 
also serving in Iraq, where they're helping the Iraqi people build a 
society that rejects terror and lives in freedom. These

nations have displayed the ultimate devotion to the principle of 
liberty, sacrificing to provide it for others.

    Albania, Croatia, and Macedonia are not alone in discarding the 
chains to their past and embracing the promise of freedom. Another 
burgeoning democracy is Ukraine. Earlier this week, I traveled to Kiev 
to express America's support for beginning the process of bringing both 
Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. In recent years, both of these nations 
have seen tens of thousands take to the streets to peacefully demand 
their God-given liberty. The people of Ukraine and Georgia are an 
inspiration to the world, and I was pleased that this week NATO declared 
that Ukraine and Georgia will become members of NATO.
    Nearly 7 years ago, I came to Europe and spoke to the students and 
faculty at Warsaw University in Poland. On that day, I declared that all 
of Europe's new democracies, from the Baltic to the Black Sea, should 
have the same chance for security and freedom and the same chance to 
join the institutions of Europe. Seven years later, we have made good 
progress toward fulfilling this vision, and more work remains.
    In many parts of the world, freedom is still a distant aspiration. 
But in the ancient cities and villages of Europe, it is at the center of 
a new era of hope.
    Thank you for listening.

Note: The address was recorded at 1:30 p.m. on April 3 in Bucharest, 
Romania, for broadcast at 10:06 a.m., e.d.t., on April 5. The transcript 
was made available by the Office of the Press Secretary on April 4, but 
was embargoed for release until the broadcast. Due to the 6-hour time 
difference, the address was broadcast after the President's remarks in 
Croatia. The Office of the Press Secretary also released a Spanish 
language transcript of this address.

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