[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 40, Number 14 (Monday, April 5, 2004)]
[Pages 495-497]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at a Ceremony Honoring Seven Nations on 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, 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.

[[Page 496]]

    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 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.

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    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 ``Jaap'' Gijshert 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.