U.S. Department of Defense
May 1, 2014
Hagel Emphasizes NATO’s Importance to World Security
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON: On a night in which the Atlantic Council honored Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, the secretary called NATO an anchor of security for the world.
After receiving the council’s Distinguished International Leadership Award here last night, Hagel said he’s been privileged and fortunate to have lived at such a spectacular time in world history. While this time is not without its problems and new threats emerge daily, he said, the transatlantic alliance embodied by NATO has served as a bulwark for peace and security.
“I know of no anchor of security more important to keeping peace in the world since World War II than NATO,” Hagel said.
NATO has been instrumental to averting problems like those that occurred in the first 50 years of the 20th century…
And though all of the world’s problems haven’t yet been solved, he said, the nations of the world have built platforms, abilities and alliances to work together in common purpose to address these challenges together.
“And that, fundamentally, was the point of NATO: knitting together a strong transatlantic alliance after World War II,” Hagel said.
Today’s accelerated rate of change and shift is unprecedented in the history of man, the defense secretary noted. But, he said, the rapid pace of change demonstrates that the groundwork laid more than 60 years ago is paying dividends.
“Wasn’t that the point behind all of this effort that our great leaders came to and agreed upon after World War II – to, in fact, give people of the world opportunities, freedom? That is directly connected to security and continuity and stability,” Hagel said.
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After World War II, the great leaders of the era came together to form a lasting alliance…Hagel noted. But after extended periods of conflict, nations tend to look inward, he cautioned, and now the world runs the risk of again becoming captive to that kind of inward thinking, the defense secretary said.
“I don’t think we’re there,” he said, “but it’s going to require continued focused strong, steady, wise [and] engaged leadership with the world, with each other. … This is not a time to retreat. This is not a time to pull back.”
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“If there was ever a time in history where we have the tools, where we have the capacity, where we have the institutions to engage and fix the problems, it is now,” the defense secretary said.
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