Security Challenges for Slovakia are Subject of Ambassador's Speech in Bratislava

Vincent Obsitnik: Policy Speech for SFPA Bratislava

Today, there are security challenges we face that serve to deny nations stability and subsequent prosperity.  The United States and Slovakia both have the good fortune to enjoy stability and prosperity. As a result we both have the opportunity to assist other nations to obtain those benefits.  But we have more than that – we also have an obligation to do so.  As a member of the EU and NATO, Slovakia, can help other nations move towards security and prosperity, by participating in peacekeeping operations and by aiding those trying to develop their democracy.  The United States wants to continue working with Slovakia as it does with other allies to eliminate threats to security abroad and enhance the prospects of prosperity and democracy around the world. 

RESULTING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Slovakia is an excellent example of the linkage between stability, democracy and economic prosperity.  Its stability and wide ranging economic reforms have led to a large inflow of foreign direct investment and corresponding strong economic growth – as high as 10.4% last year.  Virtually every other country in the world would love to say that its projected growth this year may “slow” to 7 percent.  Joining the Euro zone next January, another step forward, will benefit both foreign and domestic investors, and contribute further to Slovakia’s growth and the prosperity of its people.  The unemployment rate keeps falling in Slovakia. It was 7.38 percent at the end of April - that is down from late March and 1.12 percent lower than April last year.

I’m pleased that U.S. companies have been a significant factor in this growth.  They have been among the earliest and most successful investors, investing over 3.8 billion dollars to date.  This investment has resulted in the employment of 46,000 Slovak citizens.  All in all, about 130 U.S. companies have a presence in Slovakia today. 

We look at the Slovak government as a partner in expanding business investment.  But I also look at Slovakia as a partner in dealing with the security challenges that threaten stability and prosperity elsewhere.  These are not challenges the U.S. or the largest members of NATO face alone.  They are Slovakia’s challenges as well.

SECURITY CHALLENGES

The international community’s sternest challenges are the terrorist insurgency in Afghanistan, unrest in the Balkans and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. These threats are real and we are working shoulder to shoulder with our allies to meet them.

AFGHANISTAN

One of the security challenges we must face together is terrorism in Afghanistan.

Slovak soldiers have served admirably and still serve in UN and NATO missions from the Balkans to Afghanistan. After their trip to Afghanistan and meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Kubis and Defense Minister Jaroslav Baska stated that Slovakia will increase its troop numbers serving in Afghanistan from the current 69 to 280 by 2010.  The Slovak public is beginning to hear more from its leaders about the value and necessity of troop contributions and civilian assistance to the Afghan people.  America is playing an important role in helping build the capacity of the Slovak armed forces both to protect this country and to enable its troops to conduct such important peacekeeping missions abroad.  My government has provided nearly 100 million dollars in aid, since Slovak independence, to help modernize and professionalize the Slovak military.

Ladies and gentlemen, Afghanistan is worth our joint efforts and sacrifice.  Numbers help tell the story. In 2001, 8 percent of Afghans had access to some form of healthcare; now with over 670 hospitals and clinics built and outfitted, more than 80 percent of the population has access to medical care. In 2001 only about 900,000 children were enrolled in school. Today there are more than 5 million students in that country. More than 1.5 million of them are girls.

While Afghanistan is making progress, I must tell you that the job is not finished. There are three main challenges:  regional instability, the export of violent ideological extremism, and the growing and trafficking of narcotics.

First, as a nation comprised of many ethnic groups and tribes, Afghanistan has the potential to become a factor for regional stability and integration, or to become a country that produces wider instability and conflict.

Second, we know what can happen when Afghanistan becomes a failed state: and that is they will export violent extremism.  Afghanistan under the Taliban, gave haven to terrorists that attacked the west, there was brutal oppression and an open door for al Qaeda. Open and secular societies in Europe -- as well as the United States – are the targets of such groups.

Third, Afghanistan is the number one supplier of opium and heroin to Europe.  As opium production rises, it increasingly affects the young people of Europe, resulting in addiction, disease and death.

It is a source of pride to me that the U.S. and Slovakia, as well as other nations of the former Warsaw pact, are today working side-by-side in Afghanistan. Minister Kubis wrote in Pravda on May 21 that when he returned from Afghanistan he left convinced that the ISAF mission is in accordance with the opinions and interests of the Afghan people, that the presence of Slovak peacekeepers is wanted and purposeful and that the best possible conditions will be provided for their operations, including their security. And Defense Minister Baska said during his visit to Tarin Kout that, "It is vital to help the Afghan people rebuild their devastated country and ensure the security of the region,"

I couldn’t agree more. NATO needs all its members to increase their commitment to sustaining ISAF operations.  Beyond troop contributions, nations must also allow ISAF commanders to deploy troops in the most effective way possible.  Forces should not be the subject of national “caveats,” or limitations, that in effect tie the hands of our commanders.  Unfortunately today there are 80 caveats on national contributions among those countries with forces in Afghanistan, including Slovakia.  Those caveats, which restrict military progress and success, should be lifted. In a March op-ed coauthored with Maxime Verhagen, Foreign Minister Kubis said that, “these limitations deprive us of flexibility and bedevil the understaffed Afghan ministries. The Taliban and drug traffickers are not confined by provincial or regional borders; nor indeed are poverty and illiteracy.”

If we don’t finish the work of building a stable and secure Afghanistan, we will see its impact on the well being of our youth and a renewed terrorist vigor supported by the Taliban into Europe and westward.

KOSOVO

The second main challenge we face is Balkan stability and security – most notably at stake now in Kosovo. It is important to recall briefly how we got to Kosovo independence to understand how we go forward.

In June 1999, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1244, which suspended Belgrade’s governance of Kosovo and placed Kosovo under interim UN administration. In that same resolution, the Security Council authorized a NATO-led peacekeeping force to provide for a safe and secure environment in Kosovo. Since June 1999, Kosovo has been administered by the United Nations under UNSCR 1244. The resolution also provided for local self-government and envisioned a political process that would determine Kosovo’s future. That process has now resulted in Kosovo’s independence.

But there is something that needs emphasizing. The United Nations Resolution 1244 removed Serbia from having any remaining role in governing Kosovo. That was nine years ago. The vote for resolution 1244 was 14-0, with China abstaining but with Russia’s full support.  It is necessary to note that Resolution 1244 did not preclude eventual independence of Kosovo.

For the next nine years Europe and the U.S. supported negotiations to find a mutually acceptable solution to the problem of Kosovo's status. Out of this process UN Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari developed a comprehensive proposal that was presented to the UN Security Council in April 2007. This proposal for Kosovo's future included the recommendation that Kosovo become independent subject to a period of international supervision. The United States, Europe and a majority of UN Security Council members supported this plan, agreeing that independence is the only viable outcome for Kosovo. 

Despite two years of talks led first by Special Envoy Ahtisaari and then by a troika made up of the EU, Russia, and the United States, the two sides remained irreconcilable on the basic question of whether Kosovo should be independent. 

More years of limbo would have turned Kosovo into an incubator for frustrations and instability. Due to the legacy of conflict and mutual mistrust, there is no way in which the people of Serbia and Kosovo can and will remain in a functional, democratic state. 

Kosovo is now independent.  Our task now is to help the leadership and the people of Kosovo develop this new state into a self-sustaining, multi-ethnic country that is no longer dependent on the international community.  Today, 42 countries have recognized Kosovo, including the great majority of the EU countries (20 of 27), as have most of Serbia’s and Kosovo’s neighbors. 

Kosovo's leaders, in their declaration of independence, committed themselves to following the Ahtisaari Plan and to achieving the highest standards of democracy, including freedom and tolerance for citizens of all ethnic backgrounds.  Since independence the Kosovar Assembly has passed 25 Ahtisaari Plan-related laws and has ratified a constitution.

The EU officially launched its rule of law mission for Kosovo on February 16, confirming its previous decisions to organize and staff such a mission.  Named EULEX, the mission will supervise policing and justice functions in Kosovo as well as train and support civilian police, judges and prosecutors to assist in the development of sustainable and accountable government institutions.  EULEX must become operational in the shortest possible time, which requires the UN to move on transition plans now. I note that the U.E.-EU Summit declaration held yesterday affirmed this priority, stating that the U.S. and EU will continue to support the stability and security of Kosovo and its regional integration, and will assist Kosovo in its economic and institutional development.

Consistent with the Ahtisaari Plan, EULEX will also exercise executive authority in especially sensitive cases or where local capacity to maintain and promote the rule of law is not yet in place. It is essential that all EU countries support a smooth transition from the UN Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to EULEX. 

No country in Europe stands to benefit more from Kosovo's independence than Serbia itself – if Serbian leaders choose not to isolate their country.  The European Union has made it clear that it will welcome Serbia along a path to integration.  The United States strongly backs Serbia’s integration into Europe.  Opinion polls show that more than 70% of Serbs want integration with the EU and cite unemployment as a greater concern than Kosovo's fate.  Just one month ago, the Serbian people sent a signal in the most recent elections that they see their future in Europe, not isolated from it.  We hope the Serbian government will pursue that mandate given to them by the Serbian people.  We would support them as they do.

Serbia can, if it makes wise choices, look forward to the day when Kosovo and Serbia find themselves together within the EU. I am well aware of the close connections between Serbia and Slovakia. I would ask Slovakia to reach out to Serbia, encouraging them to adopt the path toward EU membership. I am encouraged by the words of Foreign Minister Jan Kubis who, in April, said to the media in Pristina that Slovakia “will work with Kosovo as two partners.”

The prosperity and stability that has come to the other nations that have joined the Euro-Atlantic community is the promise that now beckons the nations of southeast Europe.  The tragedy of Yugoslavia's demise is now history. Together we can move beyond the legacy of war toward a brighter future of security and prosperity for the nations of the Balkan region.

MISSILE DEFENSE

The third challenge is the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Regardless of its nuclear motivation, Iran already possesses ballistic missiles capable of reaching parts of Europe.  In December 2007, Iran’s defense minister stated that a new ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 km will be added to their arsenal.  This makes them capable of reaching, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Poland. 

The Iranian regime’s continued pursuit of nuclear enrichment technology – a necessary step in the development of nuclear weapons – is a serious threat.  Yesterday’s 2008 EU – U.S. Summit Declaration, echoed President Bush’s remarks, declaring that, “We expect Iran to comply with its international obligations concerning its nuclear activities, including the full and verifiable suspension of enrichment and full cooperation with the IAEA. Iran must fully restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program through implementation of the Additional Protocol.”

Iran can have ballistic missiles with nuclear capability within 5 years.  That is why there is a need to deploy missile defense in Europe.  Negotiations for this U.S.-built element of a European shield in place by 2013 will continue. Once in place, it will provide Ballistic Missile Defense for most of Europe. 

We are grateful to our Czech and Polish allies for pursuing negotiations in an open and steadfast manner and for their commitment to implementing missile defense within a shared NATO security framework.  It is important that the United States and all of Europe be protected against offensive ballistic missiles from any future regional threat. On April 3, the United States and the Czech Republic announced the completion of negotiations on a missile defense agreement and Prime Minister Tusk of Poland recently said, “Our joint intention is to cooperate in all aspects of global security, American security, and Polish security.  And an element of the security is the missile defense system.”

I also want to note the strongly positive statements in NATO’s Bucharest Summit Declaration on missile defense. It acknowledged that a missile defense system can be effective for defending Europe. It also talks to combining U.S. and NATO missile defense architectures to protect against short and long range missile threats. 

We have also worked very cooperatively and transparently with Russia to demonstrate that the system is no threat to them. In addition we continue to work with Russia on possible joint missile defense architecture.

CONCLUSION

Peace and prosperity in Europe are fundamental goals not only of President Bush's foreign policy, but of those who preceded him for almost a century.    All of the candidates in our Presidential election have cited the need for strong US-European relations and close transatlantic cooperation to deal with the world’s challenges.

From our entry into World War I through World War II, the Marshall Plan and the Cold War, and finally support for NATO and EU enlargement after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the United States has shown its commitment to Europe's security and prosperity.  We continue that commitment today in supporting the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, promoting peaceful integration of Balkan countries into euro-Atlantic structures and providing for an umbrella of security for Europe against long range ballistic missile attacks.