In his speech for the 70th anniversary of NATO, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recalled "the fight against terrorism" which "also requires our collective effort". In this regard, the attacks of 11 September 2001 proved it. “NATO's response to those attacks was swift. Within 24 hours, and for the first and only time in our history, we invoked Article 5 of the Washington Treaty. The collective defense clause, which states that 'An armed attack against one will be considered an attack against all,' Stoltenberg said. "So, 11/11 was not just an attack against the United States, but against all NATO allies" and "in a few days, NATO planes were patrolling the American skies and in the wake of XNUMX/XNUMX, soldiers of NATO have gone to fight side by side in Afghanistan to prevent that country from becoming a safe haven for terrorists, who could attack us here at home ”.
“Over the years, hundreds of thousands of troops from Europe and Canada have served in Afghanistan. More than a thousand paid the maximum price and many others were seriously injured. NATO remains in Afghanistan today to fight terrorism and train Afghan forces ”. But Stoltenberg recalled how NATO's goal “is not to stay there forever”, but the decision is collective: “We entered together, we will decide on our future presence together and when the time comes, we will leave together”, he explained. In Afghanistan, "NATO fully supports the peace process".
NATO does not fight terrorism “only in Afghanistan”, but is also “part of the Global Coalition to defeat Isis and the coalition has made significant progress. “Thanks to the American leadership and our collective efforts, we stopped this brutality and millions of people were freed. But our work is not finished and this is why NATO is intensifying the training of Iraqi forces ”. This is the same reason why NATO supports its partners in the Middle East and North Africa, “helping them to build their intelligence, border security, cyber security and special forces services. Training local forces and building local capabilities are among the best weapons we have in the fight against terrorism. Prevention is better than intervention ”.
Stoltenberg recalled his personal experience with terrorism. “I was Prime Minister of Norway on July 22, 2011. That day a terrorist detonated a bomb outside my office, killing eight people and injuring many more, then went to Utoya Island where young people were enjoying a summer camp and killed 69 other people. It was Norway's darkest day since World War II. It was the darkest day of my life, ”he said. “Terrorism comes in many forms. Some abusers abuse religion. Others misuse political ideology. They claim to be different from each other, fighting for different causes. But they are all the same, they believe in hatred, violence and killing innocent men, women and children. They are nothing but cowards ”. Precisely because “terrorists attack our freedom, our values and our way of life, our response must be more open and more democracy”, he said again.
“In an ideal world, we wouldn't need to spend money on defense, but we don't live in an ideal world. Freedom has enemies and they must be discouraged and if deterrence fails, we must fight. Hitler could not have been stopped with peaceful protests. Stalin could not have been deterred by the words. ISIS could not have been defeated with dialogue. We have to act, and invest, to do it. Allies need to spend more on defense. This was President Trump's clear message and this message is having a real impact ”.
Stoltenberg also stressed that “after years of reducing defense budgets, all allies have stopped the cuts and increased their defense spending. Over the past two years, European allies and Canada have spent an additional $ 41 billion on defense. By the end of next year, that figure will rise to one hundred billion, "he said, explaining that that money allows" investment in the new capabilities our armed forces need, including advanced fighter jets, attack helicopters, missile defense. and surveillance drones ". Stoltenberg concluded by saying that "NATO has always had a technological advantage" and that to maintain it "we must innovate and capitalize on the ingenuity of our industries and our best minds on both sides of the Atlantic, providing advanced functionality and creating seats of I work in the United States, Canada and Europe ”.