AMBASSADOR Robert Holmes Tuttle
Speeches, Remarks & Events
07 September 2006
Speech at Reuters "Newsmakers" Reception
Reuters Global Headquarters
Canary Wharf, London
(as prepared for delivery)
If I had come to speak to you even just a month ago, I think this would have been a different conversation. Over the course of the summer, the global situation has shifted significantly.
And so, here we are, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of September 11, struggling to adapt, not only to a changing business climate, but to a changing world.
And that world changes from day to day, if not hour to hour.
Iraq continues to be a complicated struggle, especially against the militias. Our diplomats, commanders and soldiers on the ground are working hard - their job is far from over, and I have no doubt more danger lies ahead.
In Lebanon, Hezbollah's rocket attacks on northern Israel and its kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers led to a month of tragedy.
But now we have a ceasefire and U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 that passed unanimously. We are bringing aid and support to the thousands in need.
An expanded U.N. force holds the promise of giving Lebanon --- for the first time in decades --- control of its own territory.
Sometimes it feels as if we are reeling from one headline to another: a natural disaster in one place, a major accident somewhere else, all claiming lives and wrecking futures.
But the pervasive mood, the underlying theme of many news broadcasts and current affairs bulletins is the rising tide of both terrorism and the threat of terrorism against civilians around the world: Spain, Bali, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, India, and right here in London.
The world sometimes seems so perilous that we should not be surprised that people are looking for reasons for this uncertainty, and demanding explanations from their leaders.
And there is a temptation to take the easy answer, and argue that if only we had not responded to the events of September 11, the world would be a safer place today.
Some people have convinced themselves that if the West had sat back five years ago, other terrorists would not have joined the struggle.
That various regimes would have remained content to oppress only their own people, And not try to extend their power and influence into neighboring countries or to other parts of the world.
That extremist groups, within peaceful and democratic countries, would not have continued to recruit members from among a section of disenfranchised, disillusioned youth.
Understandably, people want back the world where flying on holiday, or a business trip, getting on a commuter train or bus is not a time-consuming, nerve-wracking, if not outright dangerous, activity.
And they have every right to want that.
But the alternative explanation of how we have come to be where we are - and that parallel universe in which the world has the sense of peace and tranquility of September 10, 2001 - is a fantasy.
It is a fantasy held by people who have forgotten that the world was not really such a peaceful place - even then - and who do not yet understand that September 11 was not the beginning - it was the last straw.
It was the moment at which the world would no longer allow this threat to grow unchecked and unchallenged.
Terrorism did not begin one Tuesday morning in New York, or Washington, D.C., or Pennsylvania.
For years, terrorism has been the ploy of the wicked and the cowardly. Its targets are the innocent and defenseless; its tactics - the ambush, and the shot in the back.
No religion in the world teaches that taking innocent lives is a path to heaven - whatever some may claim in its name.
The United Kingdom understood that; that is why our governments have stood together from the outset in the struggle against terrorism.
What animates the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is not just a common language, or business, or even shared history.
As important as these are to the depth and breadth of what we share, the core of the relationship is our values.
And it is because of these common values we see so clearly what is at risk.
Former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw once said that the foreign policy of the United Kingdom was based on the values of its domestic policy.
He said that in the UK, "national interests" were best advanced by ". . . building a community of nations in which people can share in common values: respect for human rights, democratic accountability, rule of law, economic freedom, opportunity for all - a helping hand for the poorest."
He called them "global values."
EU Commission President Barroso has pointed out that the relationship between the European Union and the United States is based on what he called a "shared idea" that the strategic EU-U.S. partnership should, ". . . promote democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and the market economy of the world."
American ideas and values are no different.
Simply put, we believe in what we have always known as, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
These values aren't British, European or American values; they are not even "Western" values. They are the values of all who seek to realize those same aspirations for their own societies.
But sometimes I fear we have focused for so long on the disputes on how to prosecute the war on terror that we have forgotten that our efforts have opened places previously closed, and brought together countries that had, for years, been at odds -if not at war.
On September 11, 2001, the international community was stopped in its tracks and forced to think about what it valued.
It turned its back on terror and reached out towards those shared global values.
You could not find a list of countries that were more different, many that had been enemies in the past, and some that are still enemies today. But that day - they joined hands to mourn.
They mourned in Germany and Japan --- Russia and Belarus --- Palestine and Israel --- Lebanon, Jordan and Bangladesh.
In India, thousands of Hindus burned bin laden in effigy, and a huge sign went up in Calcutta that summed up much of the opinion of the world. It read, "This is not an attack on the United States but on humanity."
Five years ago - and I don't think I am giving away any state secrets here - the relationship between Pakistan and the United States was not ideal.
Today we have Pakistan to thank for helping to save the lives of all those people on transatlantic planes that could have been brought down just a few weeks ago.
It was shortly after September 11 that Pakistan concluded its future was not with the extremists that could be found just over their borders, or even those within their own country.
At great personal risk, President Musharraf turned his back on those who would continue to drag the country down the road of religious hatred.
No one would claim that the journey is complete. But President Bush and President Musharraf met as early as November 2001, and they have continued their dialogue for the past five years. And similar changes have been repeated in many other places.
But even as we look with hope to the slow progress of Pakistan, we have the continuing problem of Iran. Where, despite the tireless efforts of the U.N. Security Council and the European Union, the concerns of the international community are treated with disdain.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has now formally concluded that Iran did not comply with the U.N. Security Council resolution by the August 31 deadline.
Now that Iran has pulled the sanctions trigger, the consequences must be serious.
So, that day in September was a turning point - not just for the United States or the United Kingdom, the "West", but for the world.
It was a time each country had to decide which way they would go.
They could cooperate and be part of the solution - or hold back and give hope to the lawless. The vast majority of countries have chosen to be a part of the solution.
As a result, we have built new intelligence networks and more effective systems of information-sharing. Those who protect us continue to seek more and better ways to communicate with one another.
They are developing technology as well as laws to make it easier to capture, anywhere in the world, those who seek to harm us.
That is not as easy as it may sound. On the global stage it means countries working together that have not exactly been the closest of friends. It means working across borders. It means changing laws and compromising long-held ideas.
Inside countries it has meant building new connections between government departments.
We have had to get smarter and faster, and we have to get faster and smarter still.
No one wants to stop people from going about their everyday business. But no one wants to be the one to explain how a terrorist got through.
We will not win this war just by stopping people at airports --- though that is a necessary deterrent as well as part of the crucial, constant hunt for the needle in a haystack.
But it is only one aspect of our defense.
The other, more important aspect --- is about our future. It is about creating a shared approach, shared interests, and a shared perspective on the threats that face our countries --- and what we can do about them.
The United States and the United Kingdom bring different capabilities to our relationship -- but they are complementary and interlocking.
Together, we are bringing other countries into our network -- each bringing their different expertise and perspective to our cause.
Campaigners and commentators can argue that we acted too quickly, that we have conducted ourselves improperly, or that we have only put ourselves in more danger.
Vacationers, business travelers, and students may feel inconvenienced and unsettled by security checks. But nothing will change the fact - there is an enemy among us — one who twists our open system to their own ends, who is willing to die to end our way of life, and who flaunts their disregard for our values and the sanctity of human life.
September 11 was not the beginning; it was the end.
The end of the willingness of the international community to ignore extremism and intolerance, considering it someone else's problem.
We cannot go back. We must continue to defend ourselves by arms. But the war on terror will be won by our ideas.
As we mourn those whose lives have been claimed by terrorism, as we rebuild our communities, we must resolve that terrorism will be defeated by the triumph of the human spirit.
To succeed - we must continue to work together - across the Atlantic - and around the world.
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Speeches, Remarks & Events