We meet this evening to honor five of our members, including one of our founders, with the Benjamin Franklin Award for their distinguished diplomatic service on behalf the United States of America and their outstanding leadership of the Council of American Ambassadors during the first three decades of its existence.
General Mattis might have raised a few eyebrows on Capitol Hill when he delivered the quote above, but he was simply stating what those of us at the Department of State see every day: diplomacy and development are integral parts of US national defense. And applying those tools effectively lessens the need to put at risk American men and women in uniform. The dividends for US national security are enormous.
As a candidate for office, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto spoke often and forcefully about his plan to address the structural challenges that have impeded Mexico's economic and social progress. Not yet a year into his six-year term, he has laid out his intention to address the most contentious and arguably the most significant of those roadblocks: Mexico's energy sector.
On July 4, 2013, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) marked the fortieth anniversary of its founding under the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Established to promote economic integration, coordinate foreign policies, and facilitate functional cooperation in human and social development among its fifteen member states, CARICOM has dismantled trade barriers, created a regional Supreme Court, and coordinated regional approaches to education, public health, disaster response, climate change and development financing.
I arrived in Rome in October 1945. I was drafted shortly after graduating from high school the previous June. It was a whirlwind experience that included four months of basic infantry training at Camp Blanding, Florida, a few weeks in Virginia, and then I was on the boat for Italy. The second time I arrived was almost half a century later. It was August 1989. I was nominated by then-President George H.W. Bush to be the United States Ambassador to the Vatican. As I walked amongst the historic relics from Roman antiquity, my curiosity reemerged about the peaceful liberation of this city that took place so long ago. I was still perplexed by the narrative of how Rome managed to elude the nightmare of being a battleground while so many of Europe's other historic sites fell victim to the horrors of the world's second greatest war. It is a question that has intrigued me to this day.
British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was once asked what would be the most important factor in determining the success of his government. He replied, "Events, dear boy, events." As we see, events in Syria, Afghanistan, and Pakistan demand the government's capital. We cannot simply allow "events" to define and set the course for the strategic relationship between the United States and India. We must constantly build the relationship; proactively work to deepen and improve it; and commit substantial time to overcome problems and obstacles. Our shared values of democracy and diversity and our mutual interests of nonproliferation and counterterrorism cooperation run too deep for any single event to derail the bonds of unity and affection among our people. As the Obama Administration focuses on a "rebalance to Asia," and emphasizing the National Export Initiative (NEI) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), now is the time to deliver tangible results that will boost economic benefits for the middle classes of both countries. Most importantly, a strong strategic relationship between the United States and India can significantly promote democracy in the region and increase world prosperity over the next century.
As dawn broke across Zimbabwe on Election Day, July 31, 2013, all appeared to be in order. Poll workers were setting up voting booths and arranging ballots and other election material. Local and regional observers and political party agents were on hand. Voters were queuing up in the crisp southern African winter air.
On September 4, 2013, President Obama appointed Ambassador Donald Booth as the US Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan. Booth is the sixth such envoy, over the Bush and Obama Administrations, reflecting the enormous interest the United States has had in the peace process between these two countries. Not only diplomacy but resources have been invested in this process. Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) of 2005, the United States has spent more than $10 billion on peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and development aid in these two countries. The fundamental reason is that a return to war would not only create even more humanitarian chaos than in the past, but send ripples of instability through North Africa and the Horn. Over this long engagement the United States developed deep ties with South Sudan and played a major role in enabling it to achieve its right of self-determination and ultimately independence. But that friendship is now under strain and Americans both in and out of government are concerned over the direction of this, the world's newest state.
Many long-time observers predicted North Korea in early 2012 was headed for positive change. Its new leader-at perhaps 28 years of age, the world's youngest-presented himself as a breath of fresh air. Kim Jong Un appeared on the surface to be quite unlike his stodgy, secretive father, Kim Jong Il. In 17 years as North Korea's dictator, the elder Kim's voice was believed to have been broadcast only once-briefly and likely by accident-to the country's citizens. Kim Jong Un, in contrast, spoke publicly and eagerly. He projected an image as a reformer ready to modernize his desperately poor country. He is energetic and the spitting image of his grandfather Kim Il Sung, the charismatic founder of the North Korean state. Many experts believed the third Kim would work to end his cloistered country's deep isolation.