The administration has named Dr. Rajiv Shah as their nominee for USAID administrator. Here is Secretary Clinton’s statement that was released a little while ago:
Dr. Raj Shah is a leader in the development community, an innovative and results-oriented manager, and someone who understands the importance of providing people around the world with the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty and chart their own destinies. By nominating Raj to lead the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), President Obama has reaffirmed that development must be a core pillar of American foreign policy.
A trained medical doctor and health economist, Raj has the skills and experience to lead a reinvigorated USAID in the 21st century. He has a record of delivering results in both the private and public sectors, forging partnerships around the world, especially in Africa and Asia, and developing innovative solutions in global health, agriculture, and financial services for the poor. He has led and worked with many of the initiatives that are defining best practice in the field of development, including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His tireless efforts to immunize children around the world have helped save countless lives.
As Under Secretary for Research, Education and Economics and Chief Scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Raj currently manages more than 10,000 federal employees and a budget of more than $2.6 billion, and works closely with Congress, the State Department, the White House, and the international development community on issues ranging from health and nutrition to bioenergy and climate change.
If confirmed, Raj will bring an impressive record of accomplishment and a deep understanding of what works in development to his role as USAID Administrator. I look forward to working closely with him to advance the President’s agenda and to elevate and integrate development in our foreign policy.
I want to take this opportunity to also commend Acting USAID Administrator Alonzo L. Fulgham for his service. Under his steady leadership, we have launched a number of ambitious development initiatives, including on global health and food security, in the first months of this administration that will improve lives around the world. I also want to thank the thousands of career professionals who work tirelessly every day to fulfill USAID’s important mission.
Here is more on Dr. Shah:
The Obama administration has found yet another job for Rajiv Shah, the former Gates Foundation executive who has spent the past five months at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Shah, 36, has been nominated to head the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), according to reports quoting unnamed U.S. officials.
Shah was running the Gates Foundation’s agriculture development program when he was tapped for the agricultural post as Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, as well as chief scientist, at the USDA.
Shah holds degrees in medicine and economics. A health care policy adviser on Al Gore’s presidential campaign, Shah joined the Gates Foundation in 2001 where he worked as policy analyst and senior economist and developed an innovative program for vaccine financing. He served as director of strategic opportunities and deputy director of policy and finance for the global health program. While in Seattle, Shah served on the boards of the Seattle Public Library and the Seattle Community College District.
Meanwhile the top job at America’s foreign assistance program has gone vacant for nine months at a time when the program and the Foreign Assistance Act need serious revamping, development experts say. The USAID’s international affairs budget request for 2009 was close to $40 billion.
The Gates Foundation has shown its growing clout in the capital with Bill Gates among Obama’s first visitors to the White House, influencing education policy, and Bill and Melinda Gates recently appearing before policy makers in Washington D.C., calling on them to maintain the U.S. commitment to foreign aid and global health funding.
Why Shah? It helps that he has already gone through the official vetting process, which has put off other candidates…
This is from earlier today:
FOREIGN MINISTER WESTERWELLE: (Via interpreter) Madame Secretary, ladies and gentlemen, I extend a very warm, warm welcome to all of you here, and a very warm welcome goes out to the Secretary of State of the United States of America. Dear Hillary Clinton, once again, I’d like to use this opportunity to extend a very warm welcome to you. It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you, the Secretary of State of the United States of America, and the members of her delegation to Berlin.
Today, on a day that is of historic importance, we thank you for your visit (inaudible) very much of the importance of the contribution of the United States of America and the American people to the freedom of the country I represent. Since the foundation of the Federal Republic of Germany, the United States of America has, in a hands-on manner, stood up for our freedom and for our security. This is why the Germans are deeply grateful to the United States of America and its people. Allow me, dear Hillary, to use this opportunity to once again express the gratitude of the Federal Republic of Germany and of its people here in Germany, and speaking on behalf of my people, thank you, and you represent your country, the United States of America.
It’s our third (inaudible). Last week, I paid my first introductory visit to the United States of America, to the American Government when I came to Washington. Yesterday, we both enjoyed a dinner at the Atlantic Council and we enjoyed the honor of receiving the Freedom Award from the Atlantic Council. That was a deeply moving moment, a very touching moment.
Today, we focused on a number of political issues and discussed them in detail. We exchanged views on climate policy issues. Both the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany want to ensure that Copenhagen becomes a success. We would want to see an improvement in the field of climate protection. What we want to achieve is concrete results at Copenhagen so as to better protect our climate, and we’re (inaudible) to believe that if we do so, we stand a chance to achieve good results. Europe and the United States of America have to closely coordinate their policies and have to act together using their strengths and their force to (inaudible) outcome.
We talked in detail about security issues, development of (inaudible), and of course, we also touched on Afghanistan. Afghanistan, we’re really focused (inaudible) the exchanges we had last week. Here again, there is agreement on (inaudible) necessary to make the Afghan Government, to make President Karzai realize that good governance has to become (inaudible). We want to see improvement here. We want the Afghan Government to be a government for the people as a (inaudible) who are (inaudible) to make our contribution towards reaching this objective.
We want to ensure that a good and peaceful development can occur within Afghanistan; and in return, we expect of the Afghan Government that it makes its own contribution towards this objective and that it becomes a government of the people as a whole and that it adheres to the (inaudible) that underlie good governance. Last week already, we talked in detail about this issue.
Ladies and gentlemen, dear Hillary, once again (inaudible) welcome to you. I had indeed very interesting exchanges with you. They were more than interesting, though. Some were characterized by the inclusive atmosphere, and I want to thank you for that. Personally, I’d like to thank you for that. It’s not (inaudible) something which (inaudible) ultimately (inaudible). Having come to (inaudible) a brief time ago, we can only expect to receive such a friendly welcome and to develop such close contact. I’m looking forward to close cooperation with you, and I’m confident that American-German friendship will continue to deepen and to be developed further. When we talk about Germany and the United States of America, we’re talking about more than a friendship and partnership. It’s a deep and heartfelt friendship between those peoples and countries.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much. I can only echo exactly what the foreign minister had said. We have had three very productive and personally rewarding meetings over the last week. I particularly appreciate the words that I heard from Guido last night about his own personal experience as a young boy of 13, when his father took him to see the wall, and how emotionally that affected him and I’m sure influenced his values in politics and his personal commitment. It was a remarkable story and one that I will long remember.
We had constructive and productive discussions starting in Washington last week, continuing here in Berlin. The United States is eager to work with the new German Government on a full range of shared challenges. We face complex threats that cannot be stopped by borders or oceans. Global recession, violent extremism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, hunger, and disease are only some that are the transnational threats of our time. And only by working together in close partnership can we meet these challenges. So I want to recognize Germany’s leadership and applaud Germany’s work for peace and prosperity in Europe, in NATO, and around the world.
Germany and the United States are working together to rebuild the global economy, to forge a strong international agreement to combat climate change and chart a clean energy future. Chancellor Merkel made a very important speech to the Congress last week, and called the test of climate change one of the greatest that humanity has faced.
In Afghanistan, German soldiers are working to bring stability to a troubled land and hope to people who have known too much violence for too long. We honor their service and their sacrifice. And we recognize the commitment that it takes, not just from the men and women in uniform, but from their families and indeed the entire German nation.
We also appreciate Germany’s generous support for the Pakistani people who are working to turn back violent extremism and try to ensure a more democratic, prosperous future for themselves and their children.
And we are grateful for Germany’s leadership and partnership in our efforts to ensure that Iran lives up to its international obligation, that it complies fully with UN Security Council resolutions and IAEA directives on its nuclear program. In her moving address before Congress, Chancellor Merkel urged us to come together as partners to tear down the walls of today. As one of the millions of Germans who grew up in East Germany, she knows what it is like to yearn for freedom long denied. And she knows that there are no walls that cannot be torn down when people stand up and work together.
So here in Berlin on this important anniversary, I am more confident than ever that we are up to the challenges we face. I had an opportunity to discuss these challenges at breakfast with the chancellor, at lunch with the foreign minister – I am certainly well informed and well fed – and to underscore that we are united by core values of democracy, tolerance, respect for human dignity. These are the principles on which Germany and the United States stand today. In fact, they’re enshrined in Germany’s basic law.
But equally importantly, they are in the hearts of the brave men and women who took control of their destinies 20 years ago and gave the world a new birth and burst of freedom, and they exist in the hearts of men and women around the world today. We are very grateful that this partnership is one of our strongest and most important. I am personally looking forward to working with the foreign minister and this new government, because even though we meet today to honor the past, our eyes are squarely on the future, our minds are focused on the challenges we face, and our hearts are beating faster at the possibility that we will be able to meet the challenges of today, as those who came before us met theirs.
So thank you so much for your commitment to freedom and democracy and the values that we think belong to all people, and which are exemplified by our two nations today.
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) I’m (inaudible) from the (inaudible). I have a question for both of you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: See, the foreign minister and I talked in English, so I have to stick these in my ears.
QUESTION: (Inaudible.)
FOREIGN MINISTER WESTERWELLE: You can tell this – them, but they won’t believe it. (Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: I am a witness. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: (Via interpreter) Madame Secretary, you stressed in your speech that we must continue fighting for freedom (inaudible). Could you be somewhat more concrete as far as the role of NATO is concerned and your expectations regarding Germany?
And Mr. Foreign Minister, could you mention for us what you perhaps have offered on behalf of the federal government and Afghanistan above and beyond what has already been provided? And another question regarding Ms. Steinbach. Do you reject her chairmanship of the foundation?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, let me say that we have consulted continually with our German partners and our allies in NATO. There was an important defense ministers meeting in Bratislava about 10 days, two weeks ago. As you know, Chancellor Merkel met with President Obama on her trip last week. The foreign minister and I have been discussing the way forward. And I think as the foreign minister rightly said, any commitment by the governments and the people of the United States, Germany, and others who have joined with us through both NATO and the international forces has to be met by an even greater commitment on behalf of the new government of President Karzai to deliver services for the people of Afghanistan, to begin the effort to root out corruption, to have more accountability and transparency in the way that the government operates.
We are very clear that we will be expecting more from the Government of Afghanistan. And it is certainly a mutual commitment that the foreign minister and I feel on behalf of our two countries. The United States would not be in Afghanistan, the President would not be engaging in such a thoughtful, deliberative process if we did not believe that conditions in Afghanistan directly impact and threaten the security of the American people and our friends and allies like Germany.
We are not in Afghanistan because it’s a good thing to do or because it’s a nice way to show our concern for people around the world, and particularly to try to help with the development of the people of Afghanistan. Those are important and worthy objectives. We are there because we view the syndicate of terrorism directed and led, funded, and inspired by al-Qaida to be a direct security threat to our values, our way of life, and to our interests and our friends and allies.
So any decision that President Obama makes is premised on that fundamental security assessment. And I believe that the German Government and this new government in particular is conducting its own analysis, and we will be continuing to consult. The President will be reaching out to the chancellor and we will be talking as well. But we are going to present to the Government of Afghanistan and President Karzai a clear set of expectations and of accountability measures, so there can be no doubt as to what we expect from this relationship.
FOREIGN MINISTER WESTERWELLE: (Via interpreter) And I’d like to provide a brief answer to your question. Currently, we are conducting strategic discussions, strategic debate, and from our perspective, it’s also important that we also follow procedure in this discussion/debate. First of all, it sets targets, objectives, and then discuss the strategy. And then after that, additional questions will be answered, particularly regarding implementation.
And I am pleased to be able to state that our contributions and achievements regarding the training of the police forces and the schools is something that’s kindly appreciated by our American partners and others. And Germany can indeed provide an important contribution in this area. And we do want to make sure that Afghanistan is self-sufficient regarding security. And if we want this, then we have to make sure that Afghanistan has its own security infrastructure, that that system is there, and we want to help build it. This is an important contribution that we can (inaudible) discuss this as well. And this is also fully in line with my personal statements and the policies of the new government.
Now as far as the foundation is concerned, I would like to provide another – only a very brief answer regarding – because the Secretary is here. This foundation is called reconciliation for displaced individuals. It has to do with reconciliation, and for this reason, the federal government’s decision will be fully in line with this goal of reconciliation.
QUESTION: Sorry about that.
SECRETARY CLINTON: (Laughter.) This is Matt Lee from the Associated Press. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Mr. Minister, first of all, congratulations on your –
FOREIGN MINISTER WESTERWELLE: Nice to meet you.
QUESTION: Very nice to meet you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: I think he was caught somewhat unawares so –
FOREIGN MINISTER WESTERWELLE: We interrupted you. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: My apologies. First of all, congratulations on your day, Mr. Minister. I want to break with – I was going to try to break with tradition and ask only one question, but ask you –ask it of both of you. But something has just happened which – in Iran, which is that the reports that the three American hikers have been – who were detained have been charged now with espionage, and I’m wondering if I could get your comment on that, Madame Secretary.
And then, for both of you, what was going to be my only question is on Iran as well, and that is that for weeks the Iranians have been stalling, have not been answering – have not been giving an answer to your – to the offer that was proposed in early October. And I want to know when can they reasonably conclude that your warnings of sanctions, if they don’t agree, is just an idle threat? Because there are obviously some who believe that it is just an idle threat. When does that time come? Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you, Matt. With respect to the three American hikers who were detained by the Iranians when they were hiking in northern Iraq, we believe strongly that there is no evidence to support any charge whatsoever. And we would renew our request on behalf of these three young people and their families that the Iranian Government exercise compassion and release them so they can return home, and we will continue to make that case through our Swiss protecting power who represents the United States in Tehran.
Secondly, the question of Iran’s response to the proposal by the P-5+1 regarding the exporting out of their low-enriched uranium for reprocessing and then return to the Tehran research reactor has not yet been formally replied to by the Iranians. We believe that this offer represents an important opportunity for Iran both to meet the medical and humanitarian needs that the Tehran research reactor fulfills and to begin to restore international confidence in their nuclear program. We are at very close consultation with our P-5+1 colleagues on next steps; we very much appreciate the active involvement of our German partners. And because we don’t yet have a formal reply from the Iranians, it would be premature to go to any next steps if Iran decides ultimately to reject this offer.
So what we intend to do is press, both through P-5+1 and through the IAEA, to convince Iran to accept this opportunity. But as you know, during the United Nations General Assembly, there was an important meeting in New York where each of the countries in the P-5+1, which include China and Russia, obviously the United States and Germany, France and the UK and the European Union was represented. We all signed a statement that set forth the understanding that what we were pursuing was a dual-track strategy – one track aimed at engagement and diplomacy and efforts like the one represented with the offer on the Tehran research reactor, but the second track very clearly intended to show the Iranians that there were consequences if they failed to fulfill their obligations and if they continued to ignore the opportunity to work with the international community.
So although it is premature to speculate at this point, I think the Iranians are well aware that this is a two-track process, and we continue to urge them to work with us on the first track of diplomacy and engagement.
FOREIGN MINISTER WESTERWELLE: (Via interpreter) First of all, with the – even if the question was not addressed to me, I would like to stress the solidarity of Germany with the three young individuals and their families. This is, of course, a very difficult situation, and those individuals who are impacted by this should know that we are looking to them and that we are at their sides.
And I would also like to make a brief statement regarding your question on Iran. We want dialogue and we want a diplomatic solution. We also we know that dialogue and partnership and talks are what are most important with Iran. But Iran must also know that our patience in the international community is not unlimited. The federal chancellor made a very clear statement in her speech in Washington and we (inaudible) nothing from this.
Several videos for your viewing pleasure:
Some photos from the day:
Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives for a reception of German President Koehler in Bellevue Palace of Berlin, Germany, 09 November 2009. Many events are held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall. EPA/TIM BRAKEMEIER --- Image by © TIM BRAKEMEIER/epa/Corbis
Monday in Berlin:
Maybe later I’ll be able to find something in English 
:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) greets U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before a meeting in Berlin November 9, 2009, during day-long celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. REUTERS/Johannes Eisele (GERMANY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS)
Berlin warmed up for the 20th anniversary of the Wall’s fall with events throughout the city, as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a new transatlantic push to free those still oppressed.
“Our history did not end the night the Wall came down,” Clinton told current and former European and US political heavyweights on the eve of the celebrations marking the end of the Cold War and the continent’s division.
“To expand freedom to more people, we cannot accept that freedom does not belong to all people. We cannot allow oppression defined and justified by religion or tribe to replace that of (communist) ideology.”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will also host leaders including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, recalled that the end of Europe’s postwar rift came as an utter surprise.
“The 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall should remind us all what incredible luck we had with the reunification of Europe and Germany,” Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, told Monday’s edition of Bild newspaper.
On the night of November 9, 1989, following weeks of pro-democracy protests, the Stalinist state’s authorities suddenly opened the border.
After 28 years as prisoners of their own country, euphoric East Germans streamed to checkpoints and rushed past bewildered guards, many falling tearfully into the arms of West Germans welcoming them on the other side.
On Sunday, Germans were already out in force along the former route of the barrier which had cleaved the city in half, inspecting 1,000 giant dominoes that will be toppled as part of Monday’s ceremonies.
Mayor Klaus Wowereit said the project, in which schoolchildren were among those to decorate the huge foam tiles, had helped underline the day’s importance for those too young to remember it.
“History is palpable and alive here,” he said. “The peaceful revolution of the fall of the Wall 20 years ago paved the way to an unprecedented transformation of Berlin.”
In the run-up to the anniversary, Irish rockers U2 electrified a crowd of 10,000 at the Brandenburg Gate Thursday with a spectacular free concert that included the ballad “One”, written in Berlin and partly inspired by the Wall’s fall…
The State Dept. launched the Voices of Diplomacy and the Berlin Wall- you can check it out here.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, welcomes U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Nov. 9, 2009. Clinton is attending the commemoration ceremonies marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, later Monday. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)
Hillary is finishing up her first day in Berlin and attended the Freedom’s Challenge Dinner, where she delivered the keynote address and accepted a Freedom Award on behalf of the American people:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged Europeans and Americans on Sunday to see the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall as a call to action against new global threats.
On the eve of celebrations marking 20 years since the collapse of the wall that divided East and West Berlin, Clinton said the hard work that went into ending the Cold War must be channeled to meet fresh challenges, including the fights against extremism and climate change.
As the Obama administration looks to often reluctant European allies to bolster their NATO forces in Afghanistan, Clinton said Monday’s commemoration of Nov. 9, 1989, the night “when history pierced the concrete and concertina wire,” must look forward and not back.
“Our history did not end the night the wall came down, it began anew,” she told a group of U.S. and European dignitaries while accepting a Freedom Award on behalf of the American people from The Atlantic Council, a group that promotes trans-Atlantic ties.
The moment the festivities begin “should be a call to action, not just a commemoration of past actions,” Clinton said. “That call should spur us to continue our cooperation and look for new ways that we can meet the challenges that freedom faces now.”
“We owe it to ourselves and to those who yearn for the same freedoms that are enjoyed and even taken for granted in Berlin today,” she said.
Clinton praised U.S.-European collaboration on ending the world financial crisis as well as steps to cooperate on global warming. She also hailed NATO security operations, from Afghanistan to fighting piracy off the coast of Somalia.
But she said the spirit of the Berlin Wall’s destruction — the symbolic end to the Cold War — had to be reinforced.
“We need to form an even stronger partnership to bring down the walls of the 21st century and to confront those who hide behind them: suicide bombers, those who murder and maim girls whose only wish is to go to school, leaders who chose their own fortune over the fortune of their people.”
Clinton will lead the U.S. delegation to Monday’s ceremonies in Berlin…
…
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I like Henry, too.
(Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: And I am especially honored to have been introduced by him today, and to be with all of you for this extraordinary occasion.
There are so many in this room, and then so many others who have been mentioned, who deserve all of the appreciation and admiration we can bestow upon them. But I have the great and high honor today to accept this freedom award on behalf of the American people, some of whose names are already in the history books, but many of whom will never be known to history.
But because of their steadfastness, because of their conviction about freedom and the hope that it would be, once again, alive and well throughout all of Europe, and particularly in Germany, they supported the policies of successive presidents of both parties, they voted for people who believed strongly in the importance of the Transatlantic Alliance, they paid taxes year after year after year to support our defense of Europe, the NATO Alliance, and to give a tangible and very clear message, that the people of the United States wanted to see a strong and vibrant Germany and Europe.
And there is no better place for this award or this moment than right here in Berlin, a city where some of the greatest victories in the 20th century occurred, and a city that, today, embodies the strength of our democracies and what we have achieved together. So, I gratefully accept this on behalf of all of those Americans.
And I thank the Atlantic Council and Fred, thank you for your coverage of this part of the world over many years, and your leadership of this council, and Alan Spence, as well, for co-hosting this evening, the presidents of both Estonia and Latvia, who sit here today representing two nations that were considered captives.
And, on a personal note, when I was in high school, I was part of an organization that, in our own way, as high school students, tried to speak out for freedom of those who were in the Baltics and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe. We would often host events at the school, or at our public library of those who had escaped, to hear their stories, to remind ourselves, to remind all Americans what was at stake, and to put a personal face on what seemed to be a faceless and terrible oppression.So, thank you. And thank you for taking this time on the eve of the occasion tomorrow to look back, to remember, to convey the emotion and commitment that so many of you who have already spoken have demonstrated clearly, in order to pass it on to that next generation and the one after that.
I am delighted to be joined by members of the United States Presidential Delegation who have come to represent the United States on this historic occasion. We have already heard from most of them: our ambassador, Phil Murphy; our former national security advisors, Dr. Brzezinski and Lt. Gen. Scowcroft; and Craig Kennedy, president of the German Marshall Fund.
And, of course, as Henry Kissinger said, we are in a federation. And we do understand the challenges and difficulties that each of us has faced, and not only are facing today, but whoever holds these positions of National Security Advisor or Secretary of State will face, new challenges. But that is part of the responsibility that we, together, have assumed.
And I want to personally express my appreciation to the Vice Chancellor and the Foreign Minister. We had our first meeting just a few days ago in Washington, where I was very pleased to host Guido. And tomorrow he will host me for a working lunch. The emotion that his remarks conveyed, the story of going to Berlin with his father, will stay with me. And I look forward to working with you on so many of the important challenges we face today.
This award comes in a year of anniversaries — the one we celebrate tomorrow, the night 20 years ago when history broke through concrete and barbed wire and brought liberty to millions across this continent, but that’s not the only milestone that should be remembered.
Sixty-five summers ago, allied troops landed in Europe with the goal of liberating Berlin. And in 1949, 60 years ago, we formed the NATO Alliance, and completed the largest humanitarian airlift in history, well over a quarter million flights, to sustain West Berlin during the Soviet blockade. And, Admiral, thank you for accepting the award on behalf of not only those who serve today, but most importantly, those who have served in years past, in a continuous chain of commitment.
The Americans and their allies who fought to liberate this city in the Second World War, the farmers and airmen who helped to feed Berlin’s people and fuel its homes, and the soldiers who stood guard for generations to preserve the peace, all did so with the hope that someday Berlin might stand at the center of a free, peaceful, prosperous, reunified Germany in a free, peaceful, prosperous, unified Europe.
But there wasn’t anything inevitable about it. And there is nothing that we can take for granted about that history. The circumstances that surround us today are a culmination of an effort by Europeans and Americans that spanned generations. And, yes, the end to the Berlin Wall was an iconic moment. It was an hour when the hopes and prayers and sacrifice of millions came together in an unwavering exclamation of freedom. But it did not begin with the mistake of a flustered Communist spokesman in East Berlin, or even the peaceful masses that took to the street that evening. It had been building over years.
Edward Gibbon, the great historian of the fall of Rome once observed that a “mighty state reared by the labors of successive ages could not be overturned by the misfortune of a single day.” But I would add the accumulation of days, of days where people no longer could tolerate the oppression and the denial that they had to live with, who could no longer stomach what they saw in those who pretended to lead them, built and built. So, with the destruction of the Berlin Wall, we witnessed the climax of a broader saga that had been playing out in Budapest and Bucharest and Bratislava and a thousand other communities across Europe.
In Poland, that son of a carpenter, who has already been honored, was elected prime minister of a free nation. For the Polish people, it was the end of a campaign for liberty that was marked by scores of protests and years of privation. And for an electrician from Gdańsk, it was the end of a journey that began when he climbed over a wall of the Lenin Shipyards to lead a strike that became Solidarity.
In the Baltic countries of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania, a human chain comprised of one-fourth the population joined hands across their lands, and helped break the chains that held their nations captive. Tens of thousands gathered at Heroes’ Square in Budapest to witness the reburial of Imre Nagy, a hero of the 1956 revolution.
And later that summer, Hungary’s Communist leaders opened the border to refugees seeking freedom and, in the morning darkness of September 11th, allowed a vast army of East German automobiles to surge across the Hungarian frontier into Austria. The small cars filled with vacationers didn’t have much in common with the armored battalions of the Warsaw Pact that had menaced generations of Western military planners. But their impact on history was as dramatic as any invasion. There was little use in a wall that you could walk around.
So, when capitals across the region, refugees from the East, found sanctuary in the embassies of West Germany, and when a dying government tried to end the exodus of its people by allowing a handful of them free passage to the West in a sealed train, the sight spawned an outcry for change. East Germans took to the streets of Leipzig in peaceful protests that affirmed, “Wir sind das Volk,”or, “We are the People,” which became, “We are One People,” after the events of November 9th.
Then, only eight days after the destruction of the Wall, we watched students in Prague march and begin what became the Velvet Revolution that would bring Havel, a playwright, to the presidency. For a nation that had grasped for liberty in the spring of 1968, the transition to democracy couldn’t come quickly enough.
There were many authors of the changes we witnessed in 1989. Some acted knowingly, like the Polish pope who resurrected a gospel of liberty. Others, like President Gorbachev, sought a break from a darker past. But in doing so, helped to break down the wall.
But again, I say these events were not inevitable. In January of 1989, East Germany’s Communist leaders predicted that the Wall would still be standing in 50 or even 100 years. History could have gone another way. And, in some parts of the world, it did, and it has.
So, where do we stand now? As we commemorate that moment when history pierced concrete and concertina wire, we remember the troops who faced down war and kept the peace, the dissidents and activists who risked all they had to demand a free and better life, the millions of mothers and fathers, workers and students who never lost faith that a system built on tyranny and oppression could and would be overcome.
So, we remember every citizen of every nation who helped preserve the world with the gift that we accept today. But that gift came with strings, as gifts often do. It came with the responsibility to advance the principles that were vindicated in this city 20 years ago. When the Wall came down, we could not know what the people of Europe would build in its place. And the Atlantic community confronted a cavalcade of crises and a crisis of confidence.
I well remember, following from afar, the debates over reunification: the cost, how it could be possibly accomplished. How would one ever integrate the industries, the militaries, the mindsets of peoples who had been divided by that wall? And the Euro-Atlantic coalition struggled to find policies worthy of the sacrifices made by the people of Central and Eastern Europe, and to help them build democracies on the rubble of a ruined system.
Now, ultimately and together, we achieved successes that would have been unthinkable on this night 20 years ago. And, as we welcomed the historic nations of Central Europe into NATO, and saw them become members of the European Union, the landscape of this continent was transformed.
But our history did not end the night the Wall came down. It began anew. And this matters not only to tens of millions of Europeans, and to the United States, but to people everywhere. How do we take this gift of freedom, this alliance of values, this commitment for a better future, and put it to work to meet the challenges of freedom today?
The new nations of a united Europe are our partners, standing with us in Afghanistan, patrolling waters against pirates, working to combat poverty, helping to prevent terrorism, promoting our common values. Today our battles may be different, and our nations remain imperfect vessels of democracy. But our objectives have not changed. And our work has certainly not ended.
So, we should look to the examples of the generations who brought us successfully through the 20th century, and once again, together, chart a clear and common course to safeguard our people and our planet, defeat violent extremists, and prevent nuclear proliferation, come together to cut carbon emissions and address climate change, increase our energy security — an issue of special importance in this region that carries ramifications for the future of Europe and the world.
To expand freedom to more people, we cannot accept that freedom does not belong to all people. We cannot allow oppression, defined and justified by religion or tribe to replace that of ideology. We have a responsibility to address conditions everywhere that undermine the potential of boys and girls and men and women that sap human dignity and threaten global progress.
European countries have been leaders in addressing the economic and social development challenges of the world. We need to continue our work on an economic recovery, and we need to continue to promote democracy and human rights beyond freedom’s current frontiers, so that citizens everywhere are afforded the opportunity to pursue their dreams and live up to their own God-given potential.
When Chancellor Merkel came to Washington last week, she spoke eloquently about the walls of the last century, and the less visible but equally daunting walls we face today. These are walls between the present and the future, walls between modernity and nihilistic attitudes, walls that divide our common heart, that deny progress and opportunity to the many who yearn for both.
As one who came of age amid the barriers of oppression, Chancellor knows of what she speaks. But tomorrow, when she walks through the Brandenburg Gate, she will do so as a free daughter of Brandenburg, and the leader of an emancipated people. That moment should be a call to action, not just a commemoration of past actions. That call should spur us to continue our cooperation and to look for new ways that we can meet the challenges that freedom faces now.
We owe it to ourselves and to those who yearn for the same freedoms that are enjoyed and even taken for granted in Berlin today. And we need to form an even stronger partnership to bring down the walls of the 21st century, and to confront those who hide behind them: the suicide bombers; those who murder and maim girls whose only wish is to go to school; leaders who choose their own fortunes over the fortunes of their people.
In place of these new walls, we must renew the Transatlantic Alliance as a cornerstone of a global architecture of cooperation. When we come together to uphold the common good, there is no constellation of countries on earth that has greater strength. There is no wall we cannot topple. There is no truth we can be afraid of.
Now, as in the past, we know that the work ahead will not be quick, and it will certainly not be easy. But once again, we are called to take ownership of our future, and to affirm the principles and the sacrifice of the generations who helped us reach the milestone we commemorate. The ideals that drove Berliners to tear down that wall are no less relevant today. The freedoms championed that night are no less precious. And the rights and principles that brought us to this hour are no less deserving of our defense.
Now, some of us may not be here to celebrate the 50th anniversary. Although, if I were placing bets, I would bet on Henry.
(Laughter.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: But we must be confident that the men and women who gather on that occasion will look back on us as we look back now on them, on the generations that brought us through the Cold War, and eventually saw the blossoming of all that sacrifice during 1989.
So, let us resolve that when our actions are examined against that backdrop of history, our children and their children will be able to say that we served them well. Thank you very much.
(Applause.)
SPEAKER: As they are standing here and having their pictures taken, let me just say, Madame Secretary, thank you for that powerful and significant speech on this historic occasion. You talked about bringing down the walls of the 21st century and confronting those who stand behind them. You have carried the lessons of the past into the responsibilities of the future.
You now have standing beside you tonight’s awardees, but you also have what Dr. Kissinger, the longest-serving member of the Atlantic Council Board, called “The Club,” the club of national security advisors and foreign ministers who are looking out for the best of their countries and the best of the alliance, and the best of the world. We salute you all, and I declare the inaugural Atlantic Council of Freedom Awards concluded.
(Applause.)
I want to know how in the world she can look that fabulous all the time? She looks younger than I am and I’m 40!
From earlier in the day (I love these photos):
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle (R) and his partner Michael Mronz (L) during a Freedom's Challenge Awards of the Atlantic Council in Berlin November 8, 2009, one day ahead of the celebrations for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall. AFP PHOTO JOHN MACDOUGALL (Photo credit should read JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images)
Wow. I can’t keep up with her schedule!
From Dipnotes Travel Diary:
Secretary Clinton arrived at Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany today to take part in the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the course of this trip, Secretary Clinton will continue on to Singapore November 10-12 for meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. While there, she will attend the APEC Ministerial Meetings and will hold bilateral meetings with her counterparts from the region. After the first of two stops to Singapore, the Secretary travels to Manila November 12-13 to hold consultations with senior Filipino officials, highlighting the U.S.-Philippines treaty alliance. The Secretary then returns to Singapore, joining U.S. President Barack Obama for the APEC Leaders Meeting.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, left, arrives a Tegel airport in Berlin, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2009 to take part in the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall on Nov. 9, 2009. At right is the U.S. ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy. (AP Photo/Herbert Knosowski)
Sadly, the crisis in Honduras continues. While the Honduran Congress seemed poised to considering reinstating Zelaya even if for a short, token period of time, in order to ensure that the US would recognize the upcoming election results, something inexplicable happened- Assistant Secretary of State Shannon went on CNN Espanol and let it be known that the US would recognize the Honduran elections regardless of whether or not Zelaya was returned to power in the interim. Thus, the coup government and the Honduran Congress have absolutely no reason to reinstate Zelaya or even consider doing so before the elections take place at the end of November.
This was a total about-face on the part of the Obama administration and quite frankly, I am stunned. Had Secretary Shannon NOT made those remarks on television things might have turned out differently. Of course, I have no idea what went on behind the scenes, ie. did the State Department, prior to that interview, officially put the coup government on notice that it didn’t matter if they restored Zelaya to office in the interim period? The press pool at Friday’s State Dept. daily press briefing tried to get Ian Kelley to answer that simple question but he would not.
Here is a snippet which explains what is essentially taking place and unfortunately, the US has now been pitted against the entire Latin American community:
FREESTON: The accord was brokered by the United States. And while the official US position has always been that Zelaya is the legitimate president of Honduras, the State Department’s top official for Latin America, Assistant Secretary Tom Shannon, while appearing on CNN Español on Wednesday, pledged US support for the upcoming elections regardless of whether or not Zelaya is returned to power beforehand.
~~~
Courtesy: CNN Español
REPORTER (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): So, for the US, the case is that the crisis is all but over. The elections will be recognized on the 29th, and the Hondurans will resolve the question of Zelaya, whatever the result may be.
THOMAS SHANNON, US ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WESTERN HEMISPHERE AFFAIRS (SUBTITLED TRANSLATION): The future of the Honduran democracy is now in the hands of the Hondurans.
REPORTER: So the US is done, and whatever happens happens, and you will recognize whatever happens on the 29th.
SHANNON: Yes, exactly.
~~~
REINA: We understand that Hondurans need to resolve Honduran problems. But when a dictatorial regime assumes power by force, the only guarantee that the people can have when their rights are being violated is the support of the international community, which is why the accord has a verification commission.
FREESTON: Many are interpreting this as confirmation of previous suspicions that the US government has been willing to accept the coup all along and that the US has been doing its part to help the coup regime delay until the November elections, where its rule could be legitimized. The accord calls on all parties to support the November 29 elections, and it gives control of the military over to the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, the same tribunal whose representatives were in Washington, DC, just three weeks ago lobbying the US to recognize the elections regardless of the human-rights situation on the ground of Honduras. Their press release argued that, quote, “… it is critical that these elections remain separate and independent from the current political fray.” (October 14, 2009) Oliva believes that with or without Zelaya, the elections are not a solution.
OLIVA: The elections will not solve the problem. On the contrary, it’s the coming elections that will make things worse if they take place. What makes them think that the Honduran people are going to gather to vote when those who are guarding the ballots are the same soldiers that overthrew and expelled President Zelaya and the same soldiers and police that have repressed the Honduran people throughout this dictatorship? Who’s going to trust them?
FREESTON: It appears that for those opposing the coup in Honduras, this agreement has only made the situation worse. Their elected president is still trapped inside the Brazilian embassy, surrounded by the police and military. Their resistance continues to face massive repression while being informed that both the exiled and de facto presidents have agreed that they can’t vote on whether or not to rewrite their own constitution. And now the international community is debating whether or not to recognize elections scheduled to take place in roughly three weeks, all under a regime that has yet to recognize the movement’s right to peaceful assembly.
Here is an excellent video that explains the situation over at Real News:
Who are the ultimate victims in this? The usual suspects- the poor and of course, women. However, very little has been reported about the oppression of pro-democracy protesters and the systematic rape and abuse of women. Human rights organizations have been trying to get the attention of the US administration, with little result:
On Nov. 2 representatives from Honduran women’s organizations presented a grim panorama of violations of women’s human rights by the de facto regime led by Roberto Micheletti before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission.
Their testimonies provided documented proof that the coup regime and its security forces have been responsible for rapes, beatings, murders and harassment of Honduran women in the resistance movement, and the dictatorial elimination of gains in gender equity. These crimes against women have been committed in the context of impunity for the perpetrators.
As the U.S.-brokered agreement between Micheletti and the legitimate government led by President Manuel Zelaya falters, the on-going crisis in Honduras continues to claim victims and women are particularly at risk. As in violent dictatorships throughout history, women’s bodies have become a battleground. Honduran women have formed the backbone of the resistance movement against the coup from Day One and suffered systematic and gender-targeted repression as a result.
Honduras has a strong and organized feminist movement. This movement came together, fortified by the integration of hundreds of independent women, in the coalition Feminists in Resistance following the coup. It has seen its members beaten, its hard-fought gains rolled back, its institutions taken over and its projects for gender equity in public policy shattered over the past four months, under an illegitimate and ultraconservative regime. Despite the personal risk and the continuous setbacks, it remains strong and united and committed to restoring the rule of law necessary for peaceful advances in women’s rights.
During this week, which many hoped would mark the return to constitutional government, the coup regime made another key move against women’s rights. On Nov. 3, a law pushed through the day after the coup by the de facto regime went into effect that prohibits the morning-after pill, ignoring Honduran women’s demands for the right to make their own decisions on reproduction and denying the basic tenet of separation of church and state.
The rapid deterioration in respect for women’s rights in Honduras can only be halted by an immediate return to a constitutional government. An agreement brokered by the State Department has so far failed to resolve the crisis and end the coup. This can be attributed in large part to a CNN interview with State Department official Tom Shannon that cast doubt on the U.S. commitment to reinstate the elected president, emboldening the coup regime in its efforts to preside over elections currently scheduled for Nov. 29.
In a famous speech to the Beijing conference in 1995, Hillary Clinton proclaimed that “women’s rights are human rights” and that “women will never gain full dignity until their human rights are respected.” As Secretary of State, she has publicly affirmed that women’s rights will be a pillar of U.S. foreign policy. However, Clinton has yet to acknowledge the growing evidence of the violation of women’s rights under the Honduran coup regime. It is time to take a firm stand to restore respect for human rights and end the coup.
…
Read the rest of the article: here.
I know conservatives in Congress have been putting tremendous pressure on the Obama administration to go easy on the pro-business, wealthy, coup government but I just wish President Obama would stand on principle and not waver at the first sign of controversy or push-back. I know it’s easy for me to say this sitting her in Boston at my computer- I’m not the one that has to take the political heat, but I’m also not the one that promised “change” and a reversal of eight years of hypocritical diplomacy on the part of Bush & Co.
I understand that President Zelaya was more of a leftist than the U.S. liked, but sometimes democracy is a double-edged sword and at times we have to take certain democracies as we find them, whether or not we agree with the choices of the electorate of the particular country in question. The people of Honduras chose President Zelaya and it sends a dangerous message to the world that the US believes some democratic principles are optional depending on whether we agree with particular leader in question.
I would have put this post up yesterday but news and photos were slow to trickle in for some reason- the news channels seem unable to walk and chew gum at the same time as it was 24/7 coverage of the tragedy at Fort Hood and while I understand people want information on that, I also can’t help but feel that the old news adage, “if it bleeds, it leeds” is appropriate here and they are using the tragedy for reasons other than news value.
Anyhoo. I have been trying to find a video of the event, which had been live-streamed on the military’s online navy channel but as of yet, nothing on YouTube or elsewhere- if one becomes available, I’ll update this post, so check back.
This from NBC News:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the crowd at the commissioning of the USS New York on November 7, 2009 at Piers 86 and 88 in New York City. The ship was built with 7.5 tons of steel from the World Trade Center in its bow. It is a San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ship. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
The USS New York, built with steel from the rubble of the World Trade Center, was put into service Saturday both as a symbol of healing and strength.
“No matter how many times you attack us, we always come back,” Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said at the amphibious assault ship’s commissioning. “America always comes back. That’s what this ship represents.”
He spoke on a Manhattan pier where hundreds of Navy officers and sailors joined first responders and families of Sept. 11 victims for the ceremony…
[snip]
The 7 1/2 tons of steel debris from ground zero had been melted down to form the bow of the USS New York as “a symbol of our unshakable resolve; this is a city built of steel,” said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, representing the Obama administration.
Clinton was a U.S. senator from New York before she became the nation’s top diplomat.
She noted that many of New York’s iconic buildings were forged from steel, from the Statue of Liberty to the Chrysler building.
“But the strongest steel of New York has always been in the spines of its people,” Clinton said, calling New Yorkers “strivers and seekers, immigrants from every country, speakers of every language.”
…
The amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) is commissioned in New York. The ship has 7.5 tons of steel salvaged from the World Trade Center towers forged into her bow, and will be used to support humanitarian, amphibious assault, special operations and expeditionary warfare missions around the world. New York is the sixth U.S. Navy ship named for the state and will be homeported in Norfolk, Va. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Dan Meaney/Released)
Karen emailed me after she got back from the No Limits policy lunch where Secretary Clinton and Barney Frank were speaking. She tells me she got to speak with Secretary Clinton and shake her hand and it sounds like she had a fantastic time. She was nice enough to share these photos that she took while at the event:
Thanks to Karen for the images!
I posted the video of her remarks here.
