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It is the largest military alliance in the history of the world. But it did not come about by accident, nor was it inevitable. Generation after generation, the United States and our allies have chosen to come together to stand up for freedom and resist aggression - knowing that we are stronger and the world is safer when we do.
We saw this during the Cold War when we stood united against the forces of Soviet totalitarianism. We saw it again when America was attacked on 11 September 2001 and our allies invoked NATO Article 5 for the first and last time in history - an attack against one is an attack against all. And we saw it in the last two years when allies came out in support of the brave Ukrainian people in the face of a brutal Russian invasion - the biggest war in Europe since World War II.
Today, NATO is bigger, stronger and more determined than ever. We have added Finland and Sweden to the Alliance - two democratic countries with two highly capable armies. Over the past three years, our NATO allies have increased their own annual defence spending by nearly $80 billion. While our adversaries have plotted to shatter our remarkable unity, our democracies have remained steadfast. And this July, the United States will host the Washington NATO summit, where our allies will come together to modernize our defense and deterrence.
Like generations before us, we must now decide whether to protect and build on this progress. We must recognize that the sacred commitment we have made to our allies - to defend every inch of NATO territory - makes us safer, too, and provides the United States with a security bulwark unmatched by any other nation in the world. And like our predecessors, we must ask what we can do - what we must do to create a more peaceful future.
75 years ago - after signing the treaty that created NATO - President Harry Truman said, "If anything is certain today, and if anything is inevitable in the future, it is the will of the people of the world for freedom and peace." I believe that this will is stronger today than ever before - and in the years to come we will surely prove it.
Whitehouse.gov/gnews.cz-JaV_07
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