Embassy of the United States

Remarks by Ambassador Nancy McEldowney at Public Information Forum on Joint Military Facilities

Russe City Hall
January 22, 2009

I am delighted to be here in this beautiful city and to have this opportunity to learn about your perspectives, priorities, and concerns.  I had heard that Russe is one of the most beautiful cities in Bulgaria and now I know it is.  And I can also tell that it has got one of the best looking populations, based on the people who are in this room.  But what I am trying to figure out is how did you bring spring in the middle of winter?  And maybe when we figure that one out, we will have learned a really important secret.

It is really, really a pleasure to be here.  I want to spend most of today listening to you and having a genuine conversation with you about what’s on your minds.  And so I am going to encourage you now not to be shy.  I want to hear from you, I want to hear your questions and your comments.  And I will stay here as long as it takes in order to work our way all the way through everything you have to say. 

Now, as we have just heard, and as all of you know, we have recently welcomed Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States.  His personal story and the promise of his presidency have inspired people all over America, and I know, all over the world. 

In his inaugural speech and in his remarks throughout his campaign, President Obama made clear that at the very heart of his foreign policy were strong friendships and strong alliances.  Many people have asked me what will change with the new government and the new president.  And the answer to that question is that the relationship between the United States and its friends, countries like Bulgaria, will change in that it is going to get stronger and deeper and more productive for both of us.

When we describe our relationship we use two very special words – we call it a strategic partnership.  We do that because it is a relationship that is critical for our countries and it’s a relationship that we care very deeply about.  Now I think all of you know that the United States was one of the earliest and one of the most outspoken advocates of Bulgaria’s membership in NATO.  We did that because we knew that it was the right thing for this country and it was the right thing for the NATO alliance.

And, of course, Bulgaria, and the people of Bulgaria, proved that that was the right decision.  Over and over again since Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004, it has shown itself to be a strong partner and a reliable NATO ally from the very first day until this day.

And in the same way, the United States, though we are not a member of the European Union, we worked hard and long to support Bulgaria’s membership in the European Union.  We wanted Bulgaria to benefit, both politically and economically, from EU membership, but we also did it because we wanted Bulgaria to take its rightful place, a place as a contributor to and a decision maker for, the future of Europe. 

We did those things because we believe in this country and we believe in the people who live here.  The United States of America, and I want to pause here because this is a very important thing, the United States of America is proud to count Bulgaria as a friend and an ally and we are proud to stand together with this country.  You know that we live in a complicated world.  You know we live in uncertain times.  And if there is one thing that you need to be certain about when there is uncertainty in the world, it is who your friends are.

One of the very best demonstrations, one of the best living proof of the partnership between our two countries is the cooperation between our two militaries.  As you can see on photos that are flashing up above, our two militaries have operated side by side in places all over the world.  There is only one picture up there that I will ask you to ignore and that’s a picture of me.

But when you look at these pictures, you are going to see young Bulgarian and American soldiers doing the essential work of our two nations.  You are going also see them doing the human things – playing with children, petting dogs – that convey the values that our societies share.  But before either of our two governments puts our young men and women into field conditions we must make sure that they are ready.  And being ready means that we have trained together, that we have exercised together, that we understand how our two militaries function.

You know from your own personal experience, if you are going to do something really hard with a friend and a partner, you have to know how that person is going to think and communicate and operate on a daily basis.  And it is precisely for that reason – to really understand each other – that is why our two governments signed a Defense Cooperation Agreement a few years ago and that is why we together train and exercise here in Bulgaria.

But I want to also make clear that when we do that training, we do at a Bulgarian base.  There are no “American bases” in Bulgaria.  We are invited guests when we go to Bulgarian bases that fly a Bulgarian flag and operate under Bulgarian command.

We call them “joint training facilities,” which is not a very easy word in day-to-day usage, but we call them that because that is an accurate description of what they are.  These are places where we come together, we train, we learn from each other, and when we are done, our troops go home.  

We do this training because it helps both of our militaries.  It makes us more effective and more interoperable when we deploy together.  But we also do it because it helps make Bulgaria’s military stronger and more capable.  And the United States wants Bulgaria to be as strong and as capable as it possibly can be.  A strong Bulgaria is good for both Bulgaria and for the United States.

Now, when our soldiers come here they usually spend a couple of weeks.  Some of them come and they fly in airplanes and they fly with Bulgarian pilots.  Some of them are soldiers and they work together with Bulgarian counterparts in artillery demonstrations or with Bulgarian tanks.  But at the same time that we are doing that crucial training, our soldiers also do more – they do more to try to help the communities around the bases and around the country that are hosts to us for this short time.

Our soldiers and our pilots and our naval officers have participated in the renovation of kindergartens and community centers.  They have provided free medical care to the citizens of Bulgaria, and they have donated clothes and blankets to orphanages.  We recently had a unit of U.S. Air Force pilots, called the Triple Nickel, that was at Graf Ignatievo.  And while these pilots were here they told me that they found Bulgaria to be such a wonderful place and they wanted to do something to help – something personal that they could do.  Now you know that soldiers are not rich people, but these young pilots, out of their own pockets, raised over two-thousand dollars of a personal contribution that they gave to an orphanage that was located near their airbase.  And you haven’t read about this in the newspaper or seen it on television because they didn’t want any press, they didn’t want the attention, they just wanted to do something that was good and positive.

Now, their personal effort has also been paralleled by an official effort from the U.S. military that has spent over seven million dollars on similar humanitarian projects throughout this country.  I don’t want to bore you with too many figures, but I do want to mention a couple other amounts.

I told you that the military has spent almost over seven million in humanitarian projects, but I want you to know that the U.S. military has also spent over $150 million in working together to upgrade and modernize the Bulgarian military forces.  And that is in addition to the $650 million dollars of assistance that the United States has provided to Bulgaria since the changes.  And we do it as a friend and a partner and as someone who knows what this country and the people of this country have gone through – the troubles that you have experienced – and because we are committed to helping build a better future here.

But we also do it because our security cooperation is just one part of a much larger relationship, one that spans across every priority issue that both of our governments have.  There is a global economic crisis that’s going on, but the economic relationship between Bulgaria and the United States has never been stronger.  We are also committed to working together with this country, with its government and with its citizens, to help in the battle against corruption and organized crime and to try to advance the rule of law.  And as you all have just lived through a very difficult period when gas to this country was cut off, I can also say with great pride that the United States and Bulgaria support each other in times of crisis like the one you have just gone through.

These steps, whether it is our joint training or economic relationship or support for energy, all of these things taken together are an investment in our common future.  And it is a part of our effort to be certain friends in the very uncertain times we live in.

So with that, let me conclude and look forward to hearing your questions about all of the issues that I raised and the ones that I didn’t but that are on your minds.

Thank you very much.