Statement by U.S. Ambassador John L. Withers After the NATO Invitation to Albania (April 3, 2008)

Today is a day of joy, both for Albania and for the United States. It is a day of historic significance for both Albanians and Americans.
Today, Albania, along with Croatia, received an invitation to the NATO Alliance. As President Bush said earlier today, Albania will make an outstanding member of this Alliance.

I am here today to extend my congratulations to Albania and to the Albanian people; and not only from myself, but also on behalf of my government and the American people.

Today, we, the American people, among the other members of the Alliance, ask you, the Albanian people, into the most important foreign policy Alliance in our history. This was the Alliance that was our pillar of security throughout the Cold War, when nuclear confrontation threatened. This is an Alliance that, in extremity, commits us to aid you with the lives of our soldiers.

As President Harry Truman said, in 1949, at the foundation of the NATO Alliance, "The security and welfare of each member of this community depend upon the security and welfare of all. None of us alone can achieve economic prosperity or military security. None of us alone can assure the continuance of freedom."

But Albania's invitation to NATO was not really our doing. This invitation was not a matter of luck or geographic location. It was not a matter of geopolitical calculation. This invitation, pure and simple, is a triumph of the Albanian people. Not of one party or another, but of all Albanians, of all parties, working and sacrificing together. It is one of the most important commitments that we can make to the Albanian people. And it recognizes the commitment of all Albanians to democracy, the rule of law, a better future for the country, after the dark night of communism.

A well-known Albanian poetess, capturing something of the spirit of the historical achievement that Albania has made today, wrote the following lines:

We had much to throw off
We had much to pick up
Suddenly, out of the darkness
A new day dawned.

Nine years ago, during the first NATO expansion, President Clinton said to the then-invitees, "Welcome home to the community of freedom."

Today, I say to you, "Mirëse erdhe, Shqipëri."