The United States defines its "vital interests" as those interests of broad, overriding importance to the survival, safety, and vitality of our nation. Chief among these are the physical security and territorial integrity of our nation and those of our Allies, and the protection of our critical infrastructures from paralyzing attack. In Europe these vital interests-and our enduring commitment to the principles of democracy, human rights, individual liberty, and the rule of law-are manifested in and defended by the NATO Alliance and the complex web of interlocking relationships and partnerships that define the architecture of European security in the 21st century.
Democracy and Human Rights
The promotion of democracy and the protection of human rights remain core objectives of U.S. national security strategy. Strong and vibrant democracies already exist in much of Europe. Thus, our efforts to further these objectives focus on those states that are making the difficult transition from closed to open societies. We seek to strengthen their commitment to human rights and enhance their capabilities to implement democratic reforms.
We are therefore working with Allies and Partners to institutionalize democratic reforms in Central and Eastern Europe, and to integrate the states of that region into Euro-Atlantic structures. Such reforms can help avert or resolve problems that, if left unchecked, may lead to ethnic conflict and regional violence, threatening the security of Allies and Partners. Our goal is to build and strengthen the pillars of civil society throughout Europe. By helping to build civil societies, we are building peace and prosperity, which helps to strengthen U.S. security. By joining the Western democratic family of nations, states that once lived under totalitarian or communist rule are today working to strengthen the forces of democracy and reform, enhancing security for the United States and all of Europe.
Our abiding commitment to human rights and democracy is not only the right thing to do, it is also in our own best national interests. Grave violations of human rights, in the Balkans or elsewhere, challenge our values and our security. The security of the Euro-Atlantic Community must spring from the consent of free peoples and must be built upon shared purposes and values that can be defended when the need arises. The United States, in concert with its Allies, may in some circumstances, where other measures have failed, use coercive measures, including military force, to counter grave violations of human rights.
Economic Prosperity
Europe is an indispensable economic partner for the United States and will remain so in the 21st century. The EU is the our largest trading and investment partner. Two-way trade was valued at $507 billion in 1999. On the investment side, EU investments in the United States totaled more than $481 billion at the end of 1998, while the United States had more than $433 billion invested in the EU. These trade and investment ties account for an estimated 14 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic. If the 15 member EU brings in as many as a dozen new members in the next several years, it will comprise the world's largest single market, with some 500 million citizens and an economy significantly larger than our own.
We have an important interest in preserving and strengthening constructive economic relations within the transatlantic community. Increased European economic prosperity inevitably will expand two-way trade and investment flows with the United States. It also will contribute to European stability by creating a more positive environment for relatively new democratic institutions in Central and Eastern Europe. Economic growth and progress in democratic governance should help, in turn, to moderate ethnic and religious tensions that can lead to violent internal and international conflicts. In addition, improved economic performance can serve transatlantic security by increasing the resources available to governments for needed investments in defense capabilities. Finally, a strong transatlantic economy will be an engine of growth and development for the global economy, which is a necessary-albeit not sufficient-precondition for improving global security and stability.
Security
The United States seeks to shape a stable security environment that brings enduring peace to all of Europe. Such an environment is indispensable to the promotion of democracy and economic prosperity. The defense of North America remains inextricably tied to the defense of Europe. The United States tried and failed to isolate itself from the devastating wars in Europe during the 20th century, which were fought with weapons that are markedly primitive by today's standards. We could not isolate ourselves at all from the catastrophic effects of an attack against Europe in the 21st century, especially if it involved weapons of mass destruction (WMD). There is no better way to shape a stable security environment and prevent new lines of division or confrontation in Europe than to reach out to Central and Eastern European states anxious to be integrated fully into the political, economic, and security structures of the transatlantic community. For the same reason, we need to build increasingly positive relations with the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the other independent and distinctive states that emerged from the former Soviet Union.
To safeguard U.S. national security, we must cooperate with Europe on issues that transcend our respective borders. The United States seeks to prevent the proliferation of NBC weapons and the means to deliver them, since such proliferation directly threatens our security and that of our Allies. No American effort to deal with the proliferation threat can succeed without the active cooperation of our Allies and other European states that produce and sell dual use materials and technologies that, in the wrong hands, can be used for hostile purposes.
In addition, the defense of U.S. territory, our citizens, and our economic well being depends upon free trade and access to strategic natural resources and international waters and airways. The U.S. military presence in Europe plays a critical role in protecting our economic interests, as well as facilitating U.S. military deployments for both crisis and non-crisis missions to assist allies and friends in neighboring regions. Without the basing and host nation support structures available to U.S. forces through our defense arrangements in Europe, protecting vital U.S. interests both within and outside Europe would be immeasurably more complex, demanding, and costly.
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