Külügyi Szemle - A Magyar Külügyi Intézet folyóirata - 2011 (10. évfolyam)
2011 / 3. szám - MAGYAR-AMERIKAI KAPCSOLATOK - Tsakopoulos Kounalakis, Eleni: Preface for the October 2011 Issue of Foreign Policy Review
Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis Hungary and the United States celebrated their passion for freedom at the end of June during what we have come to call Transatlantic Week. Two Congressional Delegations, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former Attorney General Ed Meese, representatives of the family of the late Congressman Tom Lantos, emissaries of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation, several senior officials from the Department of State - and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton all came to Hungary to commemorate two champions of freedom, Ronald Reagan and Tom Lantos, and reinforce the partnership between Hungary and the United States. Former Secretary Rice unveiled a larger-than-life statue of President Ronald Reagan in beautiful Szabadság tér; Annette Lantos and Secretary Clinton spoke in Parliament at the opening of the Tom Lantos Institute; and the Government of Hungary hosted several grand events in honor of our transatlantic visitors. This was all taking place as Hungary wrapped up its first, historic presidency of the Council of the European Union. Budapest was certainly the focus of attention both in Washington as well as in all European Union member state capitals. What Transatlantic Week made abundantly clear is that Central Europe, and Hungary specifically, does matter and is truly "on the radar screen" in the United States. At the same time, it is important to understand that with the region's successful transition to democracy and integration in western alliances, the question the United States is asking is no longer "what can we do for the nations of Central Europe?" It is "what can we, together with the European Union and the nations of Central Europe, do for the rest of the world?" In that spirit, one of the most important areas of cooperation between Hungary and the United States is related to international security. Today, Hungary and the United States are NATO allies with a security relationship that goes back twenty years. I have had the privilege to observe, together with Minister of Defense Csaba Hende, Hungarian troops in action in Kosovo, Sarajevo and Afghanistan. I have met many of the fine Hungarian men and women who serve in Afghanistan, alongside their American brothers- and sisters-in-arms. Hungary is providing invaluable assistance there, out of a shared sense of duty, shared values and a common assessment of the threats we face. And during these past 20 years, the US has invested over 50 million dollars in education, training and equipment for the Hungarian Defense Forces (HDF). We have sent hundreds of officers and NCOs to training in the United States and US facilities in Europe. HDF and American forces have participated in countless exercises and operational deployments together. Also in the realm of international security, Hungary has worked very closely with the United States - and, again, other friends in the European Union - on issues related to the political changes we are continuing to witness in North Africa, and particularly in Libya. For several months this year, Hungary served as the protecting power of the United States in Libya, with the Embassy of Hungary in Tripoli and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Budapest providing invaluable assistance. This was yet another 8 Külügyi Szemle
