related to the battle of some igo. -- sans miguel. >> the weather was horrible. it was raining. it was chilly. the americans launched the attack, heading north. germansnst to them, the who had occupied this whole salient had begun a withdrawal. they were starting to move their troops but they didn't move them quick enough. by the end of the day on the 12th, the americans reached notably the main objectives for that day that many of the objectives for the following day. 13,idmorning of september the whole salient had been liberated. >> watch american artifacts sunday at 6:00 eastern on american history tv on c-span3. secretary-general talked about the nato alliance and relations with the u.s..

he spoke friday at the heritage foundation. this is just under an hour. [applause] >> good morning. how is everyone? welcome to the heritage foundation. to our ambassadors, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, will continue heritage foundation. with this week marking the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the united states, there is no better reminder for americans why nato is so incredibly important to our security and that of our allies. we will never forget that soon after the attack, nato invoked its mutual defense clause, article five. for the first time in the alliance's history.

our nato allies immediately provided security support and resources to help patrol and secure america's airspace and waterways. airspace and waterways. for those of us who were living and working in washington at that time, we will never forget. been in01, it has afghanistan were allies have given and sacrificed considerably. years, tens and thousands of nato troops have fought along u.s. troops there. over 1000 of our nato partners have made the ultimate sacrifice. and nato areates partners in promoting democratic values around the world and working together to provide security and prosperity for our allies. allies -- wee

share a strong commitment to the rule of law, human rights, economic freedom and democracy. this relationship provides untold benefits for the u.s. economy and the american worker. reasons andgions -- others, it is my personal honor to welcome secretary jens stoltenberg today. by the time he became nato's 13th century -- secretary-general, russia had just invaded ukraine and annexed crimea months before. mosul andust taken was on the march to baghdad. nato was preparing to transition

from a combat mission to a training mission in afghanistan. talk about hitting the ground running. leadership, he has been able to guide the alliance through these challenging times. watch, nato members have increased their defense posture, the alliance's in eastern europe has been bolstered, and the new nato training mission in iraq has been established as part of a global global lycian -- coalition to defeat isis. that has been a renewed focus inside the alliance the phase nontraditional threats like cyber security and hybrid warfare. creation in 1949, the north atlantic treaty organization has done more to promote democracy and peace in europe than any other

organization and has served as one of our greatest allies. more,is reason and many we look forward to the future and that nato stays ready, resourced and relevant. please join me in welcoming the secretary-general, young's goldmark. -- jan stolberg. good morning to all. let me start by thanking you for this very generous introduction. thank you for having me here today. thank you for letting me speak to this audience. theuld also like to thank heritage foundation for the very important work you do. and for your steadfast support for the values that nato holds

so dear. i will be quite brief in my introduction. but then i will be more than happy to answer questions and respond to your comments afterwards. issue i will address the of why nato is important. nato is important for europe. that is widely recognized and widely understood. nato is also very important for the united states. whyme mention three reasons nato is important for the united states. first, peace and stability in europe are of vital importance. vital interest. allies share and support the fundamental values which are at the heart of the american

society. boost nato allies america's military power. forged in thes aftermath of two world wars. that led to the loss of 90 million lives. and widespread economic devastation. when weonsider -- consider nato's value today, we need to take into account the devastating loss of life and ruinous economic costs of the major war in europe. -- a major war in europe. for nearly 70 years, nato has helped preferred -- preserve security in europe. this has provided the foundation for an unprecedented. -- unprecedented time of prosperity. for all nato allies. europe and north america

represent half of the world's economic output. while we now have some disagreements, it does not change the fact that europe and north america are each other's biggest trading partners. peace and stability in europe are the foundation for continued prosperity on both sides of the atlantic. fundamentalhare values, to protect and defend them together. democracy, and the rule of law. they are the foundations of our free societies. in engagement with the rest of the world. these values are magnets for other countries. they lead them to join our

alliance. down,the berlin wall came former warsaw countries all join nato. joincountries aspire to and many have already followed. spreads helped to democratic values, free enterprise, and stability to millions of people in europe. represent a historic geopolitical shift. it has benefited the united states. in the world at large. third, the third reason why nato is important for the united states, nato allies boost america's military power. nearly 2 million service personnel on active duty. and cutting-edge capabilities.

france and the united kingdom contribute 30% of nato's nuclear s.llistic missile capableies maintain aircraft for nuclear delivery. for the mark, america's allies have thousands of intelligence personnel. many of them working in close connection with the u.s. counterparts. giving the united states better eyes and ears than you would otherwise have. from tracking submarines in the arctic to identifying terrorists that seek to harm us. allies in europe hold 28

american operating bases across europe. these bases in europe are not only for europe. they enable the u.s. to project wider middlethe east and accor for -- africa. example, the u.s.-africa command is based not in africa but in germany. operates fleet which from the baltic sea to enter the cap is headquartered in naples, italy. if u.s. troops are wounded in iraq or afghanistan, they are flown to quit treatment in germany.

thinking about the value of what i am reminded of secretary mattis once told me. that never in his entire career had he fought a war without nato allies at his side. u.s. never has to fight alone. week, we marked the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the united states. attacks, nato invoked our collective defense clause for the first and only time. , hundreds of thousands of european and canadian soldiers have fought alongside the united states in afghanistan. 1000 have paid the ultimate price.

, nato allies continue to stand with the united states. not only in afghanistan but also in the global coalition against isis. in deterring russia. decades, theven united states has been able to call upon its allies, it's close allies and friends in nato. no other power can do that. no other power in the world has so many friends and so many allies as the united states. supports that prosperity, those values, in the security of the united states. it is clear that allies need to invest more and better in our shared security. agreed tollies have stop cuts to defense budgets, to

to -- wespending, and are making real progress. we have boosted the defense 5.2 preventsbining and -- the biggest increase in the quarter of a century. this year will be the fourth consecutive year of rising defense spending. down, now it is up. we still have a long way to go. let there be no mistake. nato's credibility as an alliance lies on sharing costs of defense spending. president trump has been outspoken on this issue.

i have thanked him for his leadership. nato allies have spent an additional 41 billion dollars on the front -- defense. , allies haveummit agreed to redouble their efforts on defense funding. this will be a main focus on a meeting next month. we will continue to work intensively with all allies to ensure that we deliver on our promise. in an uncertain world, we have much more to do. as we work together to safeguard the freedom and security of nearly one billion citizens. we have our differences and

robust debates. two world wars and the cold war and the ongoing fight against terrorism have taught us that we are far stronger together than apart. united inways been our core collective defense mission. nato is the most successful in the most valuable alliance in history. vitalodies the transatlantic bond. a bond that guarantees our prosperity, our security, and our freedom. in europe, and in north america. thank you so much. [applause]

>> thank you very much for that. that was a comprehensive view of how important nato was to the united states and how important the united states is to nato. the fact that they are mutually beneficial is the key to success all these ears. athave spent decades here the heritage foundation talking about the importance of european security and we are very cleveland and honored to have you here today. have a lot of people in the audience that are eager to ask you some questions. i think i will take the privilege of being her with you task the first one. that is to ask you about the arctic. russia is re-militarizing the arctic. old bases have been reopened. there is not a lot of official about the arctic.

i come from a country close to the arctic. i will be interested in what you think how nato should be thinking about arctic security. >> is this on? >> there you are. , the arctic is extremely important. we see an increased russian presence with modern military capabilities in the arctic. that's one of the reasons why nato is adopting this posture. not only the arctic but in general. strengthening our marathon posture, investing more in naval capabilities. we have just agreed to establish

a new atlantic command with the headquarters in virginia. that addresses some of the challenges in the arctic. we are also doing more when it surveillanceoving in countries close to the arctic. like norway and denmark. more modern capabilities which will address the challenges we see in the high north. you are right that i am coming from a country which is close to the arctic. more than that. half of norway is in the arctic. after a member that the arctic is not only the north pole. the arctic is everything north of the arctic circle. that is half of norway. norway, orin modern

in greenland, or the north atlantic is also extremely important for the arctic. having said all of this, i would like to highlight the following. , we havewe used to say tensions in the high north. i still believe it is important to try to keep tensions down there. , probablyy is that because this is a very vulnerable area for environmental reasons, we are also working together with russia at addressing some of the challenges in the high north. there's something called the arctic council. russia is a member. we work together with them on search and rescue and environment of cooperation, managing fish stocks up there. that there is not a contradiction between being strong but also seeing the

potential for cooperation in the high north. up to thewill open audience. i will ask you to raise your hand. we have people with microphones. wait to get the microphone. identify yourself briefly. keep the questions brief. we appreciate that. we only have so much time here. let's get started. and the director of the foreign policy center here at the herita foundation. thank you for your great defense of the importance of nato. british parliamentarian and chairman of the house of commons for the first committee recently proposed what i think is a great idea. to name the new nato headquarters after senator john mccain. i think that there would be

bipartisan support on the side of the atlantic and there were some positive signals from the other side of the atlantic on this idea. i would wonder if you could tell us what you thought of this proposal and if nato as an alliance is actively considering this great idea. thank you. allies, i very much respect the late senator john but not least because of his strong support and commitment to nato. he traveled often to nato allied countries in europe. i met him many times in brussels and munich. he has a lifelong career in support of nato and the values that nato defense. i had the honor in participating in the funeral of senator mccain

a few weeks ago in washington. allies respect very much and honor his memory. nato doesn't have a traditional tradition ofngs -- naming buildings after politicians. i'm certain that we will be able to honor john mccain but not necessarily through naming a building. we honor john mccain every day through the fact that we stand together and deliver a strong transatlantic defense. >> thank you.

institutehe american of contemporary german studies. often we hear criticisms from washington about the contributions that germany makes to the alliance in particular. it's level of defense spending. i would be interested in your comments on how you see trends in germany and what issues you prioritizing your dialogue with germany. also whether you think there is that natos for fear allies in the east might provoke a conflict with russia. >> first, on whether nato allies will provoke a conflict with russia, we will not. nato is a defensive alliance. nato has proven that for many decades. the increased presence of nato troops in the eastern part of the alliance is a defensive response.

therefore, nato is and will remain a defensive alliance. that is the case for all allies. when it comes to germany, we all bute -- also germany -- germany has to invest more in defense. something we agree at the nato summit in july. we have talked about that before. germany has started to increase defense spending. they have put forward a plan to increase defense spending by 70% over a decade. which is significant. this is money which will be

helpful to modernize their armed equipment, by modern and they have started this buildup. i welcome that because what , the german economy is big. it affects total defense spending of nato. it is about what we call contributions and capabilities. to the is contributing nato presence in afghanistan, the second-largest force into beating to our mission there. they are responsible for the northern part of afghanistan. contributing to nato missions and operations across the world.

the short answer is that, yes, germany should do more. but germany agrees. they have started to invest more in defense. any other questions? here in the middle? >> thank you very much. i represent a georgia television station. i wonder if there is any appetite for nato enlargement and george as possible involvement. >> we had a very good meeting with the georgian president in brussels during a summit. president in the addressed the importance of strengthening the partnership between nato and georgia.

the strongly supports territorial integrity of georgia. and of course, we don't in any way recognize the presence of russian forces in parts of georgia. talked about georgia becoming a member of nato. we help georgia with incrementing reforms. we provide practical support. we have established a training center in georgia. with implementing defensive and security reforms. george is making progress. we welcome that. we will continue to support georgia and help georgia as it to it led,r including towards membership in

nato. we are extremely grateful for what georgia does for nato. participates in nato exercises, contributes to nato response force, but georgia is one of the main partners sending to our mission in afghanistan. georgia is important to nato. nato is important for georgia. we continue to strengthen our partnership. money shift the topic a little bit. we were talking about what nader was doing and how important it is -- nato is doing and how important it is. the me shift the question to public diplomacy and support for nato. both here and in europe. it has been over 30 years since the cold war ended. the challenges today from russia are similar and entirely

different. people who were not alive during the cold war are being asked to support and participate in military operations on behalf of nato. can you say a few words about , makingeed to go beyond the case to states and politicians and experts, to the public at large about how important nato is -- to the security particularly for younger people. new generations who have never experienced the war, it is a different thing for them. having said that, when you look at it, there is strong support for nato. especially in the united states.

,upport for nato has increased 60 something percent. it is strong support for nato in the united states. figures, to the latest the support has had hit a historic high level. maintainenge is to that bipartisan support for nato. i think that is partly about showing that nato is important, both when it comes to a sense in europe of deterring russia and other potential adversaries for attacking. that nato waswing able to respond to some of the new threats and challenges in cyber, hybrid. nato is modernizing its cyber capabilities, cyber capabilities

and responses. course, in the fight against terrorism. the fight against terrorism is not a new challenge. it has been there for many years. nato is playing a key role, both in our presence in afghanistan -- the reason we are in afghanistan is to prevent afghanistan becoming a safe haven for international terrorism. there are many problems in afghanistan but we have prevented afghanistan from of launchingble terror attacks against our own countries. we're starting training missions in iraq. nato is able to respond to many different challenges. another is the refugee crisis in europe. nato is helping to respond to tot the presence in the dnc help implement an agreement between turkey and the eu.

>> let's go over this way. >> i cover the pentagon. is russian disinformation nothing new but it has gained invitation -- attention after the 2016 election. can you talk about that campaign and how it has developed. specifically how you see russian s using disinformation in macedonia. >> we have seen many examples and reports about how russia tried to meddle in our democratic political processes in different nato countries and in partner countries. by disinformation, using

social media and so on. we have also seen that in the former republic of macedonia which is now close to a referendum on the 30th of september on a name deal. if they agree, they can become a member of nato. trying have seen russia to not only prevent the former republic of macedonia to become a member of nato but also to prevent montenegro from becoming a member. we have seen an attempt there. we have seen them using social media disinformation to try to influence political processes in different european and nato allied countries. nato is responding to this in many different ways. this is partly about cyber.

about responding to disinformation. way to that the best respond is not with propaganda. the best way to respond to this information is to provide the facts. the truth. truth will prevail. we try to do is provide the fact. have conversations on these issues. different members have responsibilities to respond, to dangers ofo see the russia trying to meddle in domestic political processes. believe that a free and independent media is extremely important in responding to any attempt to spread disinformation and propaganda.

free, independent media that is questions, difficult to check their sources, but is against anyportant outside attempt to meddle in our political process. >> high. . i'm wondering if you could discuss the unique situation where turkey is in with their desire to buy russian missile systems and also wanting to buy the f-35. can you talk about those two big-ticket items and how they conflict with each other. -- other >? >> it is a challenge. there's a disagreement between turkey and the united states on

this issue. acquisition of military capabilities is a national decision. nato isimportant for the ability of different systems working together. i have discussed this many times in washington. i hope that it is possible to find a solution. now is a challenge for thisf us, that there is disagreement on the issue of the russian air defense system, which turkey has decided to buy. , turkey the decision being part of the program.

there is a bilateral dialogue between turkey and the united states on this issue. has beenthat nato absent of this dialogue. the me add one more thing. important allyy for many reasons. but not least because of its geographic location. if you look at the map, you see how big turkey is it also how syria.is bordering iraq, you will understand why turkey has been so important in the fight against isis. air bases have been extremely important in the success we have had integrating and fighting isis.

turkey is important when it comes to dealing with the migrant crisis. there are millions of refugees and they are important. turkey is that ally which has comparison,out a most terrorist attacks -- it is important that we understand that this is something which to see thatpalling high number of terrorist attacks in turkey. they also suffered other times. yes, there is a problem. there was a challenge. at the same time, it is

important to recognize the importance that turkey is playing in the whole alliance. back over there. i'm with the wall street journal. thank you for joining this. contributions and capabilities a bit. are you concerned that the public discussion on nato has been framed in financial terms? how do you counter that narrative? if you could give us your thoughts on pascoe and have it relates to nato. whether that is a risk that member states may reorganize their priorities to the detriment of nato. border sharing within nato is not only about spending. it is also about contributions. european allies spending troops orsemi-trucks to afghanistan

being responsible for groups in the eastern part of the alliance. and capabilities. sharing is also about money. it is about spending. if you buy financial terms mean spending, i'm not concerned about the fact that we're also, i'm raising the issue in all of our meetings because nato allies have to invest more in defense. all allies use defense spending in end of the cold war because tensions went down. i have told many audiences like this before that in 1990's i was minister of finance in norway and then i was responsible for cutting defense spending in norway, so i know exactly how to do that. and that was the way, the natural thing to do because when tensions went down, then it's

right to reduce spending, as long as we are able to increase defense spending when tensions . and therefore, later on prime minister responsible to increase defense spending and therefore i also call on all allies to invest more. and, you know, during the cold war most allies spent 3% of gdp on defense. now we call on them to spend 2%. the good news is that they are really started to move. when we made the decision back in 2014 it was only 3 allies that spent 3% on gdp on defense, this year we expect 8 allies to spend 3% of gdp on defense. and also those who spend less have really started to increase . and as i said last year we had 5.2% real increase in defense spending.

canada's biggest increase since end of cold war and since trump became president, nato allies, european allies and canada have increased defense spending by 41 billion u.s. dollars. so we are going in the right direction. we are pushing for more but we have seen the significant shift, i don't know whether i answered the questions but i addressed the issue of spending. pestco, which is this structured corporation in european union of defense. i welcome stronger eu efforts on defense. because i believe that contribute to fair burden sharing. it can develop military capabilities in europe and it can also address the capabilities in europe.

i support this as long as this is not developed into an alternative to nato. as long as this is complemented to nato, we should welcome eu efforts on defense. it has been clearly stated from european leaders, from the eu , that this is not about duplicating nato. this is not about creating alternative to nato, but this is about strengthening the european with nato. and if that's the case, we should welcome it because we need more european capabilities, we need more european capabilities on defense. for instance, the u.s. has one main -- one battle tank and in europe they have 7. it's much less scale, much more costly. so, if the european corporation can address the european defense

industry, that would be good for all of us. but european eu efforts on defense can never replace nato . partly because, if you look at the figures, when u.k. leaves eu 80% of nato's expenditures would come from noneu allies. so in no way can replace nato. this is not only about money but also about geography. if you look at geography, in the north, you have norway, iceland, north atlantic. in the south, turkey and other allies and in the west you have canada, united states and u.k. and, of course, any credible defense of europe needs those

capabilities and also the geography of this allies to be effective in defending europe, so, yes, i believe in stronger european defense. i believe in stronger eu efforts on defense. but not as alternative but something which is complementing nato. >> last time the nato strategic concept was published was in 2010. there's a lot that has happened since then. there's been the invasion of ukraine, arab spring, the migrant crisis and russian intervention in syria. is it time to update the strategic concept? >> some argue in favor of that . and i -- some people like to do that. i think that it's not a must to do so as long as we have -- as long as we are able to adapt our strategy and adapt nato to changing world. and that's exactly what is done.

so yes, we have no new strategic concept, but we have new strategy. meaning that we have proven that we have changed nato fundamentally. because we have implemented the biggest since the end of the cold war. for the first time in nato history, we have groups combat in eastern part of alliance, four battle groups in poland. we have response force. we have just agreed to new initiative with battleships, 30 escort drones ready to move within 30 days or less. we have stepped up fight against terrorism and we are doing much more when it comes to cyber and so on. as long as nato is able to change to what we do on actions

on the ground, i'm not saying that the strategic concept is not important, but i'm saying that actions are actually the most important thing and we have been able to adapt to nato. >> we have time for one more question. let me see if i can go over here. well, there's hands in the corner back there. >> hello, sir, i am student of diane morgan graduate school of national security. i've got for you a question connected with eastern flank. last year, estonian intelligence arrested two men for espionage for russia. one of them was major in estonia army headquarters. could you, sir, tell us anything about damages caused by that espionage activity? thank you.

>> what we have seen is more assertive russia, russia which has invested in many different types of capabilities also in intelligence. but i will not comment on intelligence. that will be just undermine what nato is doing and nato allies are doing in the area of intelligence. but what i can say is that because we see a more assertive russia, investing in modern capabilities, modernizing armed forces, exercising in much bigger formations as we now see in the ongoing russian exercises in the far east. and not least because russia has been willing to use military force against neighbors in georgia and ukraine. that's the reason why nato has

implemented the biggest reinforcement attempts and that's the reason why nato allies have started to invest more for the first time since the end of cold war. nato is not mirroring time by -- tank by tank or plane by plane what russia is doing but we are responding when we see security challenges are changing with a more assertive russia. then i would like to underline that russia is there to stay. russia is our neighbor and nato is not seeking confrontation with russia. but for us, there's no contradiction between being firm, strong in our approach to russia, as we are, but at the same time seeking dialogue and try to reduce tensions with russia. because russia would not go away. russia will remain our biggest neighbor.

and i know very well politician coming from norway, a small country bordering russia, that it is possible to have a firm, predictable approach to russia but at the same time, work with dialogue with russia, even during the coldest periods of the cold war, norway was able to have a working relationship with russia on defense and security issues. our military speak regularly with russian military up in the north. on energy and environment, we agree the borderline. but that was not despite nato, despite norway's membership in nato, but it was because of nato's membership in nato . because the nato membership provided the strength and the platform to engage with russia. so i say this because we will all be losers if we move to cold war and new arms race. so we have to find the balance

between being firm, predictable and delivering defense but at the same time, trying to develop a better relationship with russia including arm's control and political dialogue with russia. and that's exactly what nato is doing. >> mr. secretary, we've run out of time. we thank you for your time to come here. we know it's your first visit here but we hope to see you again in the future. maybe we can make this an annual event. but we really appreciate your speech. we appreciate the time you have spent with the audience here. it's been a very in-depth analysis and a comprehensive view of what's going on. so please everyone, join in a a round of applause for the secretary-general. [applause]

[inaudible conversations] c-span's cities tour takes you to charleston, louisiana. we will explore the literary life of lake charles saturday at noon eastern on book tv. here about how lake charles grew as a lawless home to one of the country's top manufacturers of petrochemicals through his book, "lost lake charles". >> oil and gas has always been a big heart of louisiana, as far as exploration and discovery. but it came more to fruition

with the actual refining of oil. because we had the ideal situation. we were ideally suited in terms of where rail lines crossed, where parts lines were connected, where the water gush oil was able to be moved in and out easily. >> on sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv, favorites -- a visit to moscow. -- maas ville. >> this was a beautiful, wonderful community. we had everything that there was. there was family, church, school, grocery stores. and people begin to get better jobs to show them that it could be better in the future for the next generation. >> watching c-span's cities to work of lake charles, louisiana saturday at noon eastern on c-span twos of tv and sunday at

2:00 p.m. eastern on american history tv on c-span3. working with our cable affiliates as we explore america. >> washington post reporter rob woodward is our washington journal guest monday at 7:00 a.m. eastern, talking about his new book "fear: trump in the white house". and then ken starr joins us to discuss his book, "contempt: a memoir of the clinton investigation." watch next week on c-span's washington journal. washis week, boris johnson honored with the american enterprise institute's irving kristol award. mr. johnson also sat down with aei president arthur brooks to talk about politics and you came brexit relations -- u.k. brexit relations. this is just under aur