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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

President Obama in Germany Announces New Plan for U.S. Forces; High: 250 More Special Operations Troops to Syria; Obama Urging A United Europe, Discouraging Tribalism, Encouraging EU Trade Deal. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 25, 2016 - 05:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[05:30:00] BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As they have elsewhere, barbaric terrorists have slaughtered innocent people in Paris, and Brussels, and Istanbul, and San Bernardino, California. And we see these tragedies in places central to our daily lives -- an airport or a cafe, a workplace or a theater, and it unsettles us. It makes us unsure in our day-to-day lives. Fearful, not just for ourselves, but for those that we love.

Conflicts from South Sudan to Syria to Afghanistan have sent millions fleeing, seeking the relative safety of Europe shores, but that puts new strains on countries and local communities and threatens to distort our politics.

Russian aggression has flagrantly violated the sovereignty and the territory of an independent European nation, Ukraine, and that unnerves our allies in Eastern Europe, threatening our vision of a Europe that is whole, feel, and at peace. And it seems to threaten the progress that's been made since the end of the Cold War.

Slow economic growth in Europe, especially in the south, has left millions unemployed, including a generation of young people without jobs and who may look to the future with diminishing hopes. And all these persistent challenges have led some to question whether European integration can long endure. Whether you might be better off separating off, redrawing some of the barriers and the walls between nations that existed in the 20th century.

Across our countries, including the United States, a lot of workers and families are still struggling to recover from the worst economic crisis in generations. And that trauma of millions who lost their jobs, and their homes, and their savings is still felt.

Meanwhile, there are profound trends underway that have been going on for decades -- globalization, automation that, in some cases, have depressed wages and made workers in a weaker position to bargain for better working conditions.

Wages have stagnated in many advanced countries while other costs have gone up. Inequality has increased and for many people it's harder than ever just to hold on. This is happening in Europe. We see some of these trends in the United States and across the advanced economies, and these concerns and anxieties are real. They are legitimate. They cannot be ignored and they deserve solutions from those in power.

Unfortunately, in the vacuum, if we do not solve these problems you start seeing those who would try to exploit these fears and frustrations and channel them in a disruptive way. A creeping emergence of the kind of politics that the European project was founded to reject. An 'us versus them' mentality that tries to blame our problems on the other. Somebody who doesn't look like us or doesn't pray like us. Whether it's immigrants or Muslims, or somebody who's deemed different than us.

And you see increasing intolerance in our politics and loud voices get the most attention. It reminds you of the poem by the great Irish poet, W.B. Yeats, where the best lack all conviction and the worst are full of passionate intensity. So, this is a defining moment and what happens on this continent has consequences for people around the globe.

If a unified, peaceful, liberal, pluralistic, free-market Europe begins to doubt itself, begins to question the progress that's been made over the last several decades, then we can't expect the progress that is just now taking hold in many places around the world will continue.

[05:35:00] Instead, we will be empowering those who argue that democracy can't work. That intolerance and tribalism, and organizing ourselves along ethnic lines, and authoritarianism, and restrictions on the press -- that those are the things that the challenges of today demand.

So I've come here today, to the heart of Europe, to say that the United States and the entire world needs a strong, and prosperous, and democratic, and united Europe. (Applause) And perhaps you need an outsider, somebody who's not European, to remind you of the magnitude of what you have achieved.

The progress that I described was made possible, in large measure, by ideals that originated on this continent in a great enlightenment and the founding of new republics. Of course, that progress didn't travel a straight line. In the last century, twice in just 30 years, the forces of empire, and intolerance, and extreme nationalism consumed this continent and cities like this one were largely reduced to rubble.

Tens of millions of men, and women, and children were killed. But from the ruins of the Second World War our nation set out to remake the world. To build a new international order and the institutions to uphold it. A United Nations to prevent another world war in and advance a more just and lasting peace.

International financial institutions, like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to promote prosperity for all peoples. A universal declaration of human rights to advance the inalienable rights of all members of the human family. And here in Europe, giants like Chancellor Adenauer, set out to bind old adversaries through commerce and through trade. As Adenauer said in those early days, European unity was a dream of a few. It became a hope for the many. Today it is a necessity for all of us. (Applause). And it wasn't easy. Old animosities had to be overcome. National pride had to be joined with a commitment to a common good. Complex questions of sovereignty and burden sharing had to be answered.

And at every step, the impulse to pull back -- for each country to go its own way -- had to be resisted. More than once, skeptics predicted the demise of this great project but the vision of European unity soldiered on. And having defended Europe's freedom in war, America stood with you every step of this journey.

A marshall plan to rebuild, an airlift to save Berlin, a NATO alliance to defend our way of life. America's commitment to Europe was captured by a young American president, John F. Kennedy, when he stood in a free West Berlin and declared freedom is indivisible and when one man is enslaved all are not free.

With strength and resolve, and the power of our ideals, and a belief in a unified Europe, we didn't simply end the Cold War, freedom won. Germany was reunited. You welcomed new democracies into an even ever closer union.

[05:40:00] You may argue over whose football clubs are better, vote for different singers on Eurovision, but your accomplishment -- more than 500 million people speaking 24 languages in 28 countries, 19 with a common currency, in one European Union remains one of the greatest political and economic achievements of modern times. (Applause)

Yes, European unity can require frustrating compromise. It adds layers of government that can slow decision-making. I understand. I've been in meetings with the European Commission (laughter).And, as am American, we're famously disdainful of government.

We understand how easy to it must be to vent at Brussels and complain, but remember that every member of your union is a democracy. That's not an accident. Remember that no EU country has raised arms against another. That's not an accident.

Remember that NATO is as strong as it's ever been. Remember that our market economies, as Angela and I saw this morning, are the greatest generators of innovation and wealth and opportunity in history. Our freedom, our quality of life, remains the envy of the world, so much so that parents are willing to walk across deserts, cross the seas on makeshift rafts, risk everything in the hope of giving their children the blessings that we -- that you enjoy. Blessings that you cannot take for granted.

This continent, in the 20th century, was at constant war. People starved on this continent. Families were separated on this continent. And now, people desperately want to come here precisely because of what you've created. You can't take that for granted. And today, more than ever, a strong united Europe remains, as Adenauer said, a necessity for all of us. It's a necessity for the United States because Europe's security and prosperity is inherently indivisible from our own. We can't cut ourselves off from you. Our economies are integrated, our cultures are integrated, our peoples are integrated. You saw the response of the American people to Paris and Brussels. It's because in our imaginations this is our cities.

A strong united Europe is a necessity for the world because an integrated Europe remains vital to our international order. Europe helps to uphold the norms and rules that can maintain peace and promote prosperity around the world. Consider what we've done in recent years pulling the global economy back from the brink of depression and putting the world back on the path of recovery.

A comprehensive deal that's cut off every single one of Iran's paths to a nuclear bomb. Part of a shared vision of a world without nuclear weapons. In Paris, the most ambitious agreement in history fights climate change. (Applause) Stopping Ebola in West Africa, saving countless lives. Rallying the world around new, sustainable development, including our goal to end extreme poverty.

[05:45:00] None of those things could have happened if I -- if the United States did not have a partnership with a strong and united Europe. (Applause) It wouldn't have happened. That's what's possible when Europe and America and the world stand as one. And that's precisely what we're going to need to face down the very real dangers that we face today.

So, let me just lay out the kind of cooperation that we're going to need. We need a strong Europe to bear its share of the burden, working with us on behalf of our collective security. The United States has an extraordinary military, the best the world's ever known. But, the nature of today's threats means we can't deal with these challenges by ourselves.

Right now the most urgent threat to our nations is ISIL and that's why we're united in our determination to destroy it. And all 28 NATO allies are contributing to our coalition, whether it's striking ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq or supporting the air campaign, or training local forces in Iraq, or providing critical humanitarian aid. And we continue to make progresspushing ISIL back from territory that it controls.

And just as I've approved additional support for Iraqi forces against ISIL, I've decided to increase U.S. support for local forces fighting ISIL in Syria. A small number of American special operations forces are already on the ground in Syria and their expertise has been critical as local forces have driven ISIL out of key areas. So, given the success, I've approved the deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria, including Special Forces, to keep up this momentum.

They're not going to be leading the fight on the ground but they will be essential in providing the training and assisting local forces that continue to drive ISIL back. So make no mistake. These terrorists will learn the same lesson as others before them have, which is your hatred is no match for our nations united in the defense of our way of life.

And just as we remain relentless on the military front, we're not going to give up on diplomacy to end the civil war in Syria because the suffering of the Syrian people has to end and that requires and effective political transition. (Applause) But this remains a difficult fight and none of us can solve this problem by ourselves.

Even as European countries make important contributions against ISIL, Europe, including NATO, can still do more. So, I've spoken to Chancellor Merkel and I'll be meeting later with the president of France and the prime ministers of Great Britain and of Italy.

In Syria and Iraq, we need more nations contributing to their campaign. We need more nations contributing trainers to help build up local forces in Iraq. We need more nations to contribute economic assistance to Iraq so it can stabilize liberated areas and break the cycle of violent extremism so that ISIL cannot come back.

These terrorists are doing everything in their power to strike our cities and kill our citizens to we need to do everything in our power to stop them, and that includes closing gaps so terrorists can't pull off attacks like those in Paris and Brussels.

Which brings me to one other point. Europeans, like Americans, cherish your privacy and many are skeptical about governments collecting and sharing information for good reason. That skepticism is healthy. Germans remember their history of government surveillance. So do Americans, by the way, particularly those who were fighting on behalf of civil rights, so it's part of our Democritus to want to make sure our governments are accountable.

But I want to say this to young people who value their privacy and spend a lot of time on their phones. The threat of terrorism is real. In the United States, I've worked to reform our surveillance programs to ensure that they are consistent with the rule of law and upholding our values, like privacy. And, by the way, we include the privacy of people outside of the United States. We care about Europeans' privacy, not just Americans' privacy.

[05:50:00] But I also, in working on these issues, have come to recognize security and privacy don't have to be a contradiction. We can protect both, and we have to. If we truly value our liberty then we have to take the steps that are necessary to share information and intelligence within Europe, as well as between the United States and Europe, to stop terrorists from traveling and crossing borders and killing innocent people.

And as today's diffuse threats evolve, our alliance has to evolve. So we're going to have a NATO summit this summer in Warsaw and I will insist that all of us need to meet our responsibilities, united, together. That means standing with the people of Afghanistan as they build their security forces and push back against violent extremism.

It means more ships in Aegean to shut down criminal networks who are profiting by smuggling desperate families and children. And that said, NATO's central mission is, and always will be, our solemn duty. Our Article 5 commitment to our common defense. And that's why we'll continue to bolster the defense of our frontline allies in Poland, and Romania, and the Baltic states.

So, we have to both make sure that NATO carries out its traditional mission but also to meet the threats of NATO's southern flank. We have to defend the security of every ally. That's why we need to stay nimble and make sure our forces interoperable and invest in new capabilities like cyber defense and missile defense.

And that's why every NATO member should be contributing its full share, 2 percent of GDP, towards our common security. Something that doesn't always happen. And I'll be honest, sometimes Europe has been complacent about its own defense. And just as we stand firm in our own defense we have to uphold our most basic principles of our international order, and that's a principle that nations like Ukraine have the right to choose their own destiny.

Remember that it was Ukrainians on the Maidan, many of them your age, reaching out for a future with Europe that prompted Russia to send in its military. After all that Europe endured in the 20th century, we must not allow borders to be redrawn by brute force in the 21st century. So we should keep helping Ukraine with its reforms to improve its economy, and consolidate its democracy, and modernize its forces to protect its independence.

And I want good relations with Russia and have invested a lot in good relations with Russia, but we need to keep sanctions on Russia in place until Russia fully implements the Minsk agreements that Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande and others have worked so hard to maintain and provide a path for a political resolution of this issue.

And ultimately, it is my fervent hope that Russia recognizes that true greatness comes not from bullying neighbors but by working with the world, which is the only way to deliver lasting economic growth and progress to the Russian people.

Now, our collective security rests on a foundation of prosperity, so that brings me to my next point. The world needs a prosperous and growing Europe. Not just a strong Europe but a prosperous and growing Europe that generates good jobs and wages for its people. As I mentioned before, the economic anxieties many feel today on both sides of the Atlantic are real.

The disruptive changes brought about by the global economy, unfortunately, sometimes are hitting certain groups, especially working class communities, more heavily. And if neither the burdens nor the benefits of our global economy are being fairly distributed it's no wonder the people rise up and reject globalization.

If there are too few winners and too many losers as the global economy integrates, people are going to push back. So all of us in positions of power have a responsibility as leaders of government, and business, and civil society, to help people realize the promise of economic and security in this integrated economy. [05:55:00] And the good news is we know how to do it, sometimes we just lack the political will to do it. In the United States our economy is growing again but the United States can't be the sole engine of global growth, and countries should not have to choose between responding to crises and investing in their people. So we need to pursue reforms to position us for long-term prosperity and support, demand, and invest in the future.

All of our countries, for example, could be investing more in infrastructure. All of our countries need to invest in science and research and development that sparks new innovation and new industries. All of our countries have to invest in our young people and make sure that they have the skills and the training and the education they need to adapt to this rapidly changing world.

All of our countries need to worry about inequality and make sure that workers are getting a fair share of the incredible productivity that technology and global supply chains are producing. But, if you're really concerned about inequality -- if you're really concerned about the plight of workers -- if you're a progressive, it's my firm belief that you can't turn inward. That's not the right answer.

We have to keep increasing the trade and investment that supports jobs, as we're working to do between the United States and the EU. We need to keep implementing reforms to our banking and financial systems so that the excesses and abuses that trigger the financial crisis never happen again, but we can't do that invidiously nation by nation because finance now is transnational. It moves around too fast.

If we're not coordinating between Europe, and the United States, and Asia, then it won't work. As the world's been reminded in recent weeks, we need to close loopholes that allow corporations and wealthy individuals to avoid paying their fair share of taxes through tax havens and tax avoidance. Trillions of dollars that could be going towards pressing needs like education, and health care, and infrastructure.

But to do that we have to work together. Here in Europe as you work to strengthen your union, including through labor and banking reforms and by ensuring growth across the Eurozone, you will have the staunch support of the United States. But, you're going to have to do it together because your economies are too integrated to try to solve these problems on your own.

And I want to repeat, we have to confront the injustice of widening economic inequality, but that is going to require collective work because capital is mobile and if only a few countries are worrying about it then a lot of businesses will head towards places that don't care about it quite as much.

For a lot of years it was thought that countries had to choose between economic growth and economic inclusion. Now we know the truth. When wealth is increasingly concentrated among the few at the top, it's not only a moral challenge to us, but it actually drags down a country's growth potential. We need growth that is broad and lifts everybody up. We need tax policies that do right by working families. And those like me, who support European unity and free trade, also have a profound responsibility to champion strong protections for workers. A living wage and the right to organize, and a strong safety net. And a commitment to protect consumers and their environment upon which we all depend.

If we really want to reduce inequality we've got to make sure everyone who works hard gets a fair shot, and that's especially true for young people like you with education, and job training, and quality health care, and good wages. And that includes, by the way, making sure that there's equal pay for equal work for women. (Applause)

The point is we have to reform many of our economies, but the answer to reform is not to start cutting ourselves off from each other. Rather, it's to work together. And this brings me back to where I began. The world depends upon a democratic Europe that upholds the principles of pluralism and diversity and freedom and that are a common creed.