Remarks by the President at NATO Press Conference
The White House
Office of the Press Secretary
South Building
Chicago, Illinois
3:26 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Good afternoon, everybody. Let me begin by saying thank you to my great friend, Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of the city of Chicago and to all my neighbors and friends, the people of the city of Chicago for their extraordinary hospitality and for everything that they’ve done to make this summit such a success. I could not be prouder to welcome people from around the world to my hometown.
This was a big undertaking, some 60 world leaders not to mention folks who were exercising their freedom of speech and assembly, the very freedoms that our alliance are dedicated to defending. And so it was a lot to carry for the people of Chicago, but this is a city of big shoulders. Rahm, his team, Chicagoans proved that this world-class city knows how to put on a world-class event.
And partly, this was a perfect city for this summit because it reflected the bonds between so many of our countries. For generations, Chicago has welcomed immigrants from around the world, including an awful lot of our NATO allies. And I’d just add that I have lost track of the number of world leaders and their delegations who came up to me over the last day and a half and remarked on what an extraordinarily beautiful city Chicago is. And I could not agree more.
I am especially pleased that I had a chance to show them Soldier Field. I regret that I was not able to take in one of the Crosstown Classics, although I will note that my teams did okay. (Laughter.) Now — White Sox fan in the back. (Laughter.) Right on.
Now, as I said yesterday, NATO has been the bedrock of common security, freedom and prosperity for nearly 65 years. It hasn’t just endured. It has thrived, because our nations are stronger when we stand together. We saw that, of course, most recently in Libya, where NATO afforded capabilities that no one else in the world could match.
As President,
You can read the rest of this article at:: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/05/21/remarks-president-nato-press-conference
Short URL: http://thepresidency.us/?p=16296
Posted by RobertButler
on May 21 2012. Filed under Barack Obama.
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