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AMERICA’S TOP DIPLOMAT has told the Munich Security Conference that he believes the “rules based order” was an “overused term”, rounded on “a climate change cult” and told delegates that UN diplomacy will not solve the world’s problems.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was speaking this morning on day two of the Munich Security Conference. His much anticipated speech came a year after US Vice President JD Vance’s diatribe against Europe.
Last year Vance launched a tirade against what he said was Europe’s failure to adequately fund its own security.
Rubio’s speech this year was much more conciliatory in tone than Vance and said that the US and Europe to work together.
The speech began with comments about how Europe overcame, with America, World War One and Two and spoke of the collapse of the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain.
“But the euphoria of this triumph led us to a dangerous delusion that we had entered, the end of history, that every nation would now be a liberal democracy, that the ties formed by trade and by commerce alone would now replace nationhood, that the rules based global order, an overused term, would now replace the national interest, and that we would now live in a world without borders, where everyone became a citizen of the world.
“This was a foolish idea that ignored both human nature and it ignored the lessons of over 5,000 years of recorded human history, and it has cost us dearly,” he said.
Rubio went on to say that the world “embraced a dogmatic vision of free and unfettered trade”. He claimed this caused nations to protect their economies by subsidising their companies to systematically undercut US firms. He claimed this was the cause of US industry shutting down and the deindustrialisation of cities in America.
Rubio’s speech was heavy on US victimhood as he went on to round on the impact of mass migration and claimed that nations have used “hard power to pursue their own interests to appease a climate cult”.
He said the energy policies imposed in climate change actions have impoverished “our people” and that competitors have used oil, gas and coal to power their economies and use “as leverage against our own”.
“We made these mistakes together, and now together, we owe it to our people to face those facts and to move forward, to rebuild under President Trump.
“The United States of America will once again take on the task of renewal and restoration, driven by a vision of a future as proud, as sovereign and as vital as our civilisations past.
“And while we are prepared, if necessary, to do this alone, it is our preference, and it is our hope to do this together with you, our friends here in Europe,” he added.
In his comments on the United Nations Rubio said that the body has played “virtually no role” in resolving conflicts.
He said the UN has “tremendous potential to be a tool for good in the world” but said there needs to be reform of its institutions.
“But we cannot ignore that, today, on the most pressing matters before us, it has no answers and has played virtually no role. It could not solve the war in Gaza.”
He claimed that it was American leadership that “freed captives from barbarians and brought about a fragile truce”.
Rubio said that the UN has not solved the war in Ukraine and that it was again America in partnership with other countries to bring about talks towards peace. He said the body was unable to control the Iranian nuclear programme and the activities of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
“In a perfect world, all of these problems and more would be solved by diplomats and strongly worded resolutions.
“But we do not live in a perfect world, and we cannot continue to allow those who blatantly and openly threaten our citizens and endanger our global stability to shield themselves behind abstractions of international law, which they themselves routinely violate.”
He concluded his speech by sending a message to Europe that the US wants to continue its close relationship with Europe.
“So in a time of headlines heralding the end of the transatlantic era, let it be known and clear to all that this is neither our goal nor our wish, because for us Americans, our home may be in the Western Hemisphere, but we will always be a child of Europe,” he added.
In a brief exchange with the chair of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Isinger Rubio said that the talks for peace in Ukraine were continuing but that the negotiations had reached the “hardest questions”.
Later today, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will speak at the event.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been speaking also this morning about the importance of European independence in security.
She said the EU will continue to be “relentless in its support of Ukraine”.
“This is a true European awakening, and it is only the beginning of what we need to do,” she said.
She added that EU and British interests were bound closer than ever, despite ten years since Brexit.
Von der Leyen said there is a lot at stake for Europe but that the defence investment will also “supercharge” economic growth across the continent.
Irish Defence and Foreign Affairs Minister Helen McEntee is attending the event today and has been having meetings in the city. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also address the conference.
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