1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:03,820 The world is on fire. 2 00:00:03,830 --> 00:00:10,540 The Middle East is being torn up by war and terrorism that have forced millions of people to flee. 3 00:00:10,540 --> 00:00:14,600 Syria looks like the disaster of a generation. 4 00:00:14,610 --> 00:00:21,310 Iran seeks to dominate the region and openly declares its intention to wipe 5 00:00:21,310 --> 00:00:23,640 a sovereign nation off the map. 6 00:00:23,650 --> 00:00:30,960 While in Eastern Europe, a resurgent Russia has seized Ukrainian territory by force of arms. 7 00:00:30,960 --> 00:00:37,840 China is flexing its muscles against its neighbors around the South China Sea. 8 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:43,060 There is only one nation in the world capable of putting out these fires. 9 00:00:43,060 --> 00:00:47,560 That nation is, of course, the United States. 10 00:00:47,570 --> 00:00:53,370 Many Americans will argue, understandably, that this is not fair. 11 00:00:53,370 --> 00:00:57,390 It may not be fair. But it is a fact. 12 00:00:57,390 --> 00:01:04,490 Only America has the diplomatic reach, the financial resources, and the firepower 13 00:01:04,490 --> 00:01:11,370 to lead the free world against the autocrats, rogue states and terrorists 14 00:01:11,370 --> 00:01:14,010 that are trying to overwhelm it. 15 00:01:14,010 --> 00:01:20,460 As the Prime Minister of Denmark from 2001 to 2009, and the secretary-general of NATO 16 00:01:20,470 --> 00:01:28,620 from 2009 to 2014, I know how important American leadership is. 17 00:01:28,620 --> 00:01:35,020 I’ve seen firsthand what happens when America tries to lead from behind 18 00:01:35,020 --> 00:01:37,540 instead of leading from the front. 19 00:01:37,540 --> 00:01:44,020 A case in point: Russia illegally annexed Crimea in March 2014 20 00:01:44,020 --> 00:01:49,360 — the first gunpoint land grab in Europe since the end of World War II. 21 00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:56,360 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called it an “unbelievable act of aggression.” 22 00:01:56,369 --> 00:02:04,290 He went on, “You just don’t, in the twenty-first century, behave in nineteenth-century fashion 23 00:02:04,290 --> 00:02:10,280 by invading another country on a completely trumped-up pretext.” 24 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:19,660 This might be an admirable statement of principle, but as a guide to policy, it is dangerously naive, 25 00:02:19,660 --> 00:02:25,220 because whether it was believable or not, it happened. 26 00:02:25,220 --> 00:02:31,500 The first half of the twentieth century was the bloodiest in human history. 27 00:02:31,500 --> 00:02:36,180 That was before America became a global superpower. 28 00:02:36,180 --> 00:02:45,060 Since America’s ascendancy, the major world powers have coexisted in relative peace. 29 00:02:45,060 --> 00:02:51,800 Now that peace is threatened, and America must step forward again. 30 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,860 Simply put, no one else can do it. 31 00:02:55,870 --> 00:03:00,040 Europe is too weak and divided to lead the world. 32 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:08,660 The free nations have an essential role to play, and they must shoulder their full share 33 00:03:08,660 --> 00:03:14,540 of the cost, but only America has the credibility to lead. 34 00:03:14,540 --> 00:03:17,840 This is not just about money or manpower. 35 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,120 It is also about morality. 36 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:29,760 Only America has the moral greatness to lead the free world—not for the sake of power, 37 00:03:29,760 --> 00:03:33,440 but for the sake of peace. 38 00:03:33,450 --> 00:03:42,220 Yet the U.S. will only be able to ensure peace if its leaders act with conviction. 39 00:03:42,220 --> 00:03:51,560 If the world even thinks that America lacks the will to use force or enforce its red lines, 40 00:03:51,560 --> 00:03:58,960 it leaves a vacuum that will be filled by corrupt autocrats, rogue states 41 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:03,020 and murderous terrorists. 42 00:04:03,020 --> 00:04:10,000 As tempting as retreat might be, it won’t make America and the other freedom-loving 43 00:04:10,010 --> 00:04:14,430 countries safer or more prosperous. 44 00:04:14,430 --> 00:04:22,130 History shows us: the bad guys don’t stay in their own neighborhoods. 45 00:04:22,130 --> 00:04:30,189 We only need to look at Pearl Harbor or 9/11 to be reminded that the safety of Americans 46 00:04:30,189 --> 00:04:34,549 is deeply connected to the rest of the world. 47 00:04:34,549 --> 00:04:42,119 And the stability that has permitted the vast and world-wide economic expansion since World 48 00:04:42,119 --> 00:04:51,259 War II, an expansion that has lifted billions of people out of poverty, could not have happened 49 00:04:51,260 --> 00:04:55,000 if America had not guaranteed it. 50 00:04:55,000 --> 00:05:01,220 But freedom, stability and prosperity don’t come for free. 51 00:05:01,220 --> 00:05:06,740 And they are not the norm–they are the exception. 52 00:05:06,740 --> 00:05:15,039 An American retreat will unleash a new plague of dictators and oppressors who seek to undo 53 00:05:15,039 --> 00:05:23,199 all the good America has done to secure peace and prosperity around the world for decades. 54 00:05:23,200 --> 00:05:29,880 And that could lead to a fire no one will be able to put out. 55 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:33,680 I’m Anders Fogh Rasmussen for Prager University.