Live updates: Obama’s European speech

Obama wrapped up his speech just before 1:53 Eastern. The speech lasted under 40 minutes.

From Slate.

President Obama, whose presidential campaign in 2008 took off in large part because of his criticism of the Iraq war, actually used that war as a contrast to what Russia is doing in Ukraine.

Here’s what Obama said, per the transcript:

“It is true that the Iraq War was a subject of vigorous debate – not just around the world, but in the United States as well. I happened to oppose our military intervention there. But even in Iraq, America sought to work within the international system. We did not claim or annex Iraq’s territory, nor did we grab its resources for our own gain. Instead, we ended our war and left Iraq to its people and a fully sovereign Iraqi state could make decisions about its own future.”

Supporters of Russia have suggested the West shouldn’t criticize the Ukraine incursion because of its own role in conflicts in Iraq and Kosovo.

Obama also addressed the Kosovo critique:

“But NATO only intervened after the people of Kosovo were systematically brutalized and killed for years. And Kosovo only left Serbia after a referendum was organized – not outside the boundaries of international law – but in careful cooperation with the United Nations, and with Kosovo’s neighbors. None of that happened in Crimea.”

… can be found here.

Obama essentially dismissed Russia’s excuse for stationing troops on Ukraine’s border, saying there is no reason to think that ethnic Russians in Ukraine require protection.

“There is no evidence — never has been — of systemic violence of ethnic Russians in Ukraine,” Obama said.

Obama starts talking directly about Russia…

“This is not another Cold War that we’re entering into. After all, unlike the Soviet Union, Russia leads no block of nations” or set of ideals.

President Obama appeared to have some words for his critics, saying that he believes ideals of human dignity and rights win conflicts but that he wasn’t being naive about it.

“I believe this not because I’m naive … or because of the strength of our arms,” Obama said. “I believe because these ideals are true, these ideals are universal.”

Obama added that he thinks the Ukrainian people will eventually succeed.

“None of us know for certain what the coming days will bring in Ukraine,” Obama said. “But I’m confident that eventually those voices for human dignity … ultimately will triumph.”

President Obama hasn’t mentioned Russia yet, but he did make a not-so-veiled allusion to the fact that the United States won the Cold War.

“For decades a contest was waged, and ultimately that contest was won — not by tanks or missiles, but because our ideal stirred the hearts of Hungarians who sparked a revolution,” Obama said.

Obama also cited the resistance of Czechs and East Berliners.

“Today what would have seemed impossible in the trenches of Flanders, the rubble of Berlin, a dissident’s prison cell — that reality is taken for granted,” Obama said.

Obama said the specter of an older view of power still hangs over Europe.

“Those ideals have often been threatened by an older, more traditional view of power,” Obama said, describing it as a view “that order and progress can only happen when individuals surrender their rights to an all-powerful sovereign.”

“It is easy to love a country famous for chocolate and beer.”

After a delay, the program has begun, and President Obama is expected to speak shortly.

The speech was set for 12:45 p.m. Eastern, but President Obama has been delayed.

It’s not yet clear what time he’ll speak.

Much has been written in recent weeks about the 2012 clash between Obama and Mitt Romney over Russia’s role in the world.

Romney said Russia was the United States’s No. 1 geopolitical threat, and Obama criticized him for having a dated foreign policy outlook.

Now that Russia looms so large, Obama was asked about this on Tuesday. His response was to call Russia a “regional power” and to say much bigger threats loom.

Romney didn’t take too much issue with that. He said in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night that, while Russia maintains a large role in world politics, it isn’t actually a direct threat to the United States.

“This is a nation which I don’t see as a threat to us,” Romney said. “But in terms of who’s playing politically against America, of course it’s Russia, and of course the president recognizes that. He may not want to say it, but of course he recognizes that on the playing field of the United Nations and geopolitics, it’s Russia.”

A subplot of Obama’s speech today is another revelation in the ongoing controversy over the conduct of Secret Service agents.

The Washington Post broke this story on Tuesday night, after three agents were put on administrative leave for a night of drinking. One of them was found passed out in the hallway, according to people familiar with the incident.

From Carol D. Leonnig and David Nakamura:

The hotel staff alerted the U.S. Embassy in the Netherlands after finding the unconscious agent Sunday morning, a day before Obama arrived in the country, according to two of the people. The embassy then alerted Secret Service managers on the presidential trip, which included the agency’s director, Julia Pierson.

Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan confirmed Tuesday evening that the agency “did send three employees home for disciplinary reasons” and that they were put on administrative leave pending an investigation. Donovan declined to comment further.The alleged incident took place in Noordwijk at the Huis Ter Duin Hotel, where the president stayed Monday night, a White House official said Wednesday morning. This is a resort town in the Netherlands about 15 minutes outside The Hague.According to two people familiar with the Amsterdam incident, the three are members of the Secret Service’s Counter Assault Team, known in the agency as CAT.

The alleged behavior would violate Secret Service rules ­adopted in the wake of a damaging scandal in Cartagena, Colombia, in April 2012, when a dozen agents and officers had been drinking heavily and had brought prostitutes back to their hotel rooms before the president’s arrival for an economic summit.

Expect Obama to spend some of his speech urging NATO allies for some more buy-in when it comes to keeping Russia in check.

Obama has already made comments on that today. Here’s the recap of his press conference:

President Obama warned European leaders Wednesday that nations must “chip in” fairly to ensure a NATO capable of deterring an expansionist Russia, and he placed the responsibility largely on the continent to resolve its dependence on Russian energy.Speaking at a news conference after meeting with European Union leaders, Obama noted that he has been concerned by declining defense budgets among some NATO members, a complaint he has allowed other administration officials to make in the past.

His words were a pointed reminder that despite U.S. involvement in seeking to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from advancing further beyond Russia’s borders, European leaders must be ready to pay more for their defense.“If we have collective defense, it means everyone’s got to chip in,” Obama said, appearing after meeting with Herman Van Rompuy, president of the European Council, and Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission.