Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05VIENNA1065
2005-04-01 15:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:  

CHANCELLOR SCHUESSEL PRAISES U.S. ROLE IN

Tags:  PREL AU 
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UNCLAS VIENNA 001065 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS AND INR/EU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL AU
SUBJECT: CHANCELLOR SCHUESSEL PRAISES U.S. ROLE IN
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT


UNCLAS VIENNA 001065

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS AND INR/EU

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL AU
SUBJECT: CHANCELLOR SCHUESSEL PRAISES U.S. ROLE IN
DEMOCRATIC DEVELOPMENT



1. In a March 31 speech commemorating the fiftieth
anniversary of Austrian statehood, Chancellor Schuessel
underlined the crucial role American power and generosity
played in securing Austria's re-emergence as a nation in the
post-World War II period. Schuessel added that it is well
documented that when communists took power in Prague and
Budapest in 1948, the Austrian Communist Party (KPO) had
similar, detailed plans to seize power in Vienna. Without
the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, as well as adept
maneuvering by a bipartisan group of Austrian politicians, he
noted, Austria would have fallen into the Soviet sphere of
influence. Schuessel stressed that the Truman Doctrine
defined a consistent, though "not always perfectly applied"
USG foreign policy objective -- assisting nations to build
democratic societies.


2. Schuessel observed that the historical continuum of
democratic development in post-War Europe lasted from the
Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan to the signing of the
Austrian State Treaty in 1955, and on to the fall of the Iron
Curtain in 1989. According to Schuessel, the process
continues today. Developments in Ukraine, Georgia and
Kyrgyzstan were unequivocally positive, he said, and there is
now new hope for Afghanistan and Iraq. Schuessel opined that
a "good European foreign policy" should proactively seek new
opportunities to promote democracy. The Balkans, in
Schuessel's opinion, is a region where Europe can do more to
foster stability and democracy. Schuessel noted that the EU
now accounted for 90% of the financial and personnel
resources for peacekeeping operations in the Balkans. He
added that the increased European involvement complemented
transatlantic strategies in other regions.
Brown