Posts mit dem Label US werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen
Posts mit dem Label US werden angezeigt. Alle Posts anzeigen

Dienstag, 5. Juni 2012

USA-DEUTSCHLAND: "65 Jahre Marshallplan" von U.S. Botschafter Philip D. Murphy


U.S. Botschafter Philip D. Murphy zum 65. Jahrestag des Marshallplans am 5. Juni 2012

USA-DEUTSCHLAND  65 Jahre Marshallplan

von U.S. Botschafter Philip D. Murphy

BERLIN – (AD) – Nachfolgend veröffentlichen wir den Namensartikel von US-Botschafter Philip D. Murphy zum 65. Jahrestag des Marshallplans, der zunächst am 5. Juni 2012 im Berliner Tagesspiegel erschien.

"Heute vor 65 Jahren hielt Außenminister George C. Marshall die Abschlussrede an der Harvard University

Diese Reden sollen die Absolventen inspirieren, in die Welt hinauszugehen und Großes zu leisten. 

Seine zwölfminütige Rede inspirierte die Welt, zusammenzurücken und Großes zu leisten. Angesichts der Situation 1947 waren große Taten dringend erforderlich. Nach einem verheerenden Krieg waren Inspiration und andere greifbarere Güter Mangelware.

Auftritt Außenminister Marshall: 

An jenem Junimorgen 1947 kündigte er einen Plan über wirtschaftliche Unterstützung für die zerstörten Länder Europas an. 

Er erklärte, warum es im Interesse der Vereinigten Staaten sei, Europa beim Wiederaufbau zu helfen. 

Das allein war schon bedeutend, aber was den Marshallplan so revolutionär machte, war die völlig neue Art wirtschaftlicher und politischer Zusammenarbeit, denn Kooperation war die Voraussetzung für Unterstützung. 

Viele Länder waren skeptisch, insbesondere, was eine uneingeschränkte Partnerschaft Deutschlands mit dem Westen anging. 

Aber die widrigen Bedingungen im Nachkriegseuropa und die Logik der Wiederaufbaupläne überzeugten sie, wie wichtig Einigkeit war. Und das Ergebnis? Europa hat sich von einem von Krieg und Zwietracht zerrissenen Kontinent zu einer Union von Ländern und Idealen entwickelt, die sich für eine Welt mit mehr Sicherheit, Demokratie und Wohlstand einsetzen.

Heute sind Marshallplan und Erfolg Synonyme. 

Wie oft hören wir Forderungen nach einem neuen Marshallplan für Krisenregionen? 

Es ist aber wichtig, den Marshallplan nicht nur als Finanzspritze zu verstehen. 

Wir erinnern an den Marshallplan als Modell für gemeinsames Handeln. Meines Erachtens ist er ein sinnvolles Modell, das heute ebenso relevant ist wie damals.

Der Marshallplan war kurz- und langfristig eine sinnvolle Investition. Außenminister Marshall richtete seinen Ruf nach Unterstützung der Vereinigten Staaten für das zerstörte Europa an einen Kongress und kriegsmüde Amerikaner, die keine neuen Verpflichtungen eingehen wollten. 

Im Sommer 1947 wendete sich das Blatt langsam. Im Herbst lautete die Frage nicht mehr, ob Hilfe beim Wiederaufbau geleistet würde, sondern wie viel und in welcher Form. In den folgenden vier Jahren erhielten 17 Länder 13,3 Milliarden US-Dollar an Zuschüssen und Darlehen, teils in Form von Lebensmitteln, Rohstoffen und technischer Hilfe. Das entspräche heute mehr als 140 Milliarden US-Dollar. 

Ebenso wie es beim Marshallplan nicht nur um Geld ging, kann auch seine Rendite nicht nur in Zahlen gemessen werden. 

Die Erfahrungen mit dem Marshallplan zeigen, dass sich kluge Investitionen - in Verbindung mit harter Arbeit, guten Ideen, Eigenverantwortung und Engagement für Ideale wie Gleichheit, Freiheit und Chancen - auszahlen. 

Damals und möglicherweise auch heute argumentierten einige, dass die Motive für den Marshallplan nicht rein altruistischer Natur waren. Das stimmt. 

Schon damals hatte man erkannt, was sich in den folgenden 65 Jahren vielfach bestätigt hat - auch hier in Deutschland: 

Unsere gemeinsame Zukunft hängt von wirtschaftlich erfolgreichen und demokratischen Gesellschaften ab – und zwar überall. Daher war der Marschallplan die richtige Entscheidung – für die Vereinigten Staaten, für Europa, für die Welt. 

Außenministerin Clinton formuliert es so: 

„Europa ist der Eckpfeiler des weltweiten amerikanischen Engagements.“

Heute können wir als starke transatlantische Partner die Herausforderungen einer komplexen, globalisierten Welt mit den gleichen Grundsätzen, der gleichen Energie und Zuversicht angehen wie vor 65 Jahren.
An diesem Jahrestag dürfen wir diese Lehre der Vergangenheit nicht vergessen. Wenn wir der Helden der Geschichte – wie George C. Marshall – gedenken, dürfen wir nicht vergessen, dass wir es sind, die die Geschichte der Zukunft schreiben.

Diese Botschaft war die richtige für Harvard 1947, aber sie ist auch die richtige für 2012, in den Vereinigten Staaten oder hier in Deutschland.

Es ist eine Botschaft, an die wir uns alle erinnern sollten".

Herausgeber:

US-Botschaft Berlin, Abteilung für öffentliche Angelegenheiten



Sonntag, 30. Januar 2011

Jeff Zients Will Lead Reorganization of Federal Government | The White House




posted by Dan Pfeiffer


"As the President said in the State of the Union address, winning the future will take doing what we can do now to prepare America to compete in the global economy for decades to come. 

That means out-educating, out-innovating, and out-building our competition; restoring fiscal responsibility to remove the burden of deficits and debt; and reforming our government so that it is more effective, efficient, and open to the American people. 

As the President put it, “We cannot win the future with a government of the past.”

The fact is that we live and do business in the information age, but the last major reorganization of the government happened in the middle of the last century. 

Over the past few decades, there has not been a business or large organization that has not rethought, retooled, and revamped how they did their job to respond to a growing, more competitive global economy and an ever-changing technology landscape. 

Yet too often, it seems that the federal government is stuck in the age of black-and-white television while we are competing in the age of the iPad.

For millions of Americans, this can lead to frustrating encounters trying to get the services you need and a waste of taxpayer dollars. 

For many businesses, it means that they may not have all the assistance they need to compete around the world. 

For instance, we have more than a dozen different agencies involved in exports. 

They all work with well with each other, but this is certainly not the optimal organization or allocation of resources if you were designing a system from scratch.

The US-President believes that we need to reform our government to make it better organized and better equipped to support American competitiveness. 

We want to ensure that we're aligning all of the resources we have into negotiating the best agreements, enforcing our trade rights, supporting our exporters and promoting their products.

That is why the President has asked Jeffrey Zients, our nation’s first Chief Performance Officer (CPO), to lead our reorganization effort. 

Our first focus will be looking at trade and exports to see how we can better reform these functions to give American companies a leg up in the global economy.

For the past two years as CPO and Deputy Director for Management of OMB, Jeff has led our Accountable Government Initiative (AGI), the President’s initiative to make government more efficient and effective, open and responsive. 

On his watch, we have cut government waste, bringing down the amount of improper payments on our way of reducing them by $50 billion by 2012; starting to get rid of unused federal buildings and property; overhauled how IT is purchased and used, saving billions; and deployed the latest technologies to make it easier of people to get the information and services they need from their government.

Jeff’s years of private sector experience means that he brings a unique perspective to his job as CPO and to this new assignment. 

Having been a CEO, management consultant, and entrepreneur, Jeff has a deep understanding of business strategy, process reengineering and operational management. 

In fact, Jeff spent the majority of his career leading two companies that help corporations around the world improve their performance by adopting best management practices. 

The US-President has also asked Lisa Brown to take on a new position and work with Jeff on this endeavor. 

Lisa is currently Assistant to the President and Staff Secretary and previously served as Co-Chair of the Agency Review Working Group for the Obama-Biden Transition Project. 

In these capacities and from her prior government service, she has developed a keen understanding of how the executive branch works. 

Lisa Brown also brings management and legal acumen, having run a national non-profit organization and been a partner at a DC law firm.

Jeff and Lisa will draw on the resources of OMB to launch and run this effort, and they will be reaching out to the business community, experts, those who run these programs, members of Congress, and a wide range of stakeholders and citizens to get their input about how government can be reformed to best work for them. I

know that we all look forward to working with Jeff and Lisa on this important effort and to helping to create a better organized and more effective federal government.

Dan Pfeiffer is the White House's Communications Director
 
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Will 'Win The Future' Be A Winner For Obama? : NPR



Montag, 17. Januar 2011

German Missions in the United States - Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award




Jan 16, 2011
Ambassador Scharioth speaks
Enlarge image

Dr. King's message even inspired many of the East German protestors who brought down the Berlin Wall, Ambassador Scharioth said. (© Germany.info)

 

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s timeless message of courage, hope and nonviolence resonated throughout the United States but also throughout Germany, where he visited in 1964, German Ambassador Klaus Scharioth said this weekend as he was honored as a recipient of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award for International Service.

“Dr. King’s life and work became known and admired by Germans in both East and West, when he visited West and East Berlin in 1964,” Ambassador Scharioth said.

“Through his charismatic personality and belief in the power of nonviolence, Dr. King touched the hearts and minds of people on both sides of the Atlantic—and on both sides of the Berlin Wall.”, so Ambassador Scharioth.


The award was presented to Ambassador Scharioth on Sunday, January 16, at the International Salute to the Life and Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, an annual celebration in Washington, DC, honoring international and national figures who embody the legacy and ideals of the civil rights leader.


Ambassador Scharioth with Fellow Honorees and Committee Members
Enlarge image Ambassador Scharioth hosted a dinner for his fellow honorees and for the International Salute Committee on the evening before the award ceremony. Second from left, Dr. Koh, Ambassador Scharioth, Representative Watson, Founding Chairman Brown, Chairwoman Lawson, Secretary General Insulza. (© Germany.info)

As honorary chair of this year’s salute, Ambassador Scharioth hosted a dinner at his residence for his fellow honorees and for the International Salute Committee on Saturday, January 15, which would have been Dr. King’s 82nd birthday.

Guests included fellow honorees former US Representative Diane Watson (D-CA); José Miguel Insulza, Secretary General of the Organization of American States; and Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health at the US Department of Health and Human Services. Madeline Y. Lawson, Chairwoman of the International Salute Committee and President and CEO of the Institute for the Advancement of Multicultural & Minority Medicine, and Henry H. Brown, Founding Chairman of the International Salute Committee, were also among the honored guests.

In his remarks, Ambassador Scharioth said that Dr. King’s example, especially his philosophy of nonviolent resistance, had a profound effect on the civil rights movements in the East and West, even inspiring many of the East German protestors who brought down the Berlin Wall in 1989.

“It was hope - the unrelenting hope of many East Germans and Eastern Europeans that they might one day be free - and courage - including the enormous courage to peacefully resist violence - it was this hope and courage that tore down walls and fences and brought people together from the East and West,” Ambassador Scharioth said. “It was not tanks.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist pastor who became the leader of the civil rights movement in the United States, promoting nonviolent protests as a means to civil rights reforms. He was named Michael Luther at birth, but his father changed his own name and his son’s name to Martin in recognition of the German Protestant reformer. King came to national prominence by leading the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955-56, and from then, with fellow activists and leaders, worked to advance the causes of voting rights, desegregation, labor rights and other rights for blacks. In 1964, a year after he spearheaded the March on Washington and in the same year the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, becoming at age 35 the youngest recipient of the prize. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis. The first national holiday in the United States celebrating the life of the civil rights leader was observed twenty-five years ago.
© Germany.info