JD Vance to Munich Security Conference: The threat to Europe comes from within
RHODA WILSON
US Vice President JD Vance delivered a brilliant speech at the Munich Security Conference on 14 February 2025.
He criticised European leaders for censoring free speech and failing to control illegal migration, stating that these issues pose a greater threat to Europe than external actors like Russia or China.
“The threat I worry most about vis-à-vis Europe; is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor … [it’s] the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said.
Citing examples of the suppression of free speech and conscience rights, Vance mentioned the conviction of a Christian activist in Sweden and the prosecution of Adam Smith Connor in the UK for silently praying near an abortion clinic.
The White House: Vice President JD Vance Delivers Remarks at the Munich Security Conference, 14 February 2025 (19 mins)
The Munich Security Conference is an annual forum for international security policy debates and diplomatic initiatives. It was founded in 1963 by Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin and is held in Munich, Germany. This year’s conference took place from 14 to 16 February 2025, focusing on the “multipolarisation” of the world and the challenges it poses to global security.
According to Wikispooks, the Munich Security Conference is a deep state milieu. Independent Dutch researcher Joël van der Reijden has said that it is “always hopelessly overlooked in conspiracy circles. Many visitors later show up in Western governments.”
Considering this, it makes sense why the widely publicised response to US Vice President JD Vance’s speech is to label it as “controversial” and why it drew sharp rebukes from European leaders, including German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, who called the speech “unacceptable.”
“We Gather at this conference, of course, to discuss security. And normally we mean threats to our external security. While the Trump Administration is very concerned with European security and believes that we can come to a reasonable settlement between Russia and Ukraine … the threat I worry most about vis-à-vis Europe; is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor … [it’s] the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said.
He spoke about the importance of shared values, particularly democratic values. He cited the example of a former European commissioner who “sounded delighted” about the annulment of an election in Romania and warned that if things don’t go to plan the very same thing could happen in Germany. Vance finds this shocking.
He said that it is essential to live up to democratic values, rather than just talking about them. He referenced the Cold War where defenders of democracy fought against more tyrannical forces. He questioned whether the current actions of some European countries, such as cancelling elections, align with democratic values.
The Cold War’s outcome was positive. The opposing side did not value or respect the blessings of liberty including the freedom to surprise, make mistakes, invent and build. Innovation and creativity cannot be mandated, and people cannot be forced to think, feel or believe in certain ways, Vance said.
In today’s Europe, Vance is concerned about the state of freedom, with examples including the EU warning citizens that social media may be shut down during times of civil unrest due to “hateful content.”
In Germany, police raids against citizens suspected of posting anti-feminist comments online in the name of “combating misogyny on the internet, a day of action.”
In Sweden, a Christian activist was convicted for participating in Quran burnings that resulted in his friend’s murder. The judge in the Christian activist’s case noted that Sweden’s laws to protect free expression do not grant a “free pass” to do or say anything without a risk of offending the group that holds that belief.
Related: Man arrested after ‘burning Koran’ in central Manchester just days after Swedish anti-Islam activist shot dead, GB News, 1 February 2025
Most concerningly, is what is happening in the United Kingdom, Vance said. “The erosion of conscience rights had put the liberties of religious Britons, in particular, in the crosshairs,” he said. He cited the example of Adam Smith Connor, a physiotherapist and army veteran, being charged and found guilty of silently praying near an abortion clinic, which is now considered a crime under the government’s new “buffers law.”
The Scottish government has begun distributing letters to citizens warning them that even private prayer within their own homes may be considered a crime if it takes place within “safe access zones” near abortion facilities and encouraging citizens to report suspected thought crimes.
“I wish I could say that this was a fluke. A one-off crazy example of a badly written law being enacted against a single person,” Vance said. But it’s not. The Scottish government has been distributing letters to citizens warning them that even private prayer within their own homes may be considered a crime if their homes are within “safe access zones” near abortion facilities and encouraging citizens to report suspected thought crimes. In other words, private prayer, within their own homes may be considered to breaking the law.
Related: Praying at home may be criminal offence in Scotland under new law, Christian Post, 12 October 2024
There are concerns that free speech is in retreat across Europe, and that censorship is being promoted. He spoke about censorship by the previous US administration under Joe Biden, which threatened and bullied social media companies to censor certain types of speech, including discussions about the origins of the coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2.
“So, I come here today not just with an observation but with an offer. And just as the Biden Administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, so the Trump Administration will do precisely the opposite,” Vance said.
The current US administration, under Donald Trump’s leadership, is offering to work with European countries to promote free speech and protect it from censorship, and to create an environment where people can express their views without fear of retribution.
The situation has become so severe, Vance said, that Romania cancelled the results of its presidential election due to suspicions of Russian disinformation and pressure from neighbouring countries. The argument was that Russian disinformation had infected the Romanian elections but Vance questioned whether a democracy can be destroyed by a few hundred digital advertisements from a foreign country. If it can, he said, then that democracy was not strong to begin with.
Another sign that things have got very bad in Europe is that the organisers of the Munich Security Conference banned lawmakers representing populist parties from participating. These leaders represent important constituencies, Vance said, and should be included in dialogue.
“We don’t have to agree with everything or anything that people say … when political leaders represent an important constituency, it is incumbent upon us to at least participate in dialogue with them,” he said.
“Too many of us on the other side of the Atlantic, it looks more and more like old entrenched interests hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like ‘misinformation’ and ‘disinformation’ who simply don’t like the idea that somebody with an alternative viewpoint might express a different opinion, or God forbid, vote a different way or even worse win an election,” he said.
He continued, “I believe deeply that there is no security if you are afraid of the voices, the opinions and the conscience that guide your very own people … the crisis this continent faces right now, the crisis I believe we all face together is one of our own making. If you’re running in fear of your own voters, there is nothing America can do for you. Nor for that matter is there anything that you can do for the American people who elected me and elected President Trump. You need democratic mandates to accomplish anything of value in the coming years.”
To enjoy competitive economies, affordable energy and secure supply chains, democratic mandates are necessary to make difficult choices, which can be accomplished by being more responsive to citizens’ voices, he explained.
A democratic mandate cannot be won by censoring opponents, putting them in jail or disregarding the electorate’s concerns on issues like who gets to be part of our shared society.
Mass migration is the most pressing and urgent challenge. Almost one in five people living in Germany have moved from abroad, which is an all-time high, and the number of immigrants entering the EU from non-EU countries doubled between 2021 and 2022.
The current migration situation is the result of a series of conscious decisions made by politicians over the past decade, and it has led to horrific events, such as the one that occurred in Munich on 13 February.
Related: Germany: Munich car ramming suspect had ‘Islamist motive’, Deutsche Welle, 14 February 2025
Voters on the continent did not vote to open the floodgates to millions of unvetted immigrants. On the contrary, more and more people are voting for leaders who promise to put an end to out-of-control migration. Why? Because people care about their homes, their dreams, their safety and their capacity to provide for themselves and their children. And, importantly, they are smart.
At this point, Vance explained why people do not want the ideas flowing out of “a couple of mountains in Davos.”
Warning about the globalist aims of the World Economic Forum, Vance said, “The citizens of all of our nations don’t generally think of themselves as educated animals or as interchangeable cogs of a global economy. And it’s hardly surprising that they don’t want to be shuffled about or relentlessly ignored by their leaders.”
Dismissing people’s concerns, shutting down media or shutting people out of the political process protects nothing, but it is the surefire way to destroy democracy.
Speaking up and expressing opinions, even by influential people from outside the country, is not election interference. It is essential for democracy. No democracy, whether American, German or European, can survive by telling millions of voters that their thoughts, aspirations and concerns are invalid or unworthy of consideration. Democracy rests on the principle that the voice of the people matters.
European leaders have a choice to make, Vance said. Leaders do not need to be afraid of the future or the voices of the people, even when their opinions are surprising or disagreeable. By embracing the voices of the people, leaders can face the future with certainty and confidence, knowing that the nation stands behind them.
The true magic of democracy is not found in institutions or buildings, Vance said, but in the understanding that each citizen has wisdom and a voice that deserves to be heard. “If we refuse to listen to that voice, even our most successful fights will secure very little.”
This article (JD Vance to Munich Security Conference: The threat to Europe comes from within) was created and published by The Expose and is republished here under “Fair Use” with attribution to the author Rhoda Wilson
See Related Article Below
Pete Hegseth & J.D. Vance Tell Europe’s Leaders to Grow Up
Talks at NATO Headquarters and at the Munich Security Conference push feckless European officials out of the nest.
JOHN LEAKE
Growing up is the often painful process of coming to terms with the reality of one’s own limitations, and recognizing that it’s impossible to gain anything in life without hard work and sacrifice. Wisdom lies in recognizing that—as the economist Thomas Sowell would put it—getting what we want often requires a tradeoff. Children, particularly the children of indulgent parents, struggle to recognize this. They want everything NOW and they don’t want to give up anything to get it.
For some time now I have perceived that the European Union—both the supranational entity and the constituent nations—are governed by childish people with childish ideas about what is best for their countries. This has been very painful for me to watch, because I love Europe and spent the happiest years of my life living there.
Especially distressing has been the ruin of Germany with stupid “green energy” initiatives that have wrecked it’s brilliant manufacturing sector, and with its bizarre welcoming of young males from the Arabic-speaking world.
The objective of these policies is apparently to destroy the 1). Economic security of young German men who had long enjoyed great, skilled labor jobs, and 2). the physical security of young German women.
The entire “green energy” hoax completely ignores the laws of thermodynamics, while allowing millions of young Arabic men into Germany ignores the basic reality that most of them have nothing to do in Germany but hang out and chase cute German girls. Any grownup man with a shred of common sense instantly recognizes the folly of these polices.
Equally idiotic has been the willingness of Germany’s so-called leaders to wreck the the excellent relationship that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder forged with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
This relationship—expressed by the construction of the NordStream Pipeline—was built on the essential facts that Germany needed Russia’s plentiful and cheap gas, while Russia (which has an economy smaller than that of Texas) needed a market in which to sell it.
Under the baleful influence of the equally moronic Neocons in Washington, German officials decided to wreck this relationship by playing along with the U.S. fantasy of dominating Ukraine, even if it meant destabilizing the balance of power in Europe and wrecking Germany’s fruitful relationship with Russia.
In the last few days, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Vice President J.D. Vance have been in Europe, with Hegseth giving talks to NATO officials in Brussels and Vance giving a talk at the Munich Security Conference.
In stark contrast with the creepy weirdos in the Biden administration, the youthful and handsome Hegseth and Vance cut fine figures at their respective talks, which were the most incisive I’ve heard in years. Compared to Kamala Harris’s mealy-mouthed and jarring ramble at the 2022 Munich Security Council—which was apparently designed to insult Russia and dismiss its legitimate security concerns—Vance’s talk was elegant and crystal clear.
The message of both Hegseth and Vance to Europe’s leaders was essentially the same—namely, it’s time for them to grow up and recognize the hard facts of life. Just as the U.S. can no longer afford to indulge its own “regime change” fantasies all over the world, Europe can no longer afford to wreck itself with inane, virtue-signaling fantasies about green energy, mass migration, and Ukraine.
Vance also pointed out the sheer nonsense of claiming to be dedicated to democracy while at the same time persecuting popular parties and even trying to nullify election results. The overheated rhetoric about the rise of conservative populist parties being “far right” and “Nazi” has gotten so tired that no one outside of privileged political and leftist circles believes it.
Hegseth made the following clear:
- NATO membership for Ukraine is not a realistic outcome of a negotiated settlement
- As part of any [postwar] security guarantee, there will not be US troops deployed to Ukraine
- A return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders, an official Ukrainian war aim, is “an unrealistic objective.”
- Stark strategic realities prevent the United States of America from being primarily focused on the security of Europe.
- The United States will no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency.
In other words, the U.S. will no longer pursue an antagonistic relationship with Russia in Europe, especially in Ukraine, but will seek a negotiated settlement. If the Europeans want to persist in having an antagonistic relationship with Russia, they are on their own and will have to pay for it.
Hegseth was criticized for what appeared to be making concessions to Russia before President Trump had even commenced negotiations with Russia. The (Neocon) National Review gave him a hard time for this, and an equally hard time for apparently walking back some of these remarks the following day, which made him seem amateurish.
And yet, let’s face it— a return to Ukraine’s 1991 borders is “an unrealistic objective” at this point.
Is a single American, English, German, or Austrian reader of this post willing to die fighting Russia in order to ensure that Ukraine’s 1991 borders are restored?
If you, dear reader, are too old to fight in Ukraine, would you be willing to sacrifice one of your children to restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders?
Samuel Johnson famously remarked:
When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.
Likewise, when a man knows that either he or his young sons are going to be sent abroad to die to maintain Ukraine’s 1991 borders, it concentrates his mind wonderfully. In light of this, I believe it is high time for the Neocon armchair warriors in Washington to quit talking and start enlisting.
Join the army, get into shape, and get your asses over to Ukraine. On the flight over, you may take heart in reading Kipling’s poem to a “Young British Soldier,” which concludes with this heart-rousing stanza:
When you're wounded and left on Afghanistan's plains,
And the women come out to cut up what remains,
Jest roll to your rifle and blow out your brains
An' go to your Gawd like a soldier.
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
Go, go, go like a soldier,
So-oldier of the Queen!Neocons, go to your Gawd like a soldier!
This article (Pete Hegseth & J.D. Vance Tell Europe’s Leaders to Grow Up) was created and published by John Leake and is republished here under “Fair Use”
Featured image:beforeitsnews.com
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