June 23, 2013

Finest Hour 137, Winter 2007-08

Page 43

“To Friends and Allies”: The Allied Reception, 2007

By Martin Cronin

2024 International Churchill Conference

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Martin Cronin is United Kingdom Consul General in Vancouver. The British and American Consulates co-sponsored the Allied Reception, commencing the 2007 Churchill Conference, at the Residence of the United States Consul General.

Address to the reception, 24th international Churchill conference Vancouver, British Columbia, 11 September 2007, by Martin Cronin

Lady Soames, distinguished guests, as my American friend and colleague has pointed out, today is a particularly fitting day to remember our shared history and our shared willingness to stand up and be counted in the defence of freedom and defiance of tyranny. Sir Winston Churchill never harboured the slightest doubt that Britain should be unshakeably bound to its alliance with the United States, and with Canada and Australia. The great alliance that defeated Nazi Germany and Japan is as relevant today as it was then.

The threat that we now face from global terrorism is grave, complex and growing—a Gathering Storm if you will—but I am deeply troubled by the culture of self-blame and anti-Americanism that has become so rampant in the countries that must stand up to meet the challenge. Too many people have conveniently forgotten the huge sacrifices that have been made to give us the good life that we enjoy today, and they have forgotten who made those sacrifices. They labour under the illusion that we can make ourselves safe by retreating from the defence of our interests and values or the defence of our friends. It is incumbent on all of us who have a sense of history, and a sense of what it is that we have fought to defend over the years, to challenge these corrosive notions.

This conference is an opportunity to dissect the great tactical and strategic decisions of a time when both leaders and public alike understood that there were no easy decisions, no magic bullets; just finely balanced judgements on how best to secure the defence of our vital interests. If only that were better understood now.

To quote Sir Winston Churchill, “One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double die danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!”

I am very grateful to Christopher Hebb and the Directors of the Rt. Hon. Sir Winston Churchill Spencer Society for the triumph of organisation that has delivered such a well attended conference with the promise of some fascinating discussions. Thank you. May I close by proposing a toast to the re-dedication of the alliance that has served our shared history so well and which will allow us to prevail in a dangerous future. Ladies and gentlemen: To Friends and Allies…