Rubio to urge West to restore founding values

[AP Photo]

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to call for the nations of the West to return to their civilizational roots and restore the values that drove Europe and North America to global dominance for centuries.

In Athens to discuss economic, energy and security cooperation with Greece, Rubio will deliver a speech Wednesday overlooking the Acropolis, a symbol of ancient civilization associated with popular participatory government and the social contract.

Rubio intends to remind listeners of qualities he says were born in Greece and later defined the West, including curiosity, courage, ambition and a restless spirit of exploration.

“It has become fashionable today to believe that enlightened foreign policy means prioritizing the ‘global community’ over one’s own people. Here, too, we have much more to learn from the men of Ancient Greece. They knew that there was nothing selfish or wrong about loyalty to your nation, nor in fighting to defend its interests above all else,” Rubio plans to say, according to excerpts distributed by the State Department.

“Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads,” he will say. “The next decade will write the story of the next century. The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, servitude, and decline. We will either choose to act now or lose the choice to act at all.”

Rubio is seen by many as the gentle face of the Trump administration and has frequently been dispatched to address concerns about the president’s undiplomatic statements.

His Athens speech may be seen as a follow-on to Vice President JD Vance’s blistering address at last year’s Munich Security Conference, where he excoriated Europeans for unchecked immigration and accused them of overreliance on America and inattention to their security.

Vance and Rubio are leading contenders to assume Trump’s mantle atop the Republican Party, which faces stiff challenges in next month’s congressional midterm elections.

The administration has repeatedly accused European countries of backsliding on traditional values and democratic principles by stifling conservatives’ free speech and falling short on commitments to partners like the United States.

Many have rejected the complaints and accused the U.S. under Trump of similar behavior and worse, citing its staunch anti-immigration stance that some believe is racist.

Ahead of Rubio’s visit, about 1,500 people protested his presence and the war in Iran, chanting “American killers!”

The demonstration was organized by a communist labor union and other left-wing groups ahead of extensive road closures in Athens Wednesday. Organizers said similar protests were held in at least 12 other Greek cities. Police banned public demonstrations in central Athens Wednesday.

Rubio is on the second leg of a three-nation tour of NATO allies that began in Iceland and ends in Portugal Thursday. The trip aims to reassure partners of the administration’s commitment to their success and security despite its often brusque approach to traditional friends.

Rubio also emphasized history in Iceland, meeting its foreign minister at the site of the 1986 summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, widely seen as marking the beginning of the end of the Cold War and the Soviet Union.

In Reykjavik Tuesday, Rubio sought to reassure Iceland that the administration has no designs on the island. He said the U.S. shares Iceland’s concerns about Arctic security as tensions with Russia rise in the High North and elsewhere.

Iceland has been uneasy about Trump’s intentions after he posted a map showing the U.S. flag’s colors across North America and extending to Iceland and Greenland. That wariness persisted despite last month’s agreement to increase the U.S. presence in Greenland, which appears to have ended Trump’s demands for full control of the Danish territory.

After talks in Reykjavik, tensions appeared to ease. Rubio said the United States would not do anything in Iceland without its consent.

Before his Athens speech, Rubio declined to comment on misconduct allegations against U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle.

At a joint news conference with the Greek foreign minister, he said he would not address the matter while visiting a foreign country, adding: “Suffice it to say our embassy here is doing a great job. Our ambassador has been a strong ambassador here.”

The top Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs committees, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Rep. Gregory Meeks, have initiated probes into claims reported last month by the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that Guilfoyle told reception guests the U.S. could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted one Greek construction and energy company’s business interests, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.

Guilfoyle, a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor once engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr., has denied wrongdoing, and Rubio has defended her before. MATTHEW LEE, ATHENS, MDT/AP