US President to warn future of West in doubt in Warsaw speech

pulse

July 6, 2017 11:53 AM

Trump will paint a picture of the West facing existential challenges to "defend our civilisation" from terrorism.

US President Donald Trump is set to warn that the future of the West is in doubt if nations do not show more resolve

US President Donald Trump will use a landmark speech in Warsaw later Thursday to warn that the future of the West is in doubt if nations do not show more resolve.

"The defence of the West ultimately rests not only on means but also on the will of its people to prevail," Trump will say, according to excerpts released by the White House.

"The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive."

Trump will paint a picture of the West facing existential challenges to "defend our civilisation" from terrorism, bureaucracy and the erosion of traditions, according to the extracts.

He will point to Poland -- which in the last century endured Nazi and Soviet occupation -- as an example of resolve.

"The story of Poland is the story of a people who have never lost hope, who have never been broken, and who have never forgotten who they are," he will say.

In a nod to the conservative values he shares with Poland's controversial ruling Law and Justice party, Trump will also call on the West to defend its traditions.

"Americans, Poles, and the nations of Europe value individual freedom and sovereignty," he will say.

"We must work together to counter forces, whether they come from inside or out, from the South or the East, that threaten over time to undermine these values and to erase the bonds of culture, faith and tradition that make us who we are."

Trump will also issue a Reaganesque call to tackle bureaucratic overcontrol, which he will frame as more than just an inconvenience or byproduct of a rules-based society.

"On both sides of the Atlantic, our citizens are confronted by yet another danger -– one firmly within our control. This danger is invisible to some but familiar to the Poles. The steady creep of government bureaucracy that drains the vitality and wealth of the people."

"The West became great not because of paperwork and regulations but because people were allowed to chase their dreams and pursue their destinies," he will say.

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