EMILY KWONG, HOST:
The Munich Security Conference wrapped up today during a weekend that saw tensions ramp up between the U.S. and Iran. Right outside the conference, with its focus on global security and diplomacy, was a huge demonstration against Iran's government.
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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting, inaudible).
KWONG: NPR international correspondent Rob Schmitz was there. And he joins us now from back in Berlin. Hi, Rob.
ROB SCHMITZ, BYLINE: Hey.
KWONG: Let's start with the massive demonstration in Munich yesterday. It was part of several demonstrations worldwide to support the Iranian people. How did that pan out in Munich?
SCHMITZ: Yeah. Police in Munich estimated the crowds yesterday to number around 250,000 people, and they all came out in the freezing rain to see Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late shah of Iran, who was in town for the security conference. U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also took the stage, and here's what he said.
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LINDSEY GRAHAM: It is a time of choosing. I choose the Iranian people over the murderous ayatollah. It is time for him to go.
KWONG: So that was outside in Munich. Meanwhile inside, world leaders were speaking about the state of the world. And one of the most anticipated speeches came from U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who echoed what Vice President Vance said a year ago at this very meeting. But we're hearing that Rubio sprinkled some reassurance in for his European counterparts.
SCHMITZ: Yeah, that's right. I mean, last year, Vance's speech was pretty scathing, pretty critical of Europe. And Rubio maintained some of that tone, but he expanded it to include the U.S., saying that the entire West had been naive, that the post-Cold War, rules-based global order rested on the beliefs that free trade would guarantee peace and break down borders. Instead, he argued, it led to out-of-control migration and had disintegrated what he called Christian values in the West.
KWONG: Rob, this sounds actually exactly like what Vance said a year ago.
SCHMITZ: Yeah, it's pretty similar, but I think Rubio's point here is that the U.S. and Europe were together on this path and that they must remain together to revive Western civilization, according to him. He tried to hit this home when he talked about how European cultures had built the United States.
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MARCO RUBIO: Our frontiers were shaped by Scots-Irish - that proud Hardy clan from the hills of Ulster that gave us Davy Crockett and Mark Twain and Teddy Roosevelt, then Neil Armstrong. Our great Midwestern heartland was built by German farmers and craftsmen who transformed empty plains into a global agricultural powerhouse.
SCHMITZ: So Emily, Rubio went on like this, citing the contributions of, you know, the English, Italians, French and Spanish to the building of the U.S. But he neglected to mention Native Americans who many of these groups left devastated. He doesn't mention how these groups exploited African slaves, and he didn't mention the Chinese who built the railway in the West. And, you know, there were so many other cultures that contributed to building the United States that he also didn't mention.
KWONG: Yeah. OK. And how did the European leaders in the room respond to this speech?
SCHMITZ: They gave him a standing ovation. Conference Chair Wolfgang Ischinger took the stage and said Europeans were breathing a sigh of relief. And that's because the room was filled with Europeans who have been dependent on U.S. security and trade for decades. So they seemed willing to overlook some of this cherry-picked history. But one person I noticed who was not impressed at all by this speech was EU foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas. The television cameras kept panning to her horrified face, and I noticed she was one of just a few people who did not immediately stand during the applause. But there were, I think, in some ways, more consequential speeches that were delivered at this conference.
KWONG: I'm curious about that. Which speeches are you talking about?
SCHMITZ: So I think the speech from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz gave the most honest assessment of how things stand here in Europe. He said the theme of this year's conference, under destruction, was a grim outlook on the international order based on rights and rules. And here he is speaking through an interpreter.
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CHANCELLOR FRIEDRICH MERZ: (Through interpreter) But I'm afraid we have to put it in even harsher terms. This order, as flawed as it has been even in its heyday, no longer exists.
SCHMITZ: You know, that's a pretty heavy statement. You know...
KWONG: Yeah.
SCHMITZ: ...Merz blasted big-power politics that are waged by the U.S. under Trump. China and Russia also fit in this category.
KWONG: Yeah.
SCHMITZ: He said Germany and the rest of Europe had learned its lessons from World War II about this type of governance and that European countries need to do a better job of uniting their resources to not only fight off these big powers but to build a new European economy that will rival these powers and maintain democratic values. And I think Merz's speech was one of the most forward-thinking of this conference. And delegates I spoke to were pretty inspired by it because it showed a way forward for Europe without depending on the U.S., as it has done for so many decades now.
KWONG: That's Berlin correspondent Rob Schmitz, who will continue reporting for us on how all of this develops. Thank you, Rob.
SCHMITZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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