 good afternoon good afternoon it is a pleasure to be here and I thank you chairperson Owen for those kind remarks and if you wanted to continue saying positive things about me I'm more than willing to sit down and let you let you go on but I do appreciate your kind words and I want to thank you all for welcoming here as well as those people who have traveled with me welcoming us here today I'm staying with my good friend ambassador Rooney who is truly a magnanimous and wonderful person I'm a New York giant fan and in spite of that he and I have been friends over the years though his team has consistently been much better than mine in American football but and I suspect on the basis of what I've seen the first couple of weeks this year his team was going to be much better than mine yet again but mr. Rooney I'd a pleasure to be here and to have a chance to be with you as well I bring greetings from President Obama who very much enjoyed his visit to this beautiful city just a few months ago and I'm especially grateful for the opportunity to applaud the work that each of you and the Institute's growing network of international supporters are leading to help strengthen the critical ties that bind the United States and Europe in this time of unprecedented challenges and evolving global threats the contributions of organizations like this one and the importance of the discussion forum that you provide I think can hardly be over overstated so on behalf of my colleagues at the United States Department of Justice and across America's government I'm really grateful for your commitment to the priorities and more importantly to the values that our nations share and I'm proud to stand with you in confronting the challenges that we continue to face now during the two and a half years I've had the privilege of serving as my nation's attorney general I have frequently had occasion to work hand-in-hand with and to consult with and learn from many of my counterparts on this side of the Atlantic just yesterday I had the honor of appearing before members of the European Parliament to discuss the steps that we must take to improve law enforcement cooperation and information sharing between the United States and EU member states the interaction that I had with the members of the Parliament was very different from the interaction that I have with members of my Congress I'm not sure which one was better but it was certainly different and on Monday I had the opportunity to address a United Nations symposium convened by the Secretary General to reinforce and to build upon our international efforts to combat terrorism of course I've also been fortunate to welcome many of your leaders and elected officials to Washington and I think together we have extended a tradition of cooperation that stretches back nearly two and a half centuries to the time when America was little more than a grand but very improbable idea in 1772 before the American colonies had declared their independence from you know that other nation members of the Irish Parliament were among those who graciously welcomed the envoy of the American Revolution Benjamin Franklin to this continent and among the Irish people the burgeoning American nation found a very strong ally after a meeting with leaders here in Dublin Franklin reported to his fellow Patriots that the Irish were and I quote disposed to be friends of America and he predicted correctly that and again I quote by joining our interest with theirs a more equitable treatment might be obtained for both nations unquote well our interests as well as our progress have been joined ever since today we can all be encouraged that the ties between the United States and Ireland as well as our bonds with nations across Europe really have never been stronger but I also know that we cannot and we must not take these relationships for granted even though unlike President Obama distant but very proud son of Monegall I cannot trace my roots to the people of the Emerald Isle I've been told but you know but I think a more extensive search might need to be might need to be done I certainly recognize and I am constantly reminded that the structure of the justice system that I am honored to serve and to help lead owes a great deal to the sons and daughters of Eric now the Irish body of law stretches back more than 700 years from this foundation springs much of the basis for the principles that underlaw the founding documents of the United States as well as Ireland's modern Republic a commitment to liberty to security to privacy to opportunity and ultimately and most importantly to justice as sure as our values are shared and sure as our histories are intertwined the future progress of our nations is clearly and permanently connected and today the responsibility of extending our long legacy of collaboration and of strengthening a partnership that dates back to the 18th century falls squarely on all of our shoulders now as transnational organized criminal networks and cyber crime have transcended national boundaries so too must we be united in combating these threats of course no aspect of this work is more important or more urgent than advancing the global fight against terrorism just last week we observed the 10th anniversary of the September 11th attacks against the United States a day when nearly 3,000 innocent victims including six Irish citizens and hundreds of Americans of Irish Americans were killed and a stark reminder of the threat that we face and the vulnerabilities that are common to all nations even though our efforts to thwart attacks to investigate potential plots and to vigorously prosecute terrorists have met with increasing success over the years the need to remain vigilant and to face these threats together has never been more apparent and I think we can all be encouraged and proud that the United States and Ireland have established a strong record of cooperation in carrying out this critical work almost exactly two years ago in September of 2009 an American woman whose name is Jamie Pauline Ramirez traveled with her young child to Ireland intending to join a the hottest training camp and learn to carry out acts of violence well had she been allowed to proceed with her plans the consequences could well have been deadly but thanks to a meticulous investigation that was carried out by my colleagues at the United States Department of Justice in close cooperation with Irish law enforcement she was stopped she voluntarily returned to the United States to take stand trial in federal court for supporting terrorism and six months ago she pleaded guilty to her crimes now this is merely one high profile example of the types of cooperation that really has become commonplace in our efforts to investigate and to prosecute those who would seek to do all of us harm and it's just one of hundreds of cases in recent years in which America America's criminal justice system has proven its effectiveness in combating terrorist threats as we chart our costs for the days ahead I want to assure you that America's commitment to utilizing this system and every other lawful counterterrorism tool at our disposal will continue as will our dedication to being flexible pragmatic and faithful to the rule of law and dedicated to moving in a direction that is guided not by fear but by fact by reason and by our essential and enduring values as President Obama has acknowledged and as many of your nations have lamented in the aftermath of the 9 11 attacks there were times when in an attempt to respond to terror threats let's be frank our government veered off course and failed to live up to our most sacred principles but as I hope that you all have seen this administration has worked vigorously and tirelessly to turn the pages on past mistakes and missteps in fact among the very first actions that President Obama took two and a half years ago was directing government leaders not only to redouble our focus on preventing and combating terror threats but also to return to an era in which the costs and benefits of every action taken in the name of national security were carefully weighed he called us to work in close consultation with our allies to rebuild the bonds of trust that had been frayed and to renew and to reaffirm America's commitment to the rule of law and to the ideals that have strengthened our nation and sustained our most cherished international partnerships today although the struggle has been far more difficult I think than anyone might have predicted and although some of you have not agreed with every decision that this administration has made I am pleased to report that as a nation I think we have found our footing once again and I'm especially proud of the contributions that the Department of Justice has made in fulfilling our paramount responsibility to protect the American people now in meeting this obligation the department has led with strength and by example even as we have confronted unprecedented and increasingly sophisticated national security threats we have made historic progress without giving into fear and without compromising our values as Americans we have made critical revisions to detention and interrogation policies we have renounced the use of torture and strengthened our ability to bring terrorists to justice in our civilian courts and despite the internal obstacles that we have been forced to meet we are continuing to work and to engage the help of international partners to advance efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility now this has long been a part of a comprehensive international security plan and the need for it I think has never been greater I am reminded of this unfortunate fact each morning as I begin my day with a briefing on the most urgent global terror threats the terror threat stream for the past 24 hours I know that in distant countries and within our own borders in the United States there are people people who are eager to and who are actively plotting to harm the civilians that we serve now like every person in this room I am determined to defeat our enemies I know that we can and I am certain that we will but victory and security will not come easily and they won't come at all if we fail to meet national challenges with international solutions or if we allow differences in perspective in ideology or methodology to divide us so let us seize this moment of promise let us stand together in common cause and let us signal to all the world that our joint efforts to ensure security opportunity and justice for all will not only continue they will expand ultimately they will succeed I look forward to working with you to hearing from you today and all that we will accomplish together thank you very much