Thread by @MollyMcKew

NATO Sec Gen @jensstoltenberg speaking now before a joint session of congress, which is a big deal. Tune in to C-Span and watch, since "news" will likely continue covering the circus instead.

Stoltenberg going bold with the "Vikings discovered America" line ;)
Reminds that Atlantic was the "blue ridge to new lands and new possibilities" -- "freedom, sanctuary, and hope" for millions of Europeans.

Whoever wrote this speech is A+ savvy on American audience.

If our alliance survives this dumb era, this Stoltenberg speech will be remembered as what helped to save it.

In great detail he is laying out the threat from Russia. And what it means to us.

It is also incredibly endearing how nervous Stoltenberg is standing up to both political factions in the US.

@jensstoltenberg: "Freedom has enemies and they need to be deterred...Hitler could not have been stopped with peaceful protest. Stalin could not have been deterred with words. ISIS could not have been defeated with dialogue. Future enemies of freedom may choose violence again...

... Our desire for a peaceful world is simply not enough. We must act and invest to make it so."

Citing that NATO is half the world's economic and military might: "When we stand together, we are stronger than any potential challenger, economically, politically, and militarily."

Stoltenberg calls NATO a strategy to deal with uncertainty -- strong, agile, and able to reduce threat of emergent risks.

Again I will say -- this is an A+ speech. If only American politicians bothered to speak like this, and make the case.

No one should miss Stoltenberg's reference to Breivik (though he didn't name him) in his speech. Breivik has inspired far-right terrorists all over the world, including the New Zealand shooter. His warning about this threat should not be downplayed.