English subtitles for clip: File:Remarks from 61st Secretary of State James A. Baker, III.webm

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UNDER SECRETARY KENNEDY: Secretary Baker was
not able to be with us here this evening,

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but it’s now my honor to read a letter from
the 61st Secretary of State:

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“Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

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I regret that I am unable to join Secretary
Kerry and my former secretary colleagues,

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all of whom have been crucial to the creation
of the U.S. Diplomacy Center Pavilion.

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The completion of the Diplomacy Center represents
a goal towards which they and so many others

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have worked.

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Since our nation was founded, America’s
diplomats have played indispensable roles

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in maintaining security and peace at home
and around the world.

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Their stories are filled with many bright
moments, from the Louisiana and Alaska purchases

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that helped build one nation, to the Marshall
Plan that rebuilt Europe after World War II.

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It includes the Monroe Doctrine’s pledge
not to meddle in European affairs during the

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early 19th century, as well as American efforts
to spread diplomacy and democracy across Eastern

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Europe and the globe during the second half
of the 20th century.

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It is for these and so many other reasons
I am proud that this center will tell the

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story of U.S. diplomacy and honor its diplomats.

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This Diplomacy Center will provide an enduring
legacy as a gift to the American people.

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It will be a museum and caretaker for our
nation’s diplomatic history, a monument

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to the diplomats who so often work behind
the scenes promoting American interest.

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It will also be an educational center and
the first museum where the public may experience

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diplomacy as a tangible reality.

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I have been a passionate advocate for the
U.S. Diplomacy Center since its inception

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and, like many of you here tonight, feel privileged
to know that our long-shared dream is now

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a reality.

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I salute everyone who contributed time, money,
and effort to this center, and appreciate

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all the hard work it took to build it.

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Sincerely, James A. Baker, III.”

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(Applause.)