BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- Standing before a massive crowd in a city that once symbolized division, Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday warned about the dangers of allowing new walls to come between the United States and its allies.
"People of the world -- look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one," Obama said at Berlin's Victory Column in the Tiergarten park.
"The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers -- dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean," he said.
Obama said people of all nations must stand together to face challenges of the 21st century -- from terrorism to global warming to genocide.
"We cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats or escape responsibility in meeting them," he said.
The greatest danger, Obama said, "is to allow new walls to divide us from one another." Read a transcript of the speech
Obama called on Europeans and Americans to join together to "defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it."
"If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope," he said.
Obama started his speech by introducing himself as a "proud citizen of the United States and a fellow citizen of the world."
Police estimated that more than 200,000 people came to watch the speech, according to The Associated Press.
Shortly before the address began, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, chided Obama and said he'd rather give a speech in Germany as president than as a presidential candidate.
"So we're going to be campaigning across the heartland of America and talking about the issues that are challenging America today," McCain said outside a German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
The Democrat said earlier his address was not a "political rally."
Crowds gathered at the Victory Column to listen to musical acts in the hours leading up to Obama's arrival.
0 comentarios: on "Obama uses Berlin symbolism to reunite old allies"
Publicar un comentario