The U.S. has its share of problems, but many of the foreign leaders who have addressed Congress over the last few years have offered a reminder that many around the world still look up to America.
Last April, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe paid his respects to those Americans who fought against Japan in World War II.
“History is harsh. What is done cannot be undone,” said Abe. “I offer with profound respect my eternal condolences to the souls of all American people that were lost during World War Two.”
He also recited Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend” to Congress:
A month earlier, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani praised and thanked the hundreds of thousands of Americans who fought in his country.
“More than 1 million brave Americans have served in Afghanistan. They have come to defend and to know our people,” he said. “And in return, the people of Afghanistan recognize the bravery of your soldiers and the tremendous sacrifices that Americans have made to keep Afghanistan free.”
Even Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who came earlier this year to say he can’t support the nuclear deal with Iran, thanked Obama and the Congress for the aid they have given Israel.
“[S]ome of what the president has done for Israel might never be known, because it touches on some of the most sensitive and strategic issues that arise between an American president and an Israeli prime minister,” he said. “But I know it, and I will always be grateful to President Obama for that support.”
“And Israel is grateful to you, the American Congress, for your support, for supporting us in so many ways, especially in generous military assistance and missile defense, including Iron Dome,” he said.
But the most inspiring words may have come from then-Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who in 2011 talked about how she was inspired as a child watching America land on the moon.
“I always remember thinking that day, Americans can do anything,” she said.
“Americans helped free the world of my parents’ generation. Americans inspired the world of my own youth,” she said. “I stand here and I see before me the very same brave and free people. I believe you can do anything still.”
