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Standing before the Acropolis in Athens, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio swept through the history of ancient Greece to the rise of American industry in a speech on Wednesday that portrayed western civilisation at risk of decline.
Rubio said the world was at an "inflection point". Nations, particularly in Europe, should return to ancient Greek values and "rebuild our institutions and our alliances to face these threats together".
"We believe that Europe can awaken from its long slumber and rekindle the fire that was here millennia ago," he said.
While he spoke of cooperation, Rubio also said "nations need not abandon their distinct identities in order to recognise their common interests".
Rubio, often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2028, touched on what he considered dangers in the world, such as "radical mullahs" in Iran and suicide bombers.
But most of his speech focused on a broader threat, describing the current period as a crossroads.
"The course we take will determine whether the West maintains its place at the head of the world, or resigns itself to a future of atrophy, and servitude, and decline," he said. "The next decade will write the story of the next century."
Rubio called for a return to the "classical understanding of politics and statecraft that the Trump administration hopes to reclaim - reclaim not just for our country, but for the whole of our civilisation".
That appeared to include renewed national pride, which he said the ancient Greeks had embraced, but the west had abandoned as "we felt embarrassed that our achievements set us apart from the rest of the world".
"The word 'nationalism' became a dirty word," he said. "So we tore down our monuments. We condemned our own history, and in too many places, we taught our children to be ashamed of the countries they would inherit.
"In the process, we opened our borders and outsourced our industry and allowed our militaries to wither and to decay."
Rubio's boss, President Donald Trump, has sought to carry out an "America first" agenda during both his terms in office, and taken a more confrontational stance toward traditional allies and in longstanding trade relationships.
Just six months ago, Trump again threatened to pull the US from the Nato alliance, which he has frequently criticised while pushing members to make larger contributions to defence.
Rubio's visit to the ruins of the Acropolis in Greece was part of his three-country tour of Nato allies that includes stops in Iceland and Portugal.
