US Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld must be having a ball. In an
unprecedented
declaration, eight
European leaders call on the Continent to stand united
with the US in the battle to disarm Iraq. It's a
calculated rebuff to the "no war" position of France and
Germany (Rumsfeld's "Old Europe"), apparently instigated
by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, and signed
by the leaders of Britain, Spain, Italy, Portugal,
Hungary, Poland, Denmark and the Czech Republic.
"Our strength lies in unity," they argue, adding
that Monday's UN weapons inspectors' report confirmed
Saddam Hussein's long-established pattern of "deception,
denial and non-compliance". The declaration reflects the anger
by the "New Europe" leaders at the pre-emptive
no-military-action stance developed by German Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder as an election tactic last September
and again used by him in desperate last-minute
politicking in advance of state elections in Lower
Saxony and Hesse this coming Sunday, in which
Schroeder's Social Democrats find themselves badly
trailing the main opposition Christian Democrats. It
equally reflects massive irritation with the continued
misgivings voiced by French President Jacques Chirac
about war on Iraq and his presumption of speaking for
Europe.
The declaration of the "New Europe" Eight
surely will further infuriate France and Germany,
already up in arms over the Rumsfeld remarks last week
when he told journalists: "You are thinking of Europe as
Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.
If you look at the entire Europe today, the center of
gravity is shifting to the east. Germany has been a
problem, and France has been a problem. But you look at
vast numbers of other countries in Europe. They are not
with France and Germany on this. They are with the
United States."
But the declaration is also
making an impact, especially in Germany, where people
are beginning to wonder about the longer-term
consequences of Schroeder's stance on US-German
relations and Germany's overall role in the West. The
influential left-liberal Spiegel magazine fears that
France and, in particular, Germany are being rendered
irrelevant. The fact that at a NATO meeting Germany and
France blocked shipment of Patriot missile defense
systems to Turkey in advance of possible military action
in the Middle East is seen as irresponsible playing out
of the "no war" position.
The declaration also
takes aim at the UN and warns it that "We cannot allow a
dictator systematically to violate these resolutions. If
they are not complied with, the Security Council will
lose its credibility and world peace will suffer as a
result. We are confident the Security Council will face
up to its responsibilities." Tough talk. The next round
comes on February 5 when US Secretary of State Colin
Powell briefs the UN on US evidence on Iraqi
non-compliance with resolution 1441 and intelligence
findings on undeclared Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction.
