In his make-nice Second Term trip to Europe this week, George W. Bush surely is enjoying some pleasant meals - like the one cooked up in Brussels as an ice-breaker between him and Jacques Chirac. Bush was all smiles and even called a side dish "French fries," something certain to bring frowns to the faces of the rightwanker pundits and blognuts back here in the U.S. of A. On the other hand, the rhetorical spice offered up by some top European officials was likely as unpalatable as whatever it was that caused the First Lady to fire the White House chef.
From the Telegraph:
The EU's foreign policy chief cast public doubt on the health of the transatlantic partnership yesterday, puncturing the euphoric claims by European and American officials that President George W Bush had opened a new era in relations.
Javier Solana disputed the American view that last month's elections in Iraq had vindicated the US decision to invade and questioned whether the Bush administration's promises of a new era in relations with Europe meant anything.
The comments by Mr Solana, EU's high representative for common foreign and security policy, struck a discordant note with the upbeat tone adopted by Mr Bush and European leaders as the president embarked on a four-day reconciliation tour.
To think that just a few days ago, Solana was all sweetness and light.
And then there is Berlin. While nobody in the congressional cafeteria has been renaming German cuisine because of Gerhard Schröder's opposition to the Iraq Attack two years ago, relations between Bush and the German leader seem to be as tense as ever even though Condoleeza Rice held her tongue in public on her recent visit. Even Donald Rumsfeld had some praise for the German Army, which is training Iraqi police. However, according to
Der Spiegel:
At the conference in Munich [last week], Schroeder penned a speech heavily critical of NATO. In the speech, Schroeder said that NATO "is no longer the primary venue where trans-Atlantic partners discuss and coordinate strategies." He suggested setting up a high-level panel of experts not unlike that convened by Kofi Annan in his efforts to reform the United Nations. The initial reaction was negative. NATO is still alive and "nowhere near ready for burial," insisted NATO Secretary Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. Rumsfeld grumbled that the alliance didn't need "another high level thing." Soon, however, the debate began to twist. De Hoop Scheffer suddenly came around, admitting that NATO did need to be more political and should not be an "executive body where decisions made elsewhere land." ...
The truth is, in Brussels and in Berlin, expectations are quite low for Bush to concede to any major policy shifts more in line with European thinking. "So far, in terms of content, there is no difference between now and the first administration," said Martin Schultz, a German member of the EU parliament. In terms of the debate about what to do to rebuild Iraq, Rice may be putting a pretty face on the quagmire, but her charm is only skin deep. In meaty, head-to-head debates not captured on camera, but that Rice has had with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and Solana, Rice remains iron-clad in her opinions. In terms of Iran, she has turned down every offer of European diplomatic help to try to deter Tehran from its nuclear dreams.
Bush got a long standing ovation at the Concert Noble in Brussels Monday night, and some of his remarks - for a "strong Europe," for a renewal of democracy in Russia, for a contiguous state for the Palestinians - drew additional plaudits. Underneath it all, however, while Europeans - like us - must live with another four years of Dubyanocchio's reign, transatlantic relations will not be rebuilt just because of some chummy chatter under the chandeliers.