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World
News
Vol. 25 Issue 26 April 3, 2003 |
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Content is Provided by:
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Iraq Rift Launches New Era in German
Foreign Policy |
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The country's foreign policy is emerging from under the
shadow of the Cold War
The strong fabric binding Berlin and Washington is fraying
as German foreign policy undergoes a rapid transformation.
DW-WORLD talks to analysts about where it's headed next.
With the German and British flags displayed neatly behind
him, Chancellor Gerhard Schröder on Thursday uttered
the words that he hopes will heal the rift that Iraq has
opened within Europe and across the Atlantic.
"No matter what the difference of opinions were before,
it goes without saying that healthy transatlantic relations
are necessary and we'll work towards that aim in the future,"
he said, following a meeting with British Prime Minister
Tony Blair, America' strongest EU ally in the Iraq war.
Foreign policy analysts in Germany couldn't agree more.
The Iraq war marked the biggest step forward in a German
foreign policy that has been growing out of the shadows
of World War II and the Cold War. Some see it as
a positive part of Germany's political evolution
since reunification 12 years ago. To others, Germany is
treading a dangerous line by alienating the United States
and putting its faith in the fledgling foreign policy
of a fractious and unreliable Europe.
"I think this is a watershed," said Jens van
Scherpenberg, head of the transatlantic affairs department
of the German Institute for International and Security
Affairs. "The transatlantic alliance is not about
to be what it was."
The decline of the U.S.-German relationship
Since just after Sept. 11, 2001, when around 300,000 Germans
gathered in Berlin's Tiergarten park to show their solidarity
with the United States, relations between Berlin and Washington
have taken a massive turn. Agreement with the U.S. in
Afghanistan turned to cautious criticism and then outright
disagreement when the Bush administration began agitating
for a military invasion of Iraq.
As the U.N. Security Council debated a U.S. and British
demand to sanction military action against Hussein's regime
in Baghdad, Germany partnered with France, Russia and
China to form a powerful anti-war alliance. The U.S.-British
coalition eventually went to war without a U.N. resolution
and American congressmen renamed their cafeteria French
fries to "freedom" fries and vowed to strike
back at former allies France and Germany.
"It's not just what they (the Germans) did,
but how they did it," said Jeffrey Gedmin, director
of the Aspen Institute in Berlin and an outspoken critic
of the German government's Iraq policy. "What
does it mean when … an ally like Germany is not
just prepared to abstain but to actively, energetically
and systematically … contribute to the failure of
our mission? It makes people ask if that's the way an
ally functions."
Dr. Ingo Peters, who heads the Center on Transatlantic
Foreign and Security Policy Studies at Berlin's Free University,
said Schröder's team could have adopted a better
tactic.
"The problem is that the transatlantic relationship
isn't just a bilateral relationship, it's a multilateral
relationship," said Peters. "And so it's not
just the (German-American relationship) that has been
damaged, it's the European-American relationship as well.
"
The battle to craft one European voice
Nothing has proven to be a bigger set-back to Europe's
dream of a common foreign policy than the Iraq war. While
Denmark, Italy, Spain and Great Britain rallied to America's
side, France, Germany and Belgium lead a coalition of
EU nations vehemently opposed to the war.
With fighting all but over, pro and anti-war Europe is
trying to find its way back to a happy middle. Recent
meetings over postwar Iraq between EU foreign ministers
and Blair and Schröder are indications those intentions
are honest.
"It's very central that Germany, France and Great
Britain come to an agreement, I think that's also in the
interest of Blair and the transatlantic alliance,"
said Stefan Fröhlich, a University of Erlangen professor
who just finished a stint at Johns Hopkins University's
Center for Transatlantic Security in Washington.
"This German administration sees and recognizes the
importance of getting that unified voice," said Fröhlich.
"Not in the sense of fashioning a counterweight,
but with the realization that we will achieve something
in America when we speak with one voice."
The road to a unified European policy is filled with roadblocks,
however. The loud talk about unified military ambitions
-- and a planned meeting on security policy with the
leaders of France, Germany, Belgium and Luxembourg in
April -- comes at a time when the EU is undergoing the
greatest expansion in its history, welcoming even more
voices and opinions into the already cacophonous body.
The Aspen Institute's Gedmin, who dismisses German pledges
to prioritize Europe's military presence as "smoke
and mirrors," says that Germany needs to be careful
not to try to create a strong Europe with the sole aim
of creating a counterbalance to the United States.
"It will become a problem if the foreign policy program
of Germany is to play the old French Gaullist card, trying
to define itself and Europe in opposition to the United
States," Gedmin warned.
Most analysts agree that a healthy, strong relationship
to the United States is necessary, but needs to be redefined.
"They have to first find out how to deal with one
another," said Peters of Berlin's Free University. With
the threat of atomic war gone and the iron curtain collapsed,
the partners need new common interests, "and that's
not a process that can happen from one day to the next."
Andreas Tzortzis, with reporting by Marc Young
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Iraq War Opponents Stress Importance
of the United Nations |
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Summit in St. Petersburg: not intended to counterbalance
the U.S. and Britain
Germany's chancellor met with his French and Russian counterparts
to discuss postwar Iraq. The three agreed the United Nations
must play a central role in rebuilding Iraq, and force should
only be used as a last resort.
The leaders of Germany, France and Russia laid out the results
of their two-day summit in St. Petersburg to discuss the
issue of postwar Iraq on Saturday and tried to shake off
the impression that their meeting was a reaction to the
U.S.-British summit in Belfast earlier in the week.
The three statesmen did not back off from their insistence
that the United Nations should be the guiding force in reconstructing
Iraq, but their tones were muted.
Their views "practically coincided" in the conviction
to uphold the role of the U.N. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin said. He called for modernization of the United Nations
and said that proper consultation could prevent future conflicts.
"We understand the world is changing rapidly. It is
clear the system of international law must change and be
refined to meet the needs of that rapidly changing world,"
Putin said. "It is important that [the United Nations
has] the instruments available to resolve the problems of
world security," he said.
As U.S. and British forces struggled to quell looting in
Iraqi cities, French President Chirac said at a conference
on international law attended by the three leaders on Friday,
"No long term international order can be based on the
logic of force." He emphasized that force should only
be employed as a last resort and only with the sanction
of the United Nations.
German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder too, highlighted
the importance of the U.N. He said it remained "the
sole world body based on universal values and legal principles."
"We should use the experience the U.N. has acquired
in other areas in rebuilding a democratic Iraq," Schröder
said, after receiving an honorary doctorate from St. Petersburg's
law faculty on Friday.
The three leaders all welcomed Saddam Hussein's deposal.
They were, however, skeptical that the United States and
Britain intended to make room for the United Nations to
take on the leading role in rebuilding Iraq, despite statements
this week from U.S. President George W. Bush and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair that that would be the case.
Not full consensus
Although agreed on the role of the United Nations, differences
were apparent in their views on Iraq's future.
While Schröder has said it is too early to begin concrete
negotiations on the postwar order in Iraq, Russia and France
appear to be anxious to stake out roles in the oil industry
there. The former Iraqi regime owes €7.5 million ($8
million) to Russia and France each and around €4 million
($4.3) to Germany.
U.S. Deputy Defense Minister Paul Wolfowitz had called on
the three countries to waive a large part of Iraq's debts
to support reconstruction.
That issue could be discussed at a summit of G-8 states
in France in late May, Putin said.
Putin and Chirac were both critical of the U.S. and Britain's
actions. Putin pointed out that the fact weapons of mass
destruction had not yet been found in Iraq called into question
the logic of the U.S.-led war there.
Schröder refrained from criticizing the coalition.
Opposition denounces summit
Leading German oppositional politicians were critical of
the summit.
Friedbert Plüger, foreign policy spokesman for the
Christian Democrat - Christian Socialist parliamentary group
said in a an interview on Inforadio Berlin-Brandenburg it
was "somewhat questionable whether it was smart that
the three, who were decidedly against the route the Americans
and British took, met again right after the war and vociferously
made demands."
Instead of continuing the "ineffective, inauspicious
axis of three" the German government should have begun
talks with the United States and Britain, he added.
His colleague, Christian Democrat foreign policy spokesman
Wolfgang Schäuble, accused the trio of misusing the
summit to strengthen the "Paris-Berlin-Moscow axis."
He maintained that the cost would be continued poor relations
with the United States, which was contrary to Germany's
interests, he told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.
Free Democrat parliamentary group leader Wolfgang Gerhardt
said in the same paper the United States was again being
confronted by a "closed anti-Atlantic front,"
while Schröder had become an "axis smith"
and had learned nothing "from our history."
Schröder will meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair
on Tuesday in Hannover.
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International Breaking
News
American
company awarded contract to Iraq's power facilities
A contract to reconstruct Iraq's war-torn power generation
facilities, water and sewage systems has been awarded to an
American company. >>>
WHO
accuses China of under-reporting SARS cases
The World Health Organisation has officially confirmed that
the disease SARS, which has so far killed at least 160 people
worldwide, is caused by a corona virus never before seen
in human beings. >>>
Humanitarian
Aid in Iraq Is Murky Issue
Seeking safety: Residents fleeing the burning city of Basra
in southern Iraq late last month.
With water supplies scarce and hospitals overflowing, the
United Nations has expressed concern over the humanitarian
situation in Iraq. But whose job is it to provide the
aid? >>>
Maltese,
Hungarians Vote in Favor of European Union
Looking forward to the EU: fireworks in Budapest
In parliamentary elections in Malta and a referendum in
Hungary, the two countries' citizens expressed their will
to join the European Union. They will sign accession agreements
on Wednesday in Athens. >>>
A
Virtual Bridge Between Europe and the Islamic World
Promoting understanding between Christians and Muslims is
Qantara.de's aim.
The recently-launched Internet portal Qantara.de aims to
promote dialogue between Europe and the Islamic world, a
need underscored by the recent rifts opened up by the war
in Iraq. >>>
What's
On at Europe's Museums
Picasso's work for French newspapers is on display in Paris.
Picasso's work for French newspapers in Paris; Screen divas
in Turin and a larger-than-life pregnant woman in London
in this week's European exhibition calendar.
>>>
Music
Industry Fights File-sharing with Official Downloads
Peer-to-peer file-sharing services like Kazaa make it easy
to download music and burn it to CDs.
Amid sinking record sales, the beleaguered German record
industry has joined a Europe-wide initiative to combat popular
file-sharing services where Internet users swap music for
free. >>>
Galileo
Gets Go-Ahead
The EU says the Galileo system is a civil intiative
The European Union will put up €450 million to develop
Galileo, the EU's satellite navigations system, which it
says will be more advanced, powerful and reliable than its
U.S. counterpart. >>>
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