OCTOBER 2003 midmonth : (NORWAY : EUROPEAN SOCIALISTS MEET WITH TOP US DEMOCRATS, INCLUDING HILLARY CLINTON, JOSEPH BIDEN [See Kerry], RON KLAIN [see Wesley Clark] AND STAN GREENBERG, FORMER CLINTON CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST) Norway's Labour Party is joining other European social democrats in linking up with the Democrats in the US. The goal is to be prepared with common strategies if a majority of them on both sides of the Atlantic come back to power. A group of European social democrats, led by former British Foreign Minister Robin Cook, met last week with several top Democratic politicians and party officials. They included US senators Hilary Clinton and Joseph Biden.
They also had meetings with Ron Klain of presidential candidate Wesley Clark's campaign, and Stan Greenberg, former US President Bill Clinton's campaign strategist in 1992.
On the agenda was European concern over current US foreign policy and the effects of globalization.
Espen Barth Eide, who led the Norwegian delegation, said the group met "understanding" that "economic globalization must be accompanied by political globalization."
There remain wide differences between the European social democrats and their counterparts in the US, who tend to be far more conservative.
Barth Eide called it "natural" however, "to begin with those (in the US) who are closest to us (in ideology), even though the Democrats of course aren't social democrats."--- "Norwegian Labour Party Forges Ties With US Democrats," Norway Aftenposten, October 23, 2003
OCTOBER 15, 2003 : (FORMER STATE DEPT DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC, PROLIFERATION AND MILITARY ISSUES OFFICE IN THE BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH, GREG THIELMAN, DENOUNCES COLIN POWELL FOR HIS FEBRUARY 5, 2003 UN PRESENTATION)