Posted on 01/23/2003 3:27:01 PM PST by knighthawk
While Germany thinks about the need for more reports arms inspectors in Iraq, Germans and French assail U.S. defense secretary's criticism of "old Europe."
Politicians in Berlin and Paris expressed their disapproval on Thursday at the latest salvos volleyed by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over Germany and France's reluctance to move forward with plans for a U.S.-led war against Iraq.
U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld criticized German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and French President Jacques Chirac on Wednesday for their public demands that a second resolution be brought before the United Nations Security Council before any military action could be taken. As a permanent member of the Security Council, France could veto any resolution, raising the possibility that U.S. President George W. Bush would be forced to wage war without the support of the international body.
Rumsfeld dismissed critical comments made by Schröder and Chirac, responding to reporters queries by saying: "You're thinking of Germany and France. I don't. I think that's the old Europe."
"Problematic" comments that are "deeply insulting"
Rumsfeld's shoot-from-the-hip comments drew swift criticism across Germany and France on Thursday -- and even came from some unlikely quarters, including senior members of Germany's main opposition party, historically a close ally of Washington.
Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) described Rumsfeld's comments as "problematic," adding: "I don't think it is right to make such noises -- calling us the 'old Europe.'" Her colleague Volker Rühe, who heads the German parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, went a step further, saying "Rumsfeld is no diplomat."
European Parliament member Bernd Posselt, a member of the CDU'S sister party, the Christian Social Union, admonished Rumsfeld for his "neocolonialist" statements and called on him to think of Europe as a "partner" rather than a "protectorate."
The feathers seemed even more ruffled In France, where Economics Minister Francis Mer said he was "deeply insulted" by the defense secretary's comments.
"He hit the nail on the head"
But some political observers approved of, even greeted the comments. Bernhard May of the German Council of Foreign Relations said he thought Rumsfeld was taking a negative approach to achieve a positive result: to show the Europeans that they are needed in the confrontation with Iraq.
"Only when we work together can we achieve something," May told DW-WORLD. "If we don't work together, then the alliance becomes weakened and the pressure on Saddam lessens."
Meanwhile, from his office in the former German capital of Bonn, Professor Christian Hacke told DW-WORLD he agreed with Rumsfeld's comments. "He really hit the nail on the head," Hacke said. The problem, he said, is that Germany is pursuing a "catastrophic" policy in its dealings with the United States. "We have turned the United States into an opponent of our own diplomacy," he said
Germany to demand second report from inspectors
Officials in Germany's government sought to play down the spat. "Mr. Rumsfeld described the Europeans as being old," Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said on Thursday. "And, in fact, the cultures and countries are older than the USA."
But the rhetorical skirmish with Rumsfeld comes at a difficult time for Schröder's government, which has said it will ask the U.N. Security Council to require its weapons inspectors to issue another report on their work after they turn in their much-anticipated first review next Monday.
"We want the inspectors to keep working," Fischer said on Thursday.
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Thank God for that!!!
Thank you! We like him too.
:)
--
Pyrion, Archangel of Anachronisms.
German Buys A Clue.
A question for one of you.
Try this one on for size . . .
Back in mid-2002, there was a period of weeks during which it appeared that India and Pakistan seemed to be on the brink of a large-scale military conflict. Does anyone here remember when that story completely disappeared from the news?
I don't know the exact date or even the month, but I do know this: The conflict between India and Pakistan became a non-issue and completely disappeared from the headlines the day after Rumsfeld stopped in each country on his way to visit the U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
At the time I considered it highly unusual -- even bizarre -- for such a diplomatic mission to be carried out by the U.S. Secretary of Defense (as opposed to the Secretary of State, for example), but there is no disputing the effectiveness of Rumsfeld's visit.
Let the Germans and French chew on that one for a while.
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