Iraq Rift Launches New Era in German Foreign Policy

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."

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. "

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."

I think they misunderstand the American character. My hypothesis: You do not convince us by trying to intimidate us with size and power -- we as a people tend not to be as respectful of power/authority as are other cultures. You convince us by being our friend -- that's why Blair has made inroads and others have come up short. Thoughts?

Some see it as a positive part of Germany's political evolution since reunification 12 years ago.

How can it be positive? As Germany's economy and military contract, German opposition to American policy only points out the nation's increasing irrelevance.

Notice the subtle shift. The Europeans no longer seek to be heard at the United Nations, but seek to speak with one voice so as to be heard in Washington. It is an unconcious admission of the irrelevance of the UN and the primacy of the United States. It is also a rejection of the old Gaullist card of mendicant petulance. It is a primacy that America does not seek; it has simply assumed it in default of any other takers.

America and global liberty will be enhanced when and if other countries step up to their duties of citizenship. The founding fathers believed in checks and balances between co-equals. If the Europeans wish to be taken seriously, they must step up to the plate. Australia, small as it is, is heard and its opinions valued, because it has taken up its duties as a global citizen. France, old and supposedly glorious as it says it is, is an object of derision, because it has jammed its head in the sand while others did the heavy lifting.

France......is an object of derision, because it has jammed its head in the sand........

It jammed its head in the sand so its a*ss stuck up in the air, for Saddam to use!

The Germans are making a huge mistake by putting all their eggs in the EU basket. European countries, especially Germany and France want their leadership roles in socialist EU to create a rival state to the US. They are not satisfied to get along but want to dominate. I wish them luck, on their own EURO.

"...it goes without saying that healthy transatlantic relations are necessary..."

I don't think they're necessary, Gerhard. No, not necessary at all. Our "health" is best served by having no relations at all with you or with France.

The Europeans no longer seek to be heard at the United Nations, but seek to speak with one voice so as to be heard in Washington.

Excellent observation.

Deny is right. And not only is Germany increasingly irrelevant but most of western Europeans well - with declining populations below the replacement rates, stagnant economies, and burgeoning Moslem immigration.

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