Posted on 04/17/2003 3:00:31 PM PDT by aSkeptic
The official purpose of the two-day meeting of European Union leaders in Athens was the signing of an accession treaty admitting 10 new countries, mostly from the former Eastern bloc, to the union.
But the key meetings on the fringes of the formal event were inevitably focused on the aftermath of military conflict in Iraq.
The summit ended with a joint statement, calling for a "central role" for the United Nations in the setting up of a new government and urging the coalition military forces to ensure peace and security in the interim.
But the role of the EU itself is far from co-ordinated, as various European states have responded in their own way to the US-led coalition's actions on the ground in Iraq.
The internal differences and lack of united leadership in the EU have been on public show at this meeting.
Uncertainty
A joint statement on Iraq was drafted with Wednesday's date but only appeared on Thursday.
Behind the scenes there is uncertainty about the intentions of US President George W Bush's administration.
It contained no specific proposals on the divisive issues of political and economic reconstruction in Iraq, though it did call for a central role for the UN in the process leading towards self-government.
Afterwards, Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi complained that the text had not been properly discussed by ministers of the 15 EU governments.
Diplomats say legal and political arguments over the coalition's role in taking key decisions on Iraq's administration and reconstruction may take weeks or even months to resolve.
Behind the scenes there is uncertainty about the intentions of US President George W Bush's administration.
The UN Secretary General , Kofi Annan, who was in Athens throughout the summit, did his best to conceal his frustration after numerous meetings.
His spokesman, Fred Eckhard, called on the US Government to set out a clear plan for the UN in reconstructing Iraq.
Nato bypassed
He said until that had been done, it was pointless to speculate about the kind of role the UN might play.
Berlusconi: Text was not properly discussed Meanwhile, the US appears to be moving fast to assemble a military peacekeeping and stabilisation force for Iraq, bypassing Nato and the EU and drawing on soldiers from countries that supported the US-led war.
Denmark is considering a US request to lead a 3,000-man force including personnel from Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Italy has formally offered 2,500 men for the same purpose.
Several other eastern European states which sent back-up military or medical teams to the Gulf during the war have signalled they are willing to play a role in the post-war period.
French bewilderment
Jacques Chirac himself proposed an EU operation to airlift injured civilians to Europe for medical treatment.
But when asked about the possible deployment of large numbers of soldiers under Danish command he was clearly taken off guard and said he knew nothing about it.
It is possible to see in this signs of growing American influence over the EU's member states.
The EU's own so-called rapid reaction force, which was meant to be operational for crisis management tasks from the start of this year, is not on offer to help in Iraq.
And the hard decisions to come at the UN Security Souncil still have to be thrashed out among the council's permanent members, including Britain, France and Russia.
Terrorist-in-Chief Annan only needs more money, more weapons, more children for his pedophiles,
and more Islamic slaves and terrorists to make him happy.
Denmark is considering a US request to lead a 3,000-man force including personnel from Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.
Italy has formally offered 2,500 men for the same purpose.
Several other eastern European states which sent back-up military or medical teams to the Gulf during the war have signalled they are willing to play a role in the post-war period.
AND
French bewilderment
The author of this article needed to put this sentence into his propaganda so badly that he repeated it twice in three paragraphs.
And it's a lie. Bush isn't sneaky or duplicitous. He says what he means and he does what he says. GWB also speaks to most audiences at a 7th grade level so that there is little room for misunderstandings among even the most obtuse Eurotrash.
Thus, anyone who claims to be "uncertain" about President Bush's intentions is either lying, confusing GWB with Slick Willy, or unable to comprehend 7th Grade English.
U.N. diplomats said sanctions should not be lifted until the world body certifies that Iraq is free of weapons of mass destruction, while Washington showed no sign it would involve the world body in the hunt for the banned weapons.
If anything says these are self-serving bureaucrats, this does! Sanctions won't be lifted until they get a piece of the pie. . . Grrrr!
| Diplomats say legal and political arguments over the coalition's role in taking key decisions on Iraq's administration and reconstruction may take weeks or even months to resolve.
In the meantime, of course, we will have to proceed without them. BWAAA ha ha! |
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
That may be, but until they have this sorted out, they should not be proposing things piecemeal. As M. Chirac himself has stated, it is essential that Europe speak with one voice.