U.S. must repair Iraq rift with Europe

Associated Press ^ | March 21, 2004 | HOPE YEN

[tomball]

WASHINGTON -- The United States is losing credibility in Europe because of the situation in Iraq and must quickly repair the damage or face eroding support for the fight against terrorism, lawmakers said Sunday.

"If you were president of the United States and I were your secretary of state, I'd say, 'Get on the plane now, go to Europe. This is a time to unite, unite Europe,'" Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., told the host of ABC's "This Week."

"And if you continue to lose Europe, you're jeopardizing my country," said Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Strains in the U.S.-European alliance grew larger after Spain's newly elected prime minister pledged to withdraw his peacekeeping troops from Iraq by June 30.

France's foreign minister has blamed the war for unnecessarily unleashing more terrorist violence. Poland initially suggested it might pull out troops months early, before backtracking Friday and saying they will stay "as long as needed."

"It's time to begin diplomacy at the highest level between ourselves and our European friends," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"We should open a dialogue on a variety of issues that the Europeans care about: climate change, international criminal court, a number of economic issues that continue to divide us," McCain said.

"We should appreciate their concerns, their desires, their anger at whatever it is," McCain said on "Fox News Sunday."

Spanish voters last week ousted the conservative government of Jose Maria Aznar, with some accusing his government of provoking the Madrid railway attacks because he supported President Bush on Iraq. Al-Qaida reportedly claimed responsibility for the bombings.

His successor, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, described the war as an "error" and said he would bring the 1,300 Spanish peacekeepers home unless the United Nations takes control in Iraq.

Sen. Chuck Hagel, citing the railway bombings, expressed concern that "one of the dangers, I think, of the currents that are taking us now ... is even a wider and deeper division" between the United States and its European allies.

"That trans-Atlantic partnership that has essentially been responsible for keeping peace in the world since World War II. That is dangerously being jeopardized today, partly because of Iraq, partly because how we've handled it. But that needs to close," Hagel, R-Neb., told "Fox News Sunday."

Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, played down the notion of a growing divide with the United States.

"Don't confuse terrorism with Iraqi war," Prodi told Fox. "We are united against terrorism and a lot of governments didn't agree with the Iraqi war."

Sen. John Kerry, Bush's Democratic presidential rival, has sought to capitalize on growing public doubts about Iraq. His campaign has faulted Bush for going to war without significant allied support and without a clear plan for a postwar Iraq.

Hagel said political sniping over Iraq threatens to undermine presidential authority to keep the allied coalition together after the Nov. 2 election for the White House.

"We may find ourselves over the next four years unable to sustain our policies in Iraq, Afghanistan and on our war against terrorism, because the politics have so divided this country," Hagel said.

 

 

[hauerf]

Your post needs a barf alert.

[mewzilla]

Biden, huh? Just back from the trip he and Hilliary took over there to co-ordinate plans with the Socialists. On the taxpayer's dime, no doubt. Oh, way to go, Joe.

[tkathy]

Maybe the Euroweenies need to repair their relations with us.

[martin_fierro]

HOPE YEN

C'mon. That can't be a real name.

Who's her mother? Desiree?

[CzarNicky]

After being kicked around a few times by al qaeda they'll figure it out.

[Fiddlstix]

Presented as a Public Service
Certain FReepers may need this

Click the Pic

[traumer]

And I say
"Europe must repair Iraq rift with USA"

:o)

[LeftiesBinWhinin]

I hope my fellow Nebraskans do what is right and get rid of that MAJOR RINO Chuck Hagel in the next election. What a worm.

[Buck W.]

"The United States is losing credibility in Europe because of THE SITUATION in Iraq...(CAPS mine)"

The Bush administration must begin to define THE SITUATION accurately, i.e., as the mostly positive situation that it really is. Stop giving plagiarists like Biden a free ride to make THE SITUATION something that it's not. I don't mind losing credibility with euroweenies if they can't perceive the positives.

[goodnesswins]

Yeah, right.....they're pining for some more of that $10.1 BILLION that Saddam was giving away.....choose your friends Euroweinies....and choose them wisely, not stupidly, like you have in the past 30 or so years!!! I'd say Eastern Europe is a better place to focus OUR efforts AND FRIENDSHIP....could care less what the western Euro's think....they've MARXED out.

[prion]

Hagel said political sniping over Iraq threatens to undermine presidential authority to keep the allied coalition together after the Nov. 2 election for the White House.

Meaning what? Bush will win, but will be too bloodied by the election to govern? Oh, I doubt that very much.

[Kakaze]

" Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, played down the notion of a growing divide with the United States. "Don't confuse terrorism with Iraqi war," Prodi told Fox. "We are united against terrorism and a lot of governments didn't agree with the Iraqi war." "

I'm sure the last thing these guys want is the truth .

Terrorism and Iraq go hand in hand, just like "oil for food" and embezzlement go hand in hand.

The truth, is those hands both have at least one european arm attached to them.

[FairOpinion]

WRONG statements:

It should read the other way around:

"EUROPE must repair Iraq rift with US

WASHINGTON -- Europe is losing credibility in the US, because of the situation in Iraq and must quickly repair the damage or face eroding support for the fight against terrorism, lawmakers said Sunday."

WE don't need Europe - they need us.

[Broadside Joe]

"The United States is losing credibility in Europe because of the situation in Iraq and must quickly repair the damage or face eroding support for the fight against terrorism, lawmakers said Sunday."

BS! Who ran a campaign comparing GW to Hitler?

Who stabbed us in the back at the UN? And then went on a hate America tour around the world?

All these wimps need to grow a pair.

[Hun in the sun]

"And I say
"Europe must repair Iraq rift with USA"
:o)"

Hmmm... why "MUST" we?

:o)


Hun

[Guillermo]

"We should open a dialogue on a variety of issues that the Europeans care about: climate change, international criminal court, a number of economic issues that continue to divide us," McCain said.

IE, the US should become socialist, internationalist and give up our sovereignty.

[Starve The Beast]

"We should open a dialog on a variety of issues that the Europeans care about: climate change, international criminal court, a number of economic issues that continue to divide us," McCain said.

Hold it, hold it, hold it... Islamic extremists bomb a Madrid train, the Spanish electorate appeases them, and... that's the time for America to cave? Mr. McCain, we're against stuff like the ICC and Kyoto because they're bad policy, not because we're trying to be difficult. The Europeans have repeatedly refused every olive branch we've offered. If we were to start acceding to wacky demands now, it would be tantamount to letting the Madrid bombers dictate our policy.

In case you've forgotten, sir, that's not the way we do things here.

[FairOpinion]

"If you were president of the United States and I were your secretary of state, I'd say, 'Get on the plane now, go to Europe. This is a time to unite, unite Europe,'" Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., told the host of ABC's "This Week."

"And if you continue to lose Europe, you're jeopardizing my country," said Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee."

===

Democrats think that we should only defend the US, IF the French approve.

Thank God, that is not Bush's philosophy:

"America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country." --- G. W. Bush

[VOA]

U.S. must repair Iraq rift with Europe

Just one problem: The Iraqi people.
Especially, 1. The Kurds in the north who want even stronger ties with the USA (as seen on NBC Evening News)
and
2. The Iraqis in the rest of the country who do want the US Military to
leave...but not until things are settled.

One thing the Iraqis of most stripes do seem to agree on:
Distrust of the UN and Old Europe to help them fix their country.