Free Republic

Transatlantic trepidation By John Palmer in Brussels 22 January 1981 No inauguration of any modern American president has been viewed in Europe with such ambiguity as that of Mr Ronald Reagan. Behind the official words of welcome and the delegations of support for the administration the United States’ European allies harbour serious misgivings about the future of US/European relations. The attitudes of western Europe to a “strong” US have always been contradictory – but rarely more so than today. On the one hand, most governments are anxious to see Washington pursue a more consistent and self confident international foreign policy....

PARIS, - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday accused countries like France that want much longer arms inspections in Iraq of being "afraid" to take responsibility for a possible war. In an interview with French public radio France Info, he also said Washington already had United Nations authority under November's resolution 1441 to use force even without a second resolution it was now drafting. France, which has a veto in the Security Council, says it sees no need for a new resolution. "It cannot be a satisfactory solution for inspections just to continue forever because some nations are...