Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, November 2003, pages 38-39

European Press Review

Bush Request for U.N. Assistance in Iraq Called a "Humiliating Climb-Down"

By Lucy Jones

President George W. Bush called upon the United Nations Sept. 10 to authorize a multinational force in Iraq. The U.S. request for help followed the bombings of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad and of a mosque in the Shi'i holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq, in which over a hundred people perished. It also came as Iraqis grew increasingly frustrated at the coalition's lack of progress on reconstruction and as American soldiers serving in Iraq were being killed almost daily.

"A humiliating diplomatic climb-down," is how Britain's Guardian newspaper on Sept. 4 described Mr. Bush's volte-face. The London Times on the same day declared it "an about-turn."

Germany and France continued to refuse to participate in any Iraqi mission, Germany's Der Tagesspiegel pointed out Sept 8. "It would progress if at least the European members of the Security Council were to speak with one voice," the newspaper said, noting that this is unlikely because both countries say the latest U.N. resolution did not go far enough in devolving power to the Iraqi people. The paper suggested implementation of what it called the "Afghan model," with the U.S. and Britain in charge of fighting Saddam Hussain's supporters, while the U.N. and NATO would be used for peacekeeping tasks. "[German Chancellor Gerhard] Schroeder and [French President Jacques] Chirac would then be able to make concessions over Iraq without suffering too much political damage domestically," the newspaper said.

But, wrote Austria's Der Standard on Sept. 5, the countries opposed to the war "are unlikely to accept the usual vague allusions to a Ôvital U.N. role' while at the same time granting the U.S. a dominant one."

In any case, Bush is in a weak position, pointed out Norway's Aftenposten of Sept. 8, as he no longer can tell the world he has saved it from Saddam Hussain's weapons of mass destruction.

As for Spain, which already has troops in Iraq, the Madrid government "cannot be bothered" to discuss the post-war U.S. role "more than is strictly necessary," El Mundo wrote Sept. 5.

World "More Unstable" since Sept. 11, says Spain's El Mundo

The second anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States saw a wave of reflection in the European press on America's current place in the world. "The number of victims, the methods used and the symbols targeted, unleashed a wave of solidarity with America for which there is no historical precedent," wrote France's Le Monde on the anniversary of the attacks. Two years later, however, "the United States' standing is at an all-time low" and "compassion has given way to the fear that ill-thought action will only worsen the problems," the newspaper continued. "The U.S.," the paper argued, "must listen to its allies, be mindful of the different situations in which it intervenes, and respect the international rules which America itself helped to draw up."

"The U.S. must listen to its allies and respect the international rules which America itself helped draw up."

Madrid's El Mundo wrote the same day that, immediately after the attacks, Bush "held in his hands...a blank check given to him by millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic." But two years on, it said, the international situation "is more unstable with every passing day," because of what the paper described as Bush's decision "to cast the world into the abyss of the new order, under the pretext of the war on terrorism."

Since the attacks, Germans have become more critical of the U.S., Der Tagesspiegel said Sept. 11. Chancellor Schroeder's anti-war stance on Iraq is seen as having played a part in this shift. While two years ago the Germans merely had reservations about Bush, now, as the paper put it, most of them "despise" him. "Germany has become more European, more anti-American, more Gaullist," since the attacks, the newspaper concluded.

Russia's Moskovskiy Komsomolets of Sept. 11 noted "a tendency to turn Sept. 11 into an indulgence, a reason, a propaganda symbol, an advertising tag, a source of permission for everything."

The same day, however, Die Welton criticized those who oppose Washington's leading world role for failing to be clear about the alternative.

In Italy, Corriere Della Sera said on Sept. 11 that the attacks remain "an open wound" for the U.S. "Neither the time that has passed, nor the interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq," it noted, "have been able to drive out the nightmare of terrorism from the sleep of the Americans."

"Lying Blair" Said to Have Given "Good" Performance at Kelly Inquiry

The Hutton inquiry into the apparent suicide of Dr. David Kelly—the British scientist who voiced misgivings over the Blair government's presentation of the case for war against Iraq—dominated the press in Europe, not least because UK Prime Minister Tony Blair himself was called to give evidence on Aug. 28. Kelly was said to have told BBC defense correspondent Andrew Gilligan that the prime minister's adviser Alastair Campbell "sexed up" a government dossier about Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction which included the claim that Baghdad could deploy such weapons within 45 minutes.

"Behind the closed doors of Downing Street—that's where the Iraqi threat was concocted," Russia's government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta wrote on Aug. 20. Documentary evidence submitted to the inquiry "allows the conclusion to be drawn that the dossier on Iraqi weapons was edited (or, if you prefer, censored) before being played as the trump card in the war game," the newspaper said, "and that evidence of a threat from Saddam Hussain was not only Ôexaggerated' but didn't exist at all."

Some newspapers wondered whether Blair would have to resign. "Blair could lose his job at any time," Russia's Nezavismaya Gazeta said Aug. 26.

Germany's Tageszeitung of the previous day, while accusing Blair of "lying on several occasions in the case of Dr. Kelly," claimed that public inquiries never have had serious consequences in the UK.

But Blair gave a good account of himself at the Hutton inquiry, the conservative French paper Le Figaro said on Aug. 29, following his appearance. He "laid emphasis on his responsibility as head of the government," it noted, but "carefully distanced himself from the events which led to Dr. Kelly's death."

Barcelona's La Vanguardia pointed out the same day that Blair's main challenge now is "to regain credibility and dispel the widespread perception that he took his country to war…on the strength of false arguments."

According to the UK's Guardian of Aug. 29, however, Blair had been "let off the hook." The paper explained, "Blair handled his morning in the witness box with his usual great skill. But unless he understands why he was there, it may do him little long-term good," it concluded.

Human Rights in Turkey Said Not to Be "a Christian Affair"

The Turkish prime minister's visit to Germany at the beginning of September brought to the fore the issue of Turkey's accession to the European Union. Turkey has done enough to ensure that the EU will have to agree to accession negotiations from 2005, Berliner Zeitung said on Sept. 3, concluding that "Europe must use the next few years to prepare itself for the new member Turkey."

It is up to the current EU members to decide whether or not Turkey joins, Sueddeutsche Zeitung said the same day. "Europe is what the Europeans want it to become," it said. But, it added, Turkey's EU membership would symbolize the fact that democracy and human rights are not merely "a Christian affair."

Libya Comes Out of the Cold

Because U.S. sanctions remain in place, the lifting of U.N. sanctions against Libya is merely "symbolic," wrote The Guardian on Sept. 2. U.N. sanctions against Libya were lifted Sept. 12, after Tripoli agreed to compensate families who lost relatives as a result of the Lockerbie bombing and downing of the French UTA airliner in 1989. The newspaper went on to say that the lifting of the U.N. embargo could put pressure on the U.S. to change its stance.

Some victims' relatives, however, remain apprehensive about Libya's buying favor with the international community while failing to assume full responsibility for the bombings. The brother of one victim of the French UTA airliner bombing told the UK's Telegraph of Sept. 2, "What the Libyans are saying in effect is, ÔSign up, chums—then we'll talk about payment. We should be in no hurry to remove them [sanctions] if the time isn't right."

Aznar's Libya Trip Criticized

Spanish Prime Minister JosŽ Maria Aznar was criticized for meeting with Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi in Tripoli on Sept. 18. Aznar is the first Western leader to visit the North African state in more than a decade. Above a photograph of the two leaders shaking hands, Madrid's El Mundo of Sept. 19 ran the headline: "The photo opportunity that Aznar should never have accepted." It went on to argue, "A political leader's actions must be consistent with his convictions and with what he stands for, which is why Aznar was wrong to lend legitimacy with his presence to such a sinister character as the Libyan leader."

Barcelona's La Vanguardia of the same day took a more pragmatic line, advancing the opinion that if Qaddafi wants to strengthen his ties with the European Union and boost foreign investment in his country, "shaking his hand is therefore a positive gesture."

BBC Says Abu Mazen Was "Stuck in the Middle"

The resignation of Mahmoud Abbas, also known as Abu Mazen, as Palestinian prime minister was seen as a disaster in Europe. Abu Mazen has been called a collaborator by Palestinian militants, who accuse him of being a stooge to the Americans and Israelis. "In reality," said the BBC's Kylie Morris on Sept. 6, "he is a man who has become stuck in the middle, caught between Israeli demands to stop and disarm the militants and Palestinian demands that the Israelis stop their assassinations, release prisoners and return territory." Concluded Morris, "The experiences of Abu Mazen have shown that without a willingness on both sides to give ground, any Palestinian prime minister will be hard-pressed to resurrect a road map to peace that appears to have reached a dead-end."

Financial Burden of Eliminating Arafat Called "Insupportable" for Israel

Several papers pointed out the economic risks of eliminating the titular head of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser Arafat, ahead of an Israeli cabinet decision to expel him. Israel would likely have to assume the full burden of running the occupied territories, noted France's Le Monde on Sept. 12. The poverty caused by the occupation, civil unrest, and travel restrictions have left the territories economically stagnant, the publication pointed out. "This burden would be insupportable for Israel's finances, which are already in disarray," it concluded.

Lucy Jones is a free-lance journalist based in London.

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