Is Europe off the hook? Posted by Derek Chollet

One of the significant positive shifts of the Bush Administration’s second term foreign policy has been its approach toward Europe. Part of this is a reflection of the past -- after the first four years, it is hard to imagine how transatlantic relations could get any worse.

Yet as the Economist has recently pointed out, there has also been a notable change in the Bush Administration’s attitude toward Europe -- the Europeans are happy with the visits by President Bush and Secretary Rice and they praised the important speeches each delivered in Brussels and Paris respectively (the substance of both speeches American progressive internationalists could and should agree with).

Despite this charm offensive, the Europeans are still negatively obsessed with Bush -- I think they are more obsessed with him than most Democrats in the United States.  At a policy conference in Germany I attended last weekend, someone posed the question of what it meant to be European. The first answer offered: "not Bush." Now this was partly a joke, but it also received a round of hearty applause. In fact, many participants argued that Europe’s loathing of George Bush has done more to bring about European unity than anything else. Again, this is certainly a stretch, but has an element of truth.

This leads one to ask: if being anti-Bush is an important part of being a European, then what will being a European mean in 2008, after Bush is gone, or what would it have meant this year if John Kerry had won? (This is a good reminder for progressives as well -- it’s not good enough just to be against Bush, we need to stand for something).

Of course, the Europeans were shocked that Bush won reelection -- but in reality, this let many of their leaders off the hook. Oddly enough, while a Democratic victory would have created a great deal of goodwill between the two sides and made the Europeans much happier, Transatlantic relations would be more challenged today, not less. The reason is simple: Democrats have higher expectations of our European allies -- and quite possibly, these expectations are unrealistic.

For example, the progressive answer for Iraq is not to pull out tomorrow, but to get the Europeans and organizations like NATO more involved to ease the burdens on our troops and give the occupation greater legitimacy in the eyes of the Iraqi people and the world. Our belief is not that Bush has asserted too much leadership concerning Europe, but that he has asserted too little.

But what’s striking is how unprepared the Europeans would have been for this -- the limits of their military capabilities are well-known, but few in Europe seem to recognize that a Democratic Administration would have asked more of them. They still want to debate what happened three years ago in the run-up to the Iraq war, not what they can do to help us today in Iraq. I don’t think that this is good for them; but I know that it isn’t good for us.

Comments

[MattJ]

Of course, the Europeans were shocked that Bush won reelection -- but in reality, this let many of their leaders off the hook. Oddly enough, while a Democratic victory would have created a great deal of goodwill between the two sides and made the Europeans much happier, Transatlantic relations would be more challenged today, not less. The reason is simple: Democrats have higher expectations of our European allies -- and quite possibly, these expectations are unrealistic.

Doesn't it go the other direction as well? Our European allies would have unrealistic expectations of President Kerry, too.

[Akuj]

Europeans have had NO intention of getting themselves invloved in the Iraq debacle, regardless of who sits in the WH. It seems to be some sort of ongoing progressive fantasy that Europeans would roll over for a Democratic president.

It's not altogether surprising that American progressives have such a poor understanding of Europeans, not when they hardly understand their own kind. Once again we have a progressive writer pointing out that Dems "need to stand for something", without actually specifying what that something might be. "Send more Europeans to Iraq"? John Kerry tried to differentiate himself with this jibberish, and it didn't work for him either.

Democrats will have to solve their own political problems, without the Europeans, who face their own political challenges. Finding out what American progressives stand for would be a great place to start looking.

You won't find many American non-conservatives at conferences in Germany.

[TCH]

Akuj: Europeans have had NO intention of getting themselves invloved in the Iraq debacle, regardless of who sits in the WH.

Of course not, but a White House serving under Kerry would have made it more difficult not to become involved in one way or another (in fact, speaking for Germany, we are already involved, though not on Iraqi soil – we train Iraqis in Arab countries as well as in Germany).

European policy mainly has been – and still is – a policy in strong favor of multilateralism.
This was one of the main reasons for protesting against the foreign policy of Bush I.

With a US foreign policy that focussed far more on multilateralism (and without many doubts, Kerry would have done so), one of the main arguments would have fallen away immediately. How could we oppose something we previously asked for?
In fact, I believe, by doing so we would have done even more damage to the Euro-US-Relations. By moving into Iraq the public would have been outraged.

So I'd agree that Europe is off the hook now.

(It is definitly not very helpful though to still cry over Iraq or try to evade pragmatic discussion about foreign policy by telling, how bad Bush is.
We have to face the situation and realise that an unstable Iraq isn't in our interest either.)

[Jeff Owen]

"They still want to debate what happened three years ago in the run-up to the Iraq war, not what they can do to help us today in Iraq."

"They" at the beginning of this sentence refers to Europeans, but it could just as easily refer to our Administration.

But for what practical reasons should Europeans take the initiative in figuring out what they can do in Iraq? Certainly not because they supported the war, nor because they view our alliance agreements as relevant to the invasion of Iraq, and not because involving their soldiers in an unpopular war would produce any political advantage.

It seems that the ball is in our court with regards to looking at how Europeans could help.

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