http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=004225555459148&rtmo=fsMrolqs&atmo=rrrrrrrq&
pg=/et/01/1/26/wkiss26.html
Kissinger urges Bush to shore up Nato
By Toby Harnden in Washington
FEARS that the European defence force could undermine Nato are growing in
America with senior Republicans advising President Bush to act swiftly to
shore up the transatlantic alliance.Although Mr Bush has been in office for
just five days and Gen Colin Powell, the new Secretary of State, and
Condoleezza Rice, National Security Adviser, have yet to appoint senior
staff, the US response to European integration is already emerging as a key
issue.
In an article in the Washington Post, Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State
under President Nixon, said: "The European Union is in the process of
creating a military force institutionally distinct from Nato." The force, he
said, "could produce the worst of all worlds: disruption of Nato procedures
and impairment of allied co-operation without enhanced allied military
capability or meaningful European autonomy".
There has been a weakening of the "emotional bond" between Americans and
Europe, he argued, with many EU countries seeking their own "special
relationship" with Moscow and viewing Nato as a relic of the Cold War. The
Clinton administration had left a "legacy of unanswered questions" about
European integration but "the advent of Republican administration will
inevitably change America's focus of consultation with Europe's leaders".
According to Mr Kissinger, Mr Clinton had put "the prestige of the American
presidency behind one side" in many European countries. Under Mr Bush, US
policy would be "less geared to personalities and more designed to bring
about a meaningful transatlantic dialogue" based on permanent national
interests. The backgrounds of Gen Powell and Miss Rice made it "very likely
that the task of revitalising the alliance will be given high priority" in
the Bush administration.
European countries needed to reassess their opposition to America's National
Missile Defence (NMD) programme and "ask themselves whether any American
president can seriously be asked to leave his people permanently vulnerable"
to countries such as North Korea and Iraq.In yesterday's New York Times,
William Safire, a leading conservative commentator, was scathing in his
criticism of European defence force plans, which represented a
"Euro-isolationism" that was "led by French chauvinists and Brussels
bureaucrats". He said that only "the bold" William Hague was "resisting this
slow dissolution" of Nato and had given a "Churchillian speech" defending the
US-European strategic relationship.
Mr Hague's support for NMD and his proposal that its umbrella be extended to
cover European allies "revives the original idea behind Nato" and would
counter the threat from "blackmailers with deliverable weapons of mass
destruction", Mr Safire said. Mr Safire also urged Mr Bush to resist a
"pre-election photo op" with "the agile Blair, Clinton's buddy".
In a 10-minute conversation on Tuesday, Mr Bush and Mr Blair agreed that they
should meet soon and officials are finalising arrangements for the Prime
Minister to visit Washington next month. Mr Bush's inexperience in world
affairs means that he is likely to rely heavily on his advisers during the
early months of his presidency.
As well as Gen Powell, Miss Rice and Donald Rumsfeld, his Defence Secretary,
these will include Vice President Dick Cheney, who ran the Pentagon during
the Gulf war. Mr Cheney has appointed his own foreign policy advisers,
indicating he will be an influential figure in international security matters.
Although Gen Powell and Miss Rice are strongly pro-Nato, they are seen as
likely to be less worried about the ramifications of European integration
than Mr Cheney and Mr Rumsfeld. Under Gen Powell, many senior posts will be
filled by career diplomats rather than political appointees, making it more
possible that elements of what Mr Safire described as Mr Clinton's
"wishy-washy US response to Euro-isolationism" will continue.
