EUROPE NOT UNIFIED: Not all European leaders are rushing to get on the Star Wars bandwagon. Anna Lindh, the Foreign Minister of Sweden, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU), emerged recently from a meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell and told the media that "I haven't changed my mind" about missile defense. The EU views the Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty as "very strategic, and we don't want the ABM Treaty threatened," she said. In fact, Europe is still heavily divided over Star Wars even after major efforts by the Bush team to create a feeling of inevitability on the continent. Europe is still upset over the way the U.S. kept vital satellite recon information from the NATO allies during the Yugoslavia war. Vowing never to be in a subservient position to the U.S. again, NATO (led by France and Germany) is now moving to build their own military satellites and a rapid deployment force outside of U.S. formal control. Bush, who is opposed to a European rapid deployment force, has essentially traded that card for European TMD support. All of this makes a strong case for active work on the space issue by European peace groups.
