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Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War!
Warning shot on EU army by White House
By Toby Harnden in Washington and Toby Helm in Berlin
US Department of State
US Department of Defence
Common foreign and security policy - European Union
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato)
Strengthening Europe's capability for crisis management - Foreign
Commonwealth Office
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
THE Bush administration has given a tough warning that plans for a European
Defence Force could undermine Nato and provoke a dangerous rift between
America and its allies.
Donald Rumsfeld, the US Defence Secretary, told delegates to a conference in
Munich at the weekend that he was "a little worried" by proposals for a
60,000-strong European Rapid Reaction Force by 2003. He said: "Actions that
could reduce Nato's effectiveness by confusing duplication or perturbing the
transatlantic link would not be positive."
His critical comments, the first by a senior member of the new US
administration, were accompanied by a firm insistence that America would
press on with plans for a "Son of Star Wars" National Missile Defence system
despite vigorous opposition from Germany, France and Russia.
Robin Cook, the Foreign Secretary, is to offer cautious support for NMD
during a visit to America this week. But he will ask Mr Bush not to press for
a public commitment that could create a Nato crisis and isolate Tony Blair
within the EU. Mr Cook's arrival will mark the beginning of a crucial phase
in Britain's intensive efforts to woo the new Republican administration that
will culminate with Mr Blair's meeting with Mr Bush on February 23.
A senior British official in Washington said that Britain had no need to make
any firm commitment to NMD because it was not yet clear what type of system
Mr Bush would favour and when it would be deployed. But he indicated that
Britain accepted that some form of NMD shield against states such as North
Korea and Iraq was inevitable.
Although Mr Blair has made no public commitment, British policy appears to be
moving inexorably towards supporting NMD and asking to be covered by its
nuclear umbrella. Announcing this could damage Mr Blair in the eyes of
Britain's European allies and the Left of the Labour Party. American sources
have said that they recognised this dilemma and Mr Bush wanted to avoid a
crisis within either the EU or Nato.
With NMD and the European Defence Force plans at the top of the agenda, Mr
Cook will seek to pull off a delicate balancing act when he arrives in
Washington today for the first official visit by a European foreign secretary
since Mr Bush was inaugurated as President.
Mr Rumsfeld told the Munich conference that America had a "moral" duty to
press forward with the programme and wanted to discuss how "to help European
nations and other allies to deploy missile defences". His remarks about EU
plans were echoed by Art Eggleton, the Canadian Defence Minister, who said
there was a danger of Nato splitting into "two solitudes" if an autonomous
European Defence Force were created.
Senator John McCain, one of the most influential figures in the Republican
Party, said that plans for the force were creating "unneeded acrimony" within
Nato. He said: "The issues that confront us go to the very core of our
existence as an alliance. Fundamental questions regarding the future of Nato
stand before us. I am afraid that our geographical divide is increasingly
becoming a functional one. Our perspectives are diverging."
Mr Cook told BBC Radio yesterday: "I welcome the commitment made by Mr
Rumsfeld that America will consult with its allies." He added that "the US
has a long way to go", but denied that Britain was "biding its time" while
hoping the issue would dissipate. Mr Cook said: "This is an American debate,
and it's for the Americans to come to conclusions as to whether or not they
believe the system will enhance their security."
At the Munich conference, Joschka Fischer, Germany's Foreign Minister and a
member of the mainly pacifist Greens party, pleaded with the Americans to
recognise the strong German opposition to the NMD project. Sergei Ivanov,
Russia's Defence Secretary, said NMD would undermine world security and
risked opening a new arms race in outer space as well as rendering the 1972
Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty "senseless".
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