-Caveat Lector-
I take this development as further proof
that Bush and the neocons are destroying America's relations with the entire
world, including all of Europe (not just "Old Europe").
From the standpoint of American interests,
history will judge the Bush administration to be the most disastrous in
history. Bush is a force for pure destruction. It will be impossible
for anyone to fix what he has broken.
Israel, and its satellite, the U.S., are
on a violent collision course with the entire planet. Sharon, and his
puppet, Bush, are terrorism-creating machines without peer. Increasingly
the rest of the world wants nothing to do with us.
The more the errors of the necons are
exposed, the more frenetically they redouble their
fanaticism.
The Democratic Party is utterly useless in
dealing with this problem. Hillary Clinton just revealed herself to be
"Bush Lite" when she urged Americans to "stay the course" in Iraq. She,
like all theother leading Democrats,is dependent for her political
survival on the financial generosity of closet Greater Israelists and Israel
Firsters who are determined to push the U.S. into Joseph Lieberman's "global
religious war" (the neocons'/neolibs' World War IV).
Pretty much all we can do is stand back
and watch the U.S. go permanently downhill, as it is turned into a permanent
paranoid garrison state, at war with the entire world.
- Original Message -
From:
Vigilius Haufniensis
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
; [EMAIL PROTECTED]
; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; [EMAIL PROTECTED] ; gold currency
warfare
Sent: Sunday, November 30, 2003 10:13
PM
Subject: [political-research] Straw fuels
fear of rift between EU and US
http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/11/30/wnato30.xmlsSheet=/news/2003/11/30/ixnewstop.html/news/2003/11/30/wnato30.xmlJack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, fuelled fears of
a transatlantic rift over the European Union's defence policy yesterday
when he refused to reveal how Washington had reacted to news of a
controversial deal struck by Britain, France and Germany. http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;$sessionid$LVCCAHVYF0CLLQFIQMFCFFWAVCBQYIV0?xml=/news/2003/11/29/weu29.xmlIt is believed that Colin Powell, the US secretary
of state, telephoned two European foreign ministers on Friday seeking
urgent clarification of the deal, which will allow the EU to conduct its
own military operations independently of Nato.The plan will also
be discussed by Nato defence and foreign ministers at meetings in Brussels
this week, where critics are expected to include Donald Rumsfeld, the
hawkish US defence secretary.Mr Straw spoke to Mr Powell on Thursday,
the day after the deal was struck in Berlin, but said his response would
have to remain one of the "secrets of the confessional".He refused
to be drawn on whether the Bush administration was willing to back the
plan. "There is a process of discussion to take place with our American
colleagues and with other partners in Nato," he said.One Nato
diplomat, however, had already warned that the proposal - broadly welcomed
by other EU foreign ministers meeting in Naples - was a "Trojan horse"
that could undermine the transatlantic alliance.Senior Washington
officials are concerned that the EU taking on an independent defence role
will weaken Nato, the cornerstone of Western defence for more than 50
years.Earlier this month, President George W. Bush said that he
trusted Tony Blair to "make the right decision" on EU
defence.Yesterday, Mr Straw insisted that the plan would not weaken
Nato. "The conclusion that we reached last night was one in which Nato is
accepted as the alliance par excellence of all participating member
states, the prime means by which we guarantee each other's mutual
defence," he said.Any EU defence activities would be "complementary"
to the alliance.Michael Ancram, the shadow foreign secretary, said:
"This is a sell-out by Tony Blair. I think George Bush will be very angry
and upset by this deal. They promised the Americans there would be no
planning capability outside Nato. But that is what they have
agreed."Mr Ancram said he had warned President Bush about the
initiative during his recent meeting with Michael Howard, the Conservative
leader."President Bush told us that Tony Blair had assured him it
would not undermine Nato. He said, 'I trust him and therefore I am not
listening to you'. I think he will see this vindicates what we were
saying," said Mr Ancram.EU diplomats said that the defence plan,
described by Dominique de Villepin, France's foreign minister, as "a
breakthrough", would see a skeleton staff of about 30 "operational
planners" established alongside an existing strategic planning unit in
Brussels.They would be put to work whenever the EU decided to deploy
its own military force.Nato
