PARIS:
Le Monde (liberal), June 13:
Resistance, opposition even, to [the proposed missile defense
system] remains strong, even though Washington succeeded in
spreading its fear of a new "menace," which is no
longer that of the Cold War. What is the nature of this menace?
What is the best response? By creating such an anti-missile
"umbrella," would not a new arms race have begun?
Is the project technically credible? These are some of the unanswerable
questions raised by Europeans who, for the most part, oppose
the de facto disappearance of the 1972 ABM Treaty….
OSLO: Dagbladet (liberal),
June 14:
The basic problem [in relations] between the United States and
Europe does not concern missiles or gas discharges. It stems
from the fact that the United States and Europe see the world
with different eyes. After the Cold War's end we have only one
superpower.
The Texan Bush exploits this power vacuum for what it is worth
to forward America's national interests. The result is that
both old friends and old enemies feel run over. Why act flexible,
when one makes the decisions anyway? Yesterday that attitude
was apparent. Bush came to Brussels not to listen, but to explain
why a missile defense is vital.
VILNIUS: Baltic News Service
(government-owned), June 15:
Lithuania welcomes and supports U.S. President George Bush's
resolute pledge to continue with its allies to enlarge NATO's
frontiers for the creation of a whole, prosperous, and free
new Europe.
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JIDDAH:
Fawaz Turki, Arab News (pro-government, English-langauge),
June 14:
Bush has seen the light, namely, that global forces are so interconnected
today, in a manner similar to subsystems that are dynamically
linked to a whole system, that foreign policy is everything—finance,
politics, trade, culture—and no leader of a major power
can avoid being involved if he wants to see it all come together.
In a way, then, the Bush administration, sooner or later, will
find itself edging back to the Clinton era of activist engagement.
OSLO: Svein A. Rohne, Verdens
Gang (independent), June 13:
It is important for Bush to meet European politicians face to
face. The president's colleagues ensure that he has no illusions
about how he is viewed in Europe. A jovial political tone, such
as only the world's mightiest politician can affect, may alter
the impression of a hard-hitting cowboy from Texas who recklessly
drives politics with the rest of the world in the backseat—a
world in which he is not particularly interested.
LONDON: The Guardian
(liberal), June 15:
From the White House's point of view, George Bush's first NATO
summit was a success. Mr. Bush stated his desire to create a
new strategic framework, including the so-called "son of star
wars" missile shield, to provide a global, multilayered defense.
By keeping his proposals vague, Mr. Bush avoided a row with
those, notably France and Germany, who favor strengthened non-proliferation
regimes and diplomacy as the best way of dealing with threats
posed by "rogue" or "unstable" states….
From a European point of view, the failure of the continent's
leaders to articulate the widespread popular opposition to Mr.
Bush's plans was as predictable as it was dismaying. Unlike
secretary of state Colin Powell last month, the president was
given an exceptionally easy ride. Such courteous deference to
the new man is all very well for now. |
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