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Dominique Moisi talks sense
In the Herald Tribune:
March 11 forced Europeans to confront a tragic reality, which many of them had refused to see for too long: They too are at war, without any exceptions – both “new Europe” and “old Europe.” Islamic fundamentalism is at war against democracies, irrespective of their stand toward Washington. It is liberal democracy that terrorists want to punish, not our presence or absence in Iraq. In France, the law on the head scarf provides a convenient pretext for threatening a country that played a leading role in opposing the war in Iraq. If there was no such law, another pretext would be used by the extremists.
In reality, since March 11, we on both sides of the Atlantic are more clearly than ever in the same boat. But beyond the obvious and necessary immediate joint action against the terrorists, we continue to disagree on the best way to steer the boat through an ocean of perils. The danger is that each side may use the behavior of the other to confirm its prejudiced view of the other.
The rest is here.
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Harry’s Place is running a Do Something for Iraq campaign to promote ‘campaigns, projects and charities that are directly helping Iraqi people’
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Juliana, former Queen of the Netherlands, has died aged 94
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Recently, Samuel Huntington laid out his reasons for being afraid of Mexican immigrants to the US in an essay in Foreign Policy. You should read it. But even more importantly, make sure to read our AFOE co-editor Scott Martens’ most excellent three part (one, two, three) point by point refutation of Mr Huntington’s effort over at pedantry. While the case study is about the US, there are important lessons to be drawn for European immigration, too – “It’s all Tim Berner-Lee’s fault.”
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The emergency meeting of EU interior ministers today has recommended that next week’s heads of government meeting appoint an EU anti-terrorism ‘czar’, but there will not be a centralized ‘European Intelligence Agency’
Privatisation Run Riot
I am normally a pretty staunch supporter of privatisation. I just provide the double pronged caveat: where it is well thought out, and where it makes sense. Juan Cole has a contract tender specification posted which for me defies all reasonable explanation. It is for a private contract force to protect the Green Zone, the headquarters of the American administration of Iraq in Baghdad. This seems beyond comprehension in its absurdity, but I am sure someone out there will be only too willing to try and put me straight.
The threats that the private security force will be asked to meet provide a summary of the dangers facing U.S. and coalition personnel 10 months after President Bush declared the main fighting over. The contractor, according to the bid proposal, must be prepared to deal with vehicles containing explosive devices, the improvised explosives planted on roads, “direct fire and ground assaults by upwards of 12 personnel with military rifles, machine guns and RPG [rocket-propelled grenade], indirect fire by mortars and rockets, individual suicide bombers, and employment of other weapons of mass destruction . . . in an unconventional warfare setting.” To meet that challenge, the bidders’ personnel must have prior military experience, and those involved directly in force protection must have “operated in U.S., North Atlantic Treaty Organization or other military organizations compatible with NATO standards.” ‘
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According to the people who voted in the Bloggytm category “best European weblog”, the best one is Textism. The four runner-ups are, in order of appearance on the award’s website – Ben Hammersley’s Dangerous Precedent, Open Brackets, Giornale Nuovo, Chocolate & Zucchini. The overall winner is, by the way, BoingBoing, the directory of wonderful things.
Al Quaida, a Learning Organisation?
Spiegel Online claims to be in possession of a 42-page arabic language document that, according to the magazine’s author, Yassin Musharbash, suggests not only that Al Quaida had strategically targeted Madrid just before the elections, but, moreover, that the organisation’s intellectual and thus strategic capacities seem to have risen significantly. According to Musharbash’s article (in German), international experts who analysed the document – which was allegedly found on the internet by a Norwegian defense research agency in December 2003 – assume it to be authentic.
Poland to withdraw from Iraq
AP is running a report that Poland’s president, Aleksander Kwasniewski, will withdraw Polish troops from Iraq.
President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a key Washington ally, said Thursday he may withdraw troops early from Iraq and that Poland was “misled” about the threat of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction.
His remarks to a small group of European reporters were his first hint of criticism about war in Iraq, where Poland currently has 2,400 troops and with the United States and Britain commands one of three sectors of the U.S.-led occupation.
“Naturally, one may protest the reasons for the war action in Iraq. I personally think that today, Iraq without Saddam Hussein is a truly better Iraq than with Saddam Hussein,” Kwasniewski told the European reporters.
“But naturally I also feel uncomfortable due to the fact that we were misled with the information on weapons of mass destruction,” he said, according to a transcript released by the presidential press office.
Earlier in the day, Kwasniewski said Poland may start withdrawing its troops from Iraq early next year, months earlier than the previously stated date of mid-2005. He cited progress toward stabilizing Iraq.
That’s two allies in two weeks for George W. Bush – and in the run-up to the election too. So much for support from “New Europe.” Spain and Poland are the only non-Anglo nations sending any meaningful number of actual troops.