Post by Moses on Feb 21, 2005 22:09:00 GMT -5
www.csmonitor.com/2005/0222/p01s01-usfp.html
In key address, Bush reaches out to Europeans as well as their leaders.
By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BRUSSELS – President Bush began laying the groundwork Monday for one of his top - and most difficult - foreign-policy goals of a second term: signing on Europe to his "big idea" of transforming the 21st century's trouble spots through the spread of democracy.
To succeed, Mr. Bush will have to cast beyond the leaders he will meet over a week-long trip. He will also have to convince a skeptical European public. That is why Bush has at the top of his agenda what White House officials say is a "conversation with Europe."
If the president hopes to entice Western leaders to join in building a "strategic agenda," he will have to narrow Europe's political differences with his vision for America. And that means reaching the people who vote these leaders in and out of office.
This public-diplomacy goal of the trip was clear Monday, when Bush rose to the stage of a Brussels concert hall for what he called "an opportunity to speak to the peoples of Europe."
"Together we united this continent with our democratic values," the president said, referring to World War II and its aftermath. Now the "Euro-Atlantic family" is "essential to peace and prosperity across the globe."....
The president laid out a list of issues where the transatlantic partners must work together, including peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reform across the Middle East, notably in Iraq. ..... He received perhaps the loudest round of applause when he said, "Syria must end its occupation of Lebanon" and reiterated a call for working to ensure Lebanon's right to free elections this spring.
.... Thursday when the president is scheduled to meet with "champions of freedom" in Eastern Europe and then speak in the town square of Bratislava, Slovakia.
There, Bush will remind Slovaks of their own fight for freedom from the Soviet yoke and the part the West played in that fight, according to White House officials. It may be the president's warmest reception.
Elsewhere, breaking the ice with a public that was largely anti-Bush even before the Iraq war won't be easy without some recognition of issues that matter to Europeans. For example, when Bush visits the EU institutions Tuesday, it will be hard for him to miss a giant white sphere on an adjacent traffic circle commemorating the start last week of the Kyoto accords on global warming. For many Europeans, Bush's withdrawal of the US from Kyoto symbolizes what they see as his broader hostility to international institutions.
Bush did mention global warning in Monday's speech. But he placed the emphasis on "new technologies" and the power of "human ingenuity" to tackle environmental challenges, rather than signing on to any international greenhouse gas limitations.
The unprecedented security arrangements alone will make it difficult for Bush to connect with the people. During a trip to Brussels in 1994, President Clinton spoke in a cobblestone square and stopped by a jazz club to play his saxophone. But in Germany precautions have led officials to shut down a section of the country's freeway system. And as Germans are quick to point out wryly, you don't win German hearts by messing with autobahn.
(rest at link)
In key address, Bush reaches out to Europeans as well as their leaders.
By Howard LaFranchi | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
BRUSSELS – President Bush began laying the groundwork Monday for one of his top - and most difficult - foreign-policy goals of a second term: signing on Europe to his "big idea" of transforming the 21st century's trouble spots through the spread of democracy.
To succeed, Mr. Bush will have to cast beyond the leaders he will meet over a week-long trip. He will also have to convince a skeptical European public. That is why Bush has at the top of his agenda what White House officials say is a "conversation with Europe."
If the president hopes to entice Western leaders to join in building a "strategic agenda," he will have to narrow Europe's political differences with his vision for America. And that means reaching the people who vote these leaders in and out of office.
This public-diplomacy goal of the trip was clear Monday, when Bush rose to the stage of a Brussels concert hall for what he called "an opportunity to speak to the peoples of Europe."
"Together we united this continent with our democratic values," the president said, referring to World War II and its aftermath. Now the "Euro-Atlantic family" is "essential to peace and prosperity across the globe."....
The president laid out a list of issues where the transatlantic partners must work together, including peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reform across the Middle East, notably in Iraq. ..... He received perhaps the loudest round of applause when he said, "Syria must end its occupation of Lebanon" and reiterated a call for working to ensure Lebanon's right to free elections this spring.
.... Thursday when the president is scheduled to meet with "champions of freedom" in Eastern Europe and then speak in the town square of Bratislava, Slovakia.
There, Bush will remind Slovaks of their own fight for freedom from the Soviet yoke and the part the West played in that fight, according to White House officials. It may be the president's warmest reception.
Elsewhere, breaking the ice with a public that was largely anti-Bush even before the Iraq war won't be easy without some recognition of issues that matter to Europeans. For example, when Bush visits the EU institutions Tuesday, it will be hard for him to miss a giant white sphere on an adjacent traffic circle commemorating the start last week of the Kyoto accords on global warming. For many Europeans, Bush's withdrawal of the US from Kyoto symbolizes what they see as his broader hostility to international institutions.
Bush did mention global warning in Monday's speech. But he placed the emphasis on "new technologies" and the power of "human ingenuity" to tackle environmental challenges, rather than signing on to any international greenhouse gas limitations.
The unprecedented security arrangements alone will make it difficult for Bush to connect with the people. During a trip to Brussels in 1994, President Clinton spoke in a cobblestone square and stopped by a jazz club to play his saxophone. But in Germany precautions have led officials to shut down a section of the country's freeway system. And as Germans are quick to point out wryly, you don't win German hearts by messing with autobahn.
(rest at link)