Bush mission to convince Europe on NMD

By Batuk Gathani

BRUSSELS, JUNE 4. The European and American officials have begun preparations for the U.S. President, Mr. George Bush's first official visit to Europe. Mr. Bush will meet the Russian President, Mr. Vladimir Putin, in Slovenia at the end of his European tour.

Mr. Bush is being briefed intensively before his crucial meetings with the European Union and NATO leaders. He will directly face his European critics over missile defence, the future of NATO and environment issues. The U.S. authorities have already warned its citizens travelling to Sweden to be ready for hostile demonstrations at the E.U. summit in Stockholm, as thousands of environmentalists and anti-armament groups are expected to converge. From Sweden, Mr. Bush will visit Poland where he will again argue for the expansion of NATO. (NATO has 19 members and could have over 25 members within a decade.)

The U.S. Defence Secretary, Mr. Donald Rumsfeld, arrived in Turkey today to begin his European tour. After meeting Turkish officials, he will meet his counterparts in the European capitals and special importance is being attached to his meeting with the Russian Defence Minister, Mr. Sergei Ivanov.

During a series of meetings and speeches this week, Mr. Bush's main mission in Europe appears to be to attract European support for his plans to build a missile defence shield. According to European observers, since the loss of majority in the Senate, Mr. Bush's ambition may have received a setback.

The incoming Democratic Chairman of the Senate's Armed Services Commission and critic of the Bush administration's missile defence strategy, Mr. Carl Levin, is widely quoted in the European media saying that he doubts if anything could be achieved before the U.S. presidential election in 2004. However, most Europeans agree that the Bush strategy has at best helped to ignite debate on nuclear deterrence.

Mr. Bush will make his own presentation of the proposed missile shield. If the result of the U.S. Secretary of State, Gen. Colin Powell's visit to Europe at the end of May is any criterion, the U.S. and NATO have already split over missile defence. The European members of the NATO alliance last month refused to acknowledge the ``common threat'' posed by missiles from potential enemies or so-called `rouge' states like North Korea, Iraq and Iran. Early May, the U.S. also dispatched a team of senior officials to Europe and Asia in a concerted bid to persuade friendly nations to cooperate or at least show sympathy for the defence plan.

Mr. Bush is to reiterate this perception in major European capitals this week. According to European officials, Mr. Bush is ``more than determined'' to offer Mr. Putin unprecedented collaboration on defence against rogue missile attacks particularly from the Islamic fundamentalist countries in West Asia.

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Section  : International
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