Unfortunately, the last five US administrations were characterized by excessive military approaches in their efforts to export “democracy” to countries in the Middle East. Most likely, America’s so-called “war on terror” will stay high on the US agenda.

In a world in which globalization is gaining more and more importance in geo-political matters - where a decision made by a single politician can affect the lives of millions of people located thousands of kilometers away - the US’ foreign policy will inevitably, directly or indirectly, influence Europe’s political and economic agenda.

The US’ role will be particularly important in Germany, since one of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s top priorities is to improve trans-Atlantic relations. Since she took office in November 2005, Merkel has managed to re-orient German foreign policy back toward America’s side. US president George W. Bush currently enjoys a closer relationship with Merkel than he did with her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, who fell out with Bush over the Iraq war.

Facing Globalization

The German chancellor sees the one Western superpower as the right partner for confronting the challenges of globalization. Moreover, the US is the European Union’s most important trade partner, and Merkel has repeatedly said that further economic integration between Europeans and Americans is being planned. The first step toward that goal was taken last May when Bush, Merkel and the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, signed an agreement on a trans-Atlantic partnership.

The ultimate goal of this trade pact is to fuse the world's two largest economic blocs into a structure similar to a domestic market. This concept - which is also the blueprint for the European Union - would be the starting point of further political integration.

Both sides predict the treaty will yield great benefits. German government experts say one example of the kind of profits this cooperation could bring to Germany is an increase of 3 percent in the country’s gross domestic product, by eliminating non-tariff barriers to trade.

The key question here is how close does Germany want this relationship to be, since it remains to be seen if the two economic super-engines will be able to agree on everything politically. So far Merkel has offered no answers. Although she has had plenty of opportunities to take a stance in Germany’s foreign policy, she has instead opted for a cowardly silence.

Take for example the United States’ plans to build a missile defense shield in Poland and the Czech Republic from 2011 onward. This anti-missile system, which is designed to counter long-range missiles coming from Iran, will include 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a network of radar defenses in the Czech Republic.

Chancellor Merkel has not yet indicated whether she'll back the US in this project. Evidently she has quickly developed a talent for being vague and cryptic with respect to Germany’s foreign policy. Meanwhile, the European Union is upset because Washington is negotiating bilaterally with Poland and the Czech Republic, and not through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) about something that affects Europe as a whole.

America’s Unrestricted War On Terror

Another example of America’s borderless and unrestricted “war on terror” and the consequences within the old continent is the existence of secret CIA prisoner flights across Europe to third countries for interrogation. When this story hit the headlines at the end of 2005, Europeans were outraged and politicians demanded an investigation.

According to a June 2006 report released by the Council of Europe, there were “1,245 CIA flights carried out across European airspace, or stopped over at European airports.” The Swiss senator Dick Marty, in charge of the special investigation for the Council of Europe, wrote in this report that he believed that in total, 14 European countries were involved or affected.

This raises the question of how much European governments knew about what the CIA was doing. The June 2006 Council of Europe’s report claims that the countries not only failed to aid in investigations into the matter, but also actively obstructed them by classifying the subject of the investigation as “state secrets.”

Around 720 suspicious flights are thought to have taken off from German airports alone between 2001 and 2006. Shortly after the CIA scandal erupted, an investigative committee was established in Parliament. Although the investigation has advanced the discussion on the legal foundations of the fight against terrorism, it has yet to provide any substantial findings regarding the CIA’s illegal activities.

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's stance on Iraq won him a second term. But behind the anti-American facade, his government was quietly allowing the illegal transfer of human beings.

What should have been a wake-up call for Europe was quickly buried and forgotten by its politicians. This very serious issue, involving the violation of human rights of dozens of people, once again proves how far the US is willing to go. It shows the world one more time that it not only holds, but plans to continue holding the monopoly of power across the globe.

Is the US a Reliable Partner?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the pond, Bush keeps sending clear signals that he does not think highly of restricting multilateral agreements. The latest example is what occurred at the G8 summit held recently in Heiligendamm, Germany, when the seven most important industrial countries in the world (Germany, Japan, France, Italy, United Kingdom, Canada, the United States) and Russia met to discuss climate change, poverty and other international issues.

No matter how much effort the German chancellor exerted to try to convince the world leaders to sign a binding agreement to substantially reduce carbon emissions, she did not manage to do it. In fact, not only did the US president refuse to respond to Europe’s concerns about climate change, but he proudly presented his own plan to fight global warming. To make matters even worse, Bush’s plan is actually no program at all, but rather a non-binding proposal for “voluntary” limits that would have to be approved by China, India and other major industrial countries.

As expected, the overall results of the G8 summit were a failure. Nonetheless, most of the German media presented Merkel as a successful negotiator. According to many media commentators, her “triumph” lay in her ability to convince the G8 countries to sign a unanimous agreement stating that that the greenhouse gas emissions must be stopped and reduced. All this amounts to is that they all see there is a problem but no binding targets for CO2 reductions were signed. Does this mean progress? No, just talking about it will not stop climate change.

Worlds Apart

The main difference between Europe and the United States with respect to foreign policy is that the old continent prefers diplomatic solutions while the US uses weapons to solve problems. But since America is still the most powerful country in the world, it will continue to act as it pleases without caring about the terrible consequences it causes globally. And as Mikhail Gorbachev once commented on America’s relationship to Europe: “It’s all about influence and domination in the old continent.”

Let’s hope that Merkel will quickly learn how to say no to the US. So far time has been on Merkel’s side and her tactic of ambivalence has worked. But eventually, she will have to take a clear stance, unless she wants to be as submissive as Britain’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair. Only time will tell if she will realize that the US is not a reliable partner.

The Others

But what about the other two powerful countries in Europe - France and the United Kingdom?

The British have long served as the Americans' intermediaries in Europe. However, Tony Blair's loyalty to Bush and his decision to follow him blindly into the Iraq war failed to bear fruit. In fact, in his farewell speech a few months ago, he even dared to apologize for this mistake by saying “I did what I thought was the right thing to do”. Hopefully, future British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will not make the same mistakes.

With respect to France, it’s too early to know how President Nicolas Sarkozy will behave on the international scene. But in his campaign he openly said he was looking forward to getting closer to the United States. Pro-Americanism is not popular in France and he said that he would not be submissive to the US. Hopefully, he will keep his promise.

So far, German Chancellor Merkel has benefited from a current power gap in Europe. We’ll see how long she continues to hold such strong cards in the international political game.


About the Author
Vera von Kreutzbruck was born in Argentina. She started her career in journalism at the English language newspaper, Buenos Aires Herald. After a fellowship in Germany three years ago, she decided to settle in Berlin. She currently works as a freelance journalist contributing to media in Europe and Latin America. Her articles focus on international news and culture in Germany and the European Union.