Transatlantic rift may result in long-term damage, says German expert

Date: 06/02/03

THE EU-US rift over Iraq will have serious long-term repercussions for transatlantic security cooperation, a senior defence analyst has warned.

Dr Karl-Heinz Kamp, who was addressing a meeting of defence insiders in Brussels on Monday, said that although the fight against terrorism had initially provided a stimulus for relations between EU and US, the current divisions went "far beyond the question of how to deal with Baghdad".

The problem is not that Germany has criticised the US on Iraq "but that it rejected any participation in a multinational military effort - thus excluding any further policy options, be they within the UN or the European Union".

This was interpreted by Washington as a rejection of solidarity and an "exhibition of anti-American tendencies", said Kamp, a member of the Bonn-based foundation Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung. Transatlantic cooperation was further handicapped by a US tendency to "mingle concepts, means and ends", he added. For the European public and decision-makers, it was not clear whether the US goal was disarmament of Iraq or 'regime change'.

Kamp believes that further clashes between the US and its traditional allies could be avoided by clarifying this - and by developing common threat assessment. Other speakers at the New Defence Agenda debate, chaired by NATO press and information director Jamie Shea, warned the biggest problem hindering transatlantic relations is America's restriction on 'technology transfer'.

This has resulted in a widening gulf of military capabilities and lack of interoperability between weapons systems. Scott Harris, Europe president for US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin and a former Pentagon chief of staff, said industry was pressing the Bush administration to live up to its pledges to ease technology transfer to help its NATO allies.

The EU-US rift over Iraq will have serious long-term repercussions for transatlantic security cooperation, a senior defence analyst has warned.