Bush's Policies Hamper European Ties

Despite Rumsfeld's clumsy though politically motivated comments about 'old Europe' back in 2003, the US and Europe need each other. Europe needs America's leadership and economic clout. And America needs Europe's business, financial and diplomatic resources to get any number of things accomplished in other areas of the world. There's another issue of mutual cooperation that isn't discussed much these days but it's about to become more important than ever. The United States is the world's leader in technological innovation but a growing number of problems are probably going to require the additional help of the European nations and Japan and perhaps others. Michael Abramowitz of The Washington Post has a story on Bush's unpopularity in Europe:

President Bush arrived here Tuesday for his 15th visit to Europe since taking office, at a time when the populace remains generally wary of him despite concerted efforts by political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to patch up their differences.

In meetings here Wednesday, Bush and European Union officials are to confer on issues including trade, energy security and their mutual efforts to persuade Iran to halt activities that could lead to the development of nuclear weapons.

(snip)

But if relations at the political level have improved, public opinion has lagged far behind. Bush remains unpopular with the public in many European countries over the war in Iraq and alleged abuse of detainees by U.S. forces at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and other facilities, according to opinion polls and experts on transatlantic relations. A survey released last week by the Pew Research Center found that the United States' image has slipped over the past year in France, Germany and Spain and is down considerably since 2000.

(snip)

"The scars of Iraq are still very real and run real deep," said Ronald D. Asmus, executive director of the German Marshall Fund's Brussels office. While political leaders may agree that success in Iraq is important, he said, the European public believes "that Americans screwed it up and need to clean up the mess."

It's correct to say that Bush is unpopular in Europe but the real issue is credibility. The Bush Administration has said far too many things that have turned out not to be so. Secrets have been revealed about administration behavior that do not reflect well on the US or on our history. And, instead of working to restore the credibility of the United States, Bush Administration officials are still more arrogant than they have any business being in the face of repeated blunders and failures.

Yes, relations are improving; Europeans recognize the necessity of dealing with a number of issues, including Iran. But there is still a problem of trust even for seasoned European leaders. There are any number of steps Bush could take that could restore credibility and Bush knows it. The question hangs over every diplomatic event that Bush will attend in Europe: why isn't the leader of the free world taking steps to restore the credibility of the United States? Restoring credibility would make it easier for the president to get some useful things done.