US "Desperate" to Get EU Support on Iraq

EU watcher Philip H. Gordon, has thrashed the current Bush Administration’s isolationist stance and urged the EU not to waste the opportunity presented in the aftermath of US elections to compromise over Iraq. "We desperately need European support in the current international issues," assured the Director of the Centre of the United States and Europe at the Brookings Institution, one of Washington's oldest think tanks, speaking at a conference on Transatlantic Relations in Lisbon. Gordon has been campaigning for a Roosevelt-like "New Deal" to save what he considers to be the "most successful alliance in History" for over a year. He warned the audience that the future of world security would depend on the successful relation between the two powers. In his opinion, Europe should not waste this opportunity to reinforce its presence in the Iraqi peace-building effort, strengthening the transatlantic bond. He conceded that a Kerry-Edwards administration would be better suited for this rapprochement, but claimed that even the current Bush-Cheney administration would have to reach out to the international community if re-elected. Gordon linked the nuclear standoff in Iran to the transatlantic divide. "The Iranians have sought to exploit the differences between us," he said, adding that "more EU carrots, together with American sticks" are necessary to convince Tehran to follow Libya’s example. Iran’s denuclearisation "is not impossible, and it is necessary," he emphasized. (EUobserver.com)