A U.S. congressional aide said:
"The Europeans have woken up to the terrorism challenges we face. We can still argue if [the Iraq invasion] was a mistake, but we all have to recognize that there's a problem now that carries huge geostrategic implications. The European Union can play a role and NATO can play a role."
We should not go to Europe and tell them that they "can play a role." This is what we have been doing for years, with horrible results. We should go to Europe with the idea of COOPERATING with them. Cooperation calls for listening as well as talking, giving as well as taking. Cooperation calls for working together - not one bossing the other - to achieve goals all participants agree on.
A good example of cooperation is how U.S. and Europe helped develop the democratic forces that won recently in the Ukraine. Neither the Europeans nor the Americans interfered in the elections. They merely offered advice and guidance to democratic groups in the country. It is fair to say that the Ukrainians themselves built their democracy. We still need to help, but only as consultants.
Before doing anything new in Iraq, we need to cooperate with Europe on the Iran problem. The Europeans have been negotiating with the Iranians seeking a peaceful way to get rid of the Iranian nuclear bomb program. The U.S. has been antagonistic. It's time to get together on a unified approach. Iran presents the really BIG problem. If the U.S. and Europe present a united front our chances of success will increase immeasurably. And so will our chances of reviving the dormant democracy in Iran.
Now, about Iraq. The administration has been saying for a long time - it's the only point I agree with - that our primary job in Iraq is to build the Iraqi security forces so they could take care of their own security. Similarly, the UN is training Iraqis in how to run elections so they may conduct their own democracy. If so, why not help Iraqis build their business system so they could run their own businesses?
This seems obvious. But it is not what the Bush administration has done. Remember Halliburton and Bechtel? Remember how we cut out European businesses in favor of American businesses to get the contracts for rebuilding Iraq? This is the greedy grin of competition. It is definitely not cooperation.
Aside from some financial aid, the amount of American and European business help needed is not great. All we need are business consultants. We need people that can train the Iraqis to run their own businesses. We need to get rid of the Halliburtons and Bechtels. We need more Iraqi businesspeople.
When Bush gets together with his European counterparts, I hope he takes with him some of these ideas about cooperation. As I have said many times before, competition leads to violence and terrorism, while cooperation leads to harmony and peace.
