Franco-US ties mired in personal arrogance

The feuds between the USA and its transatlantic allies have been fomenting anti-European sentiments in America and anti-American sentiments in Europe. The Europeans don't seem to share the approach of the Americans regarding many international issues. But it is their spat over Iraq that has sparked rage and fury from both sides.

The French and the Germans rejected the latest US-backed resolution because it does not provide a schedule for the transferring of power to the Iraqi transitional power. It calls for a UN role in Iraq but does not specify the nature of that role. It preaches international co-operation but makes it clear that the US military would have the last say. Once again we are witnessing a clash between two different schools of diplomacy.

The Americans feel they have to play a key role in post-Saddam Iraq and lead the global war against terrorism. The Europeans on the other hand feel the Americans are being very unilateralist in their policies.

Neither the Europeans whose policies are centred upon the classical notion of the balance of power, nor the new sole super power in the globe seem to understand each other.

The chasm is getting wider, and the soft diplomatic handshakes cannot dissipate a crisis that may affect the future of political relations between Europe and the US.

But even if pessimists don't think the split may lead to a confrontation, the UN pays a heavy price for this situation that paralyses all efforts to lead a multilateral task force to rebuild Iraq.

Despite intensive round of meetings at the UN, Bush failed to convince the allies to join his cause. As if the Europeans are saying: "You fought the war your own way, you made your case with hyped prose which turned out to be lies. You did not listen to our objections. Now you have to pay the price for your arrogant stance."

French President Jacques Chirac called Washington's last draft a "disappointment". But even if France hinted that it would not veto the resolution, it has become so radioactive in the US that Americans are threatening to boycott French goods.

American TV shows love to depict the French president as a victim of "Delusions of Grandeur". The French, on the other hand, see the Americans as "arrogant" people "who lack past legacy".

The New York Times' columnist Thomas Friedman expresses US embitterment with France's position saying: "France is not just our annoying ally. It is not our jealous rival. France is becoming our enemy."

France has sought to defend its geo-strategic interests through a common European position. After the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the Americans found themselves the sole super power in the world and on their shoulders fell the task of managing the universe. But France and many other nations argue that the USA is not entitled to the divine right of rowing the boat its way.

Washington's intent on an independent course in foreign policy has triggered concerns worldwide.

Paul Rodgers, who is professor of Peace Studies at Bradford University traces some positions that reinforce the administration's unilateralist stance.

He argues: "Since its election, the US Government has announced the withdrawal from the ABM Treaty, maintained opposition to the CTBT and refused to support the protocol to strengthen the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. There has been a reluctance to engage in UN negotiations on the control of light arms transfers, or to participate in talks aimed at limiting weapons in space.

"On climate change, withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocols proposals has been accompanied by domestic measures, which include a 50 per cent cut in funding for research into renewable energy sources, and a $500 million cut in the budget of the Environmental Protection Agency."

Both the US and France need to advocate a bilateral relationship based on a new framework. They will have to depart from past prejudices and seek a new form of cohabitation as a first step, with the aim of creating a new atmosphere of co-operation.

Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger once wrote: "The interaction of the American leadership's personal humility and historical arrogance, and de Gaulle's personal arrogance and historical humility, defined the psychological gulf between America and France."

But Kissinger was trapped in the legacy of the post World War II structure and mistook De Gaulle for the Cardinal De Richelieu.

France is a key country in Europe, alongwith Germany. A showdown between the USA and its European allies will affect international politics and endanger the spirit of co-operation. But the Americans need to know that they cannot keep orchestrating world polity as if they were the only hero on the stage.

When Chirac was recently visiting a French school in New York, the school's choir sang: "We speak French. All over New York they speak French," from the song titled French Toast.

Only the days to come will tell if French toast, Notre Dame and French fries keep invading the imagination of the Americans despite decades of disagreements.

The writer is a journalist with Abu Dhabi Television.