Bush arrives to European unease over Iraq threats

Deep divisions over plans to expand the campaign against terrorism are likely to be exposed on President George Bush's European tour.

As the he landed in Germany yesterday for the first leg of his trip, the official line in Washington was that no decision has been taken on a military attack on Iraq. But every leaked indication is that Mr Bush supports the administration hawks who favour getting rid of Saddam Hussein, with air strikes and ground forces of up to 200,000 men. The prospect of such an operation, probably at the end of this year or early next, is one which appals many European governments.

Voicing sentiments wide-spread in Germany and beyond, Peter Struck, the parl- iamentary leader of the ruling Social Democrats, declared his "absolute understanding" for Mr Bush's determination to eradicate terrorism. But, he warned, there was no justification for military action "as long as it isn't certain Saddam supports or shelters Al-Qa'ida terrorists." It would be "entirely wrong" if the President simply believed he must "finish what his father started" in Iraq.

But the Bush administration, convinced that Saddam's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction threatens to open a new, even deadlier, phase of terrorism, does not appear particularly inclined to listen.

Privately, US officials com-plain of European "whining". Condoleezza Rice, Mr Bush's national security adviser, said in an interview on German television that the US, "expected" German support for, "the story we are telling about this terrible man who has acquired weapons of mass destruction his entire life."

The formal centrepiece of the President's week-long visit will be the signature on Friday of a landmark nuclear arms treaty with Russia, reducing the arsenals of the former superpower rivals by two-thirds, to between 1,700 and 2,200 warheads apiece.

But its leitmotif is the deepening tension on a range of issues, economic, diplomatic and military, which have brought translatlantic relations to their lowest ebb in decades.

Symbolising the difficulties have been this week's demonstrations in Berlin, so different from the shows of support to every American President who visited the divided Berlin during the Cold War – none greater than that accorded by 150,000 people gathered on 26 June, 1963 to hear John Kennedy proclaim "Ich bin ein Berliner."

Yesterday the placards were very different: "War is Terror" and "Mr President, We Don't Want Your Wars" were some of the banners flying as thousands marched peacefully before Mr Bush's arrival.

Last night the President had dinner with Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, before today's address to the Bundestag at which the President will make the case for Europe and America jointly expanding their efforts against terrorism.

As he left Washington, Mr Bush gave a foretaste of what is being billed as a historic speech to the German Parliament: "Our alliance must remain tough in the war against global terror." He also played down the protests, saying they were normal in a democracy.

For all the frictions, Mr Bush's personal charm may again allow differences to be papered over, as they have been on his previous trips to Europe – overcoming, at least temporarily, unflattering views about Mr Bush's grasp of world affairs and his perceived penchant for unilateralism.

But nothing he will say is likely to remove Europe's misgivings about his intentions towards Iraq, short of copper- bottomed proof that Baghdad was involved with 11 September or that it will make weapons of mass destruction available to terrorist groups, as US officials insist Saddam will, if he has not done so already.

Iraq, moreover, is but one of many issues dividing the Old World and the New. Most revolve around what Europe sees as a refusal by the US to take the views of its partners into consideration, and its apparent belief that international treaties – whether concerning chemical and biological weapons, global warming or the fledgling international criminal court – are for other countries.

On the economic front too, Mr Bush has infuriated Europe. Brussels has announced plans for retaliatory measures against import tariffs of up to 30 per cent to protect US steel producers. The European Union also threatens to take legal action against farm subsidies approved by Congress which run counter to undertakings at the global trade talks in Doha to remove distortions on trade in agricultural goods.

As Mr Bush set out, Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, warned that Europe must start speaking "with a single voice" in foreign policy if it wanted to be taken seriously by America. Trade, he told the European Parliament, was the only area in foreign policy where the EU was an equal of the US. He also called for a single European police force to fight terrorism and organised crime.