Subject: [CivilSoc] Bush and the "Other" Europe
From: Interhemispheric Resource Center (ircalb@swcp.com)
Date: Thu Jan 04 2001 - 14:26:30 EST
--------------------------------------------------------------
FOREIGN POLICY IN FOCUS
http://www.foreignpolicy-infocus.org/
--------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Colleagues,
Below is an excerpt from a newly published commentary
that analyzes the new Bush Presidency's impact on NATO,
Russia and Central Europe. This essay, by Tomas Valasek
of the Center for Defense Information, Washington DC, is
part of a series of FPIF commentaries entitled, "The Republican
Rule," that can be reviewed on our website:
http://64.225.203.92/republicanrule/index.html
We welcome your comments and opinions and with permission
might publish them in our weekly e-journal on world affairs in
the "Letters" section. Please send inquiries to infocus@irc-online.org
best regards,
Tim McGivern
______________________________________________
President George W. Bush and the "Other" Europe
By Tomas Valasek
http://64.225.203.92/republicanrule/index.html
Most media highlighted George W. Bush's now infamous confusion of Slovakia
with Slovenia but missed the president-elect's statements on NATO
expansion. In a campaign press release dated October 31, 2000, Bush
promised to "advance the process of NATO enlargement" at the next NATO
summit in 2002. Preempting questions about Moscow's opposition to NATO
expansion, the president-elect also vowed that "Russia must never be given
a veto over NATO enlargement."
But, as usual, the statements come with fine print. "Advancing" the process
of NATO enlargement by 2002 does not necessarily mean expanding the
alliance at that time. After all, it is not solely a U.S. president's
decision; 18 NATO allies must also give their consent. Moreover, after the
Kosovo war, there is less enthusiasm in the United States-as well as in
Europe-to add more members to what has proved to be an often divided
alliance with a very lopsided balance of power. The United States carried
out the vast majority of all combat strikes over Yugoslavia because few
Western European allies had the necessary aircraft or bombs.
And there is another unknown variable in the NATO expansion riddle. The
Republican Party, which will now control the presidency as well as both
houses of Congress, does have a strong isolationist wing that may yet
affect U.S. defense and foreign policy. More Republicans than Democrats
voted against NATO's first round of expansion in April 1998 (10 Republicans
vs. 9 Democrats). And some of George W. Bush's closest advisers have struck
an isolationist tune on occasions: the best known instance is the statement
by the future National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, who called for
U.S. troops to be withdrawn from NATO peacekeeping operations in Europe.
For the past few decades, the isolationists among the Republicans have been
a distinct minority, and it seems to be a general rule that the party in
power tends to become more internationalist the longer it is in control.
Whether the isolationists will have a significant impact on U.S. policies
for the next four years remains anybody's guess.
Summary of FPIF's New Featured Website:
"The Republican Rule"
http://64.225.203.92/republicanrule/index.html
This new feature is tracking the policies and practices of the Republican
administration and congressional leadership. We launched this effort with
essays on the impact of the Bush administration by analysts with U.S.
Institute for Peace, Africa Policy Information Center, Friends of Earth,
Development Gap, MERIP, Center for Defense Information, World Policy
Institute, Washington Office on Latin America, and other organizations and
universities. We plan to catalog and critique all the policy initiatives in
global affairs, contrasting Republican policies with those of citizen
agendas in climate change, human rights, drug policy, arms trade, missile
defense, global economy, among others. The intent of this effort is to
provide a one-stop source for information about the new administration's
approach to foreign policy, while at the same time promoting citizen
agendas. This monitoring will also include analysis of domestic policies
that bear some relationship to foreign policy, such as tax policy, labor
policy, trade adjustment assistance, and budgetary issues. The Republican
Rule page will also provide update profiles of administration officials
involved in foreign policy.
_______________________________________________
CivilSoc mailing list
CivilSoc@friends-partners.org
http://fpmail.friends-partners.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/civilsoc
This archive was generated by hypermail 2a22 : Thu Jan 04 2001 - 16:07:03 EST