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Obama comes to Europe, tends old allies, new challenges



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2011-5-23 08:37

Weaving together strands of pomp, policy and summitry, President Barack Obama's weeklong European tour is all about tending to old friends in the Western alliance and securing their help with daunting challenges, from the political upheaval in the Mideast and North Africa to the protracted war in Afghanistan.


Obama's eighth trip to Europe as president, with a quick-moving itinerary that dips into four countries in six days, unfolds against the backdrop of the NATO-led bombing campaign in Libya and stubborn economic weakness on both sides of the Atlantic.


A priority for the president and his allies will be to more clearly define the West's role in promoting stability and democracy in the Arab world without being overly meddlesome and within tight financial limitations.


Despite suggestions Obama prefers Asia to Europe, the president has repeatedly trekked across the Atlantic, and aides say he is firmly committed to the world's most successful continental alliance.


"This is a very important trip for the president to reaffirm our core alliances in the world (with) our European allies," said Ben Rhodes, a deputy US national security adviser.


Though Obama's election, after the George W. Bush years, was greeted with euphoria in Europe, both sides may have reason for disappointment in the Obama presidency so far.

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2011-5-23 08:43
The election of Obama into office was greeted with euphoria in Europe


Europe perhaps did not get the president it hoped for, as Obama failed to close the "war on terror" camp at Guantanamo Bay, saw his climate change initiative collapse and appeared to look to booming Asia for America's future.


The White House was frustrated that calls for more European combat troops for Afghanistan rarely materialized, as indebted allied governments slashed military spending.


"Europe is our essential partner based on the values we share, and we see that every day as we look at the developments across the broader Middle East," said Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, the top European policy official on the US National Security Council.


Washington would like to reinvigorate the transatlantic alliance.


"I think you are going to hear a lot about Europe being the cornerstone of our engagement, and a catalyst for global action," said Heather Conley of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.


"You're going to hear a very strong message... that if Europe can marshal the political will and the necessary financial resources, it will be part of a broader effort to work on the complex issues."



Obama, who departs late Sunday, will visit Ireland, England, France and Poland. Each is weathering an economic downturn that has forced European nations to adopt strict austerity measures. The U.S. has pushed its national debt to the limit, and Obama and congressional Republicans are in contentious talks about how steeply to cut spending.
But never mind all that, at least for a moment.


A highlight of Obama's opening stop in Ireland will be a feel-good pilgrimage to the hamlet of Moneygall, where America's first black president will explore his Irish — yes, Irish — roots, and most likely raise a pint.


Michael Collins, the Irish ambassador to the United States, says the president's visit will be "a golden moment" for a country that's been on the economic ropes after its boom time. The visit is sure to play well at home for Obama — make that O'bama — as he heads into re-election season after being pushed to great lengths simply to prove he was born on U.S. soil.


After his day in Ireland, Obama spends two in England, where he and first lady Michelle Obama will be treated to all the pomp and pageantry that the monarchy can muster for the president's first European state visit. The Obamas even get a Buckingham Palace sleepover.


Though the United States and Britain remain the closest of allies, the relationship has been strained by recent events, including last year's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico triggered by the explosion of an oil rig owned by British-based BP. Britain's unilateral announcement of a timetable for withdrawal of its 10,000 troops from Afghanistan also rankled the United States.


Heather Conley, director of the Europe program at the private Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Obama's stop in Britain could help "put the `special' back into the U.S.-U.K. special relationship."


In private, Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron will plunge into the details of a host of international challenges on which the U.S. and Britain have worked together: Afghanistan, Libya, counterterrorism, the global economy and more.


Both leaders then scoot to a French summit of the Group of Eight industrialized nations, where the president hopes to build on momentum from his speech days ago about how best to promote stability and democracy in the Middle East. Obama has called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to present the G-8 with an ambitious plan to help Egypt and Tunisia, in particular, recover from the disruptions caused by their democratic revolutions and prepare for elections later this year.


The U.S. and its allies don't want those elections to occur against a backdrop of economic chaos that could increase support for extremists. But there's no expectation of a big aid measure emerging from the G-8. Rather, the countries in the region will present their plans for democratization and stabilizing their economies, and the G-8 will consider ways to help.


Although not on the official agenda, the G-8 leaders are sure to be talking about future leadership of the IMF now that former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn has resigned after being arrested on attempted rape charges in New York. European leaders are anxious to put another European in that position while emerging economies would like to see a process that is open to someone from the developing world. U.S. officials have said they favor an open process, without being more specific.


Obama's visit to Europe comes a little more than a month before the U.S. is scheduled to start its gradual troop withdrawal in Afghanistan. The president has said the initial drawdown will be significant, but it's unclear how many specific answers he'll have for European leaders. Britain and France, in particular, are looking for details on the U.S. withdrawal timetable for signs of how NATO will move from combat missions to a training role by the end of 2014.


The Afghan mission is deeply unpopular in many European countries, and political pressure has led some leaders to set timetables for their withdrawal.


During his two-day stay in Deauville, France, Obama will take time for one-on-one meetings on the side of the G-8 with several world leaders, including Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan.


The U.S.-Russia relationship, though much improved since the Bush administration, remains complex.


Medvedev has spoken out strongly in recent weeks against U.S. plans to plant missile interceptors in Romania as part of a U.S. shield over Europe, saying that could threaten Russia. He's warned that Washington's failure to cooperate with Russia on the missile shield could lead to a new arms race, and also threatened to pull out of the New START nuclear treaty with the U.S. if Russia feels at risk. (AP/AFP)
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