30th June 2003
The EU after the Iraq War - Does the J-Curve Apply?
Jacques Poos, then Foreign Affairs Minister of Luxembourg, famously announced at the outbreak of hostilities in the then Yugoslavia that "this is the hour of Europe". Expectations were high of an EU approach to solve the problem. The result was a debacle, with public opinion horrified at the ever worsening massacres, and European countries visibly divided in their allegiances. After the dust settled, nevertheless, the EU's Foreign Ministries agreed that such a thing should never be allowed to happen again. Steps were taken to overhaul the CFSP Treaty base, and to improve daily co-operation... Read the article
28th March 2003
The Trans-Atlantic gap is widening: Lies, damned Lies, and Television
I have to admit it straight up: I hate television. Whenever I have had any personal involvement with an issue that then appears on the news, I inevitably end-up nearly pulling my hair out at the mis-representation of what is going on.
In war time, the risk of confusion, indeed deliberate manipulation, multiplies the problem that any TV news watcher faces. And in this context, it is interesting - or should I say worrying - to compare the views that are coming across on European and on US Television channels... Read the article
24th February 2003
Saddam is guilty, but the proposed sentence is wrong
Saddam is guilty as charged
Since the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein has deliberately maintained a veil of uncertainty around his nuclear biological and chemical weapons. Only now, faced with the massive build-up of force in the region, has he started to consider coming clean. President Bush is to be congratulated on having got Saddam this far... Read the article
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