Ian Black (Guardian Utd): The rifts that remain

[Jack Rabbit]

From the Guardian Unlimited (UK)
Dated Wednesday February 2

The rifts that remain
Cautious EU optimism over the Iraqi elections cannot hide deep-seated differences with the US
By Ian Black

It wasn't exactly a ringing endorsement, but Europe did give a half-hearted cheer for the Iraqi elections, hailing them as the start of a process that might - just - start to lead the way out of a crisis that has overshadowed the global agenda for the last two years.

France and Germany, the leaders of the EU's antiwar camp, teamed up with Russia (the so-called "non-nein-nyet axis") to welcome the high turnout for the January 30 poll. The countries expressed the hope that the ensuing political process would be inclusive enough to build a new Iraq from the wreckage of dictatorship, war and occupation.

Formal language concealed a cautious sigh of relief at some rare good news from Baghdad. "We are united in our message - that this needs to be recognised as a courageous act for democracy," the German foreign minister, Joschka Fischer, gushed.

George Bush even phoned Jacques Chirac and Gerhard Schröder - unthinkable just a few weeks ago - to talk them through the elections. The fact that the US president had even bothered to place the calls made headlines in Paris and Berlin.

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