European states caught between popular demands and empire

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Europeans Seek to Rein in American War Machine: By Huda Majeed Saleh, Reuters, Friday 10 January 2003. European Union moved to stay America’s hand over Iraq on Friday, as top officials spoke out against a rush to war on the basis of inconclusive weapons inspections. Without proof, it would be very difficult to start a war.
Chemical warfare unit, use of airspace sought for possible invasion: By Kevin Livingston, The Prague Post, [15 January 2003]. Days before national leaders were scheduled to begin a debate on whether the country would become involved in a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq, U.S. diplomats were putting intense pressure on the government to commit its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons unit to the potential conflict.
Italians alarmed at discovery of huge US munitions base: By Richard Owen in Pisa, Times Online, [18 January 2003]. Italians, already nervous about war with Iraq, were stunned to learn that they are sitting on top of the biggest American ammunition dump outside the United States. It has emerged that the base was the main source of armaments used during the 1991 Gulf War and is expected to serve the same purpose in any new campaign.
EU Says No to Iraq War Without U.N. Approval: Reuters, Tuesday 21 January 2003. The European Union rejected a war on Iraq without the backing of the United Nations Tuesday and said weapons inspectors must have time to do their job.
US scorns new moves to stop the war on Iraq: Powell rejects Franco-German plan; Inspectors see signs of ‘progress’: By Andrew Buncombe in Washington, Tony Paterson in Munich and Stephen Castle in Brussels, Independent (London), 10 February 2003. America poured scorn on a new plan for Iraq proposed by France and Germany as a way of averting war last night, deepening the rift with its reluctant European allies. The Americans are already furious with France and Germany for blocking Nato plans to protect Turkey in the event of war.
US fury at European peace plan: Transatlantic tensions burst into public slanging match as French and Germans call for more time: By Ian Black in Brussels, Richard Norton-Taylor in Munich and Julian Borger in Washington, The Guardian (London), Monday 10 Feburary 2003. The Bush administration reacted with rage last night to a Franco-German initiative to extend arms inspections in Iraq, portraying the plan as a thinly disguised attempt to derail the US timetable for war.
In a sign of growing division, Germany and France kept US in dark over plan to avert war Nato split: the background: By Richard Norton-Taylor in Munich, The Guardian (London), Monday 10 February 2003. The Franco-German plan to intensify UN weapons inspections and step up spy flights over Iraq is both a calculated snub to the US and an attempt to derail what is seen as Washington’s determination to go to war.
European countries block NATO over Iraq, US fumes: News agencies, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 February 2003. France and Belgium have infuriated Washington by blocking a NATO plan to boost Turkish defences in case of a war with Iraq. Turkey, NATO’s only Muslim member country, could be one of the staging points for an attack on Iraq, which it borders. France and Belgium have justified their stance saying boosting NATO’s defences would send the signal that war with Iraq has already started.
Tensions between Europe and the USA?: By Richard Moore, Cyberjournal, 16 February 2003. Questions and answers sent by The Polar Star http://zvezda.ru in an effort at gathering views and opinions among a wide range of non-conformist European thinkers.
US lobbyist helped draft Eastern Europeans’ Iraq statement: AFP Thursday 20 February 2003. A former Pentagon official helped draft a controversial statement by 10 Central and Eastern European nations this month that supports the U.S. in its stand-off with Iraq.
War in Iraq a crime, says Vatican: From correspondents in Vatican City, AFP, 18 March 2003. Military intervention against Iraq would be a crime against peace demanding vengeance before God, the head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace has said. War is a crime against peace which cries for vengeance before God.
From Georgia To Latvia: New NATO Sends Troops For Iraq War: 19 March 2003. Two brief articles from Rosbalt News regarding support from Latvia and Georgia for the Iraq War. Georgia May Send Commando Battalion to Iraq. Latvian Troops to Join US Bandwagon in Iraq.
Will American Administration Declare War on Russia? US officials think that Russia is guilty of their unsuccessful war: By Vasily Buslayev, Daily News (Vladivostok), 25 March 2003. The strong resistance that Iraqi troops showed, Iraqi ABM systems and anti-tank facilities turned out to be an unexpected surprise for Americans. The American administration believed the war turned out to be difficult on account of the fact that the Russian defense industry delivered anti-tank missiles to Iraq via third countries.
France Insists It Wants U.S. to Win War: By Joseph Coleman, AP, Washington Post, 28 March 2003. France’s government angrily insisted on Friday that it hopes U.S.-led forces win the war in Iraq, signaling fear in Paris that its image as an untrustworthy friend could seriously damage long-term relations with Washington. Speech called for a renewed close and trusting friendship with the U.S., but U.S. policy risks leading to instability and uncertainty.
Russian nuclear subs to head for the Gulf: RBC.ru (Russia), 4 April 2003. [T]he Russian Defense Ministry expects that the situation in the Middle East will change dramatically by late April, which might require interference from Russia. A scenario envisages the occupation of an important onshore facility by marines, the oil terminals of Umm Qasr.