Europe risks fumbling ties with Obama
Europe could mar its chance of forging a long-cherished trans-atlantic bond with President Barack Obama unless it quickly matches new U.S. signs of openness with decisive gestures of its own, analysts warn.
Obama's first week in office has been a dream come true for his European admirers, with a commitment to shut Guantanamo prison, a disavowal of the Bush administration's controversial anti-terrorism tactics, and steps to tackle climate change.
But Europe's response so far has been less forthright, with a lukewarm answer to a U.S. appeal to help resettle Guantanamo detainees and little sign so far that its armies will match expected new U.S. troop deployments in Afghanistan.
"Europe has a window of opportunity to establish itself as a reliable partner with Obama but that window will close at some point," said Tomas Valasek of the Centre for European Reform think tank in London.
"If it fails to deliver, that would devalue it as a partner," he added. He cited Guantanamo, Afghanistan, global financial reform and tackling climate change as early tests of a post-Obama meeting of minds across the Atlantic.
After George W. Bush split NATO over Iraq and alienated Europeans with his scepticism on global warming, the continent has not hidden its delight at the arrival of Obama.
His pledge to close within one year the Guantanamo jail synonymous for many with abuses carried out in the name of Bush's "war on terrorism" first prompted loud praise -- but then a bout of hand-wringing on the other side of the Atlantic.
EU foreign ministers this week cited a range of legal and security problems with resettlements. Many insisted that although Europe could help, dealing with the problem had to remain the primary responsibility of the United States
Global Financial Reform?! What the hell is up the pipes? One global communist economy?
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