It's all in the fraternity!

Interestingly only years before, the US and Europe whose representatives have now assembled in Munich fell apart over Iraq war. The Pentagon Chief, Donald Rumsfeld famously derided the 'old Europeans', France and Germany, for opposing US' Iraq invasion. There prevailed a 'Cold War' of sorts between the US and so called old Europeans for a while. Some old Europeans who already obtained lucrative oil contracts from Sadam Hussain stubbornly fought to stop the war. But the Americans lured by an oil bonanza were rather intoxicated to have their first foray in the Middle East.

But then such feuding among the Europeans and their offspring in North America is nothing new. They fought among themselves and were at each other's neck whenever there was a clash of their capitalistic interests. But to face any one or anything from outside their white race fraternity they have a rocksolid unity. Any omission or commission on the part of any of its constituents is alright within the fraternity so long those are directed against an outsider -- whether ideological enemy or antithetical by faith. Inspite of polarised positions held by them they can immediately close their ranks with extraordinary resilience.

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It was therefore nothing unusual in Munich that once feuding members of transatlantic fraternity are now united in new global security challenge which, they consider, could be combated through joint transatlantic action. Talking of Europe's and America's "Common values, shared histories and abiding faith in democracy", Donald Rumsfeld said, a coordination of 'legal, diplomatic and intelligence' was crucial for their safeguards. Known for his preference for the unilateral US action, Ramsfeld made a complete U-turn at the Munich conclave by telling his European counterparts: "By now it must be clear that one nation cannot defeat the extremists alone". In another sweetener to Europeans who have long hailed the importance of 'soft' diplomacy over 'hard' military action Rumsfeld added. "The military can only be the part of solution and it is always the last resort".

Yet there was no murmur or clarification sought for earlier US action -- the war and its concomitant deaths and destructions. All seemed to have acquiesced all what already happened. There was no nagging prolongation of the acrimonies of the past when Europeans were cajoled and ridiculed by the US.

In the meantime, old Europeans struck an unmistakable chord with the thinkings across the Atlantic when German Foreign Minister Josehka Fischer identified the extremists' abhorrence of Western society as a global security threat. It was not just the US that the Islamic radicals hate, it was the entire West, he said. While determination to fight religious extremism was pulling together the EU governments and policymakers in newly rejigged US administration they went out of their way in recent days to ensure that Bush's much heralded visit to Europe was trouble-free.

US Secretary of State Ms Condoleezza Rice also was in the town to woo the EU officials and experts with her mealymouthed talk of America's admiration for a strong and united Europe and promises of joint EU-US action in the Middle East. Ms Rice's message was that America and Europe must put their Iraq war acrimony behind and look to the future which may as well be holding prospect for EU's share in Iraq reconstruction. Also otherwise the EU policy makers seem to be tired of permanently feuding with Washington. That the Europeans no more harbour any rancour over Iraq war can be understood from the fact that all 25 EU governments now agree to undertake the training of Iraqi police and judges.

However, the divisions over what is to be done to defuse Iran tensions is one of the last few differences still prevalent in transatlantic solidarity. Schroeder's message to Washington at Munich was that the US must back EU diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to abandon its suspected development of nuclear weapon. The chancellor stressed that Iran would abandon her uranium enrichment programme if its economy can be backed up from outside and her legitimate security interests are safeguarded.

Germany, France and Britain -- the so called European Union Three -- are currently working to hammer out a diplomatic deal in which Tehran would hopefully renounce her uranium enrichment in return for trade and aid. On the contrary US President Bush has said that he does not rule out using military force against Iranian nuclear facilities. Irrespective of whichever side is able to push through its agenda it will hardly matter. After all it is all in the fraternity. France together with Britain drew the politico-strategic map of the Middle East at the dawn of last century. This century even at its outset seems to be belonging to the Americans.

The US was the first to invent and explode her nuclear bomb. It took little time to proliferate among her war time allies. The US took it easy but there was paranoid anxiety when an outsider -- China -- exploded her bomb in 1964. There was a grand bargain at the behest of Europeans and Americans with the prospective proliferators. This resulted in the signing of NPT in 1970. At no cost the white men's monopoly of the genie could be diluted by letting it go outside the fraternity.

Brig ( retd) Hafiz is former DG of BIISS