Assistant secretary of state Philip H. Gordon confirmed the “unprecedented unity of purpose” between the transatlantic democracies
These are heady days for the transatlantic alliance. European support for President Obama’s decision to intensify the war in Afghanistan reflects the “centrality” of the alliance, Philip H. Gordon told the Council on Foreign Relations last night.
The move provides a “profound insight” into the president’s approach to foreign policy, highlighting the importance of “robust cooperation” and confirming the “unprecedented unity of purpose” between the transatlantic democracies in addressing international challenges, said Gordon, assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs.
It is vital that the war against the Taliban “not be and not be seen as an American war’, he said. The more international the effort, the more legitimate it will be.
He could not recall any time in his career “when U.S. and E.U. strategies were more in synch.”
Transatlantic cooperation remained pivotal to resolving ongoing and latent conflicts, including Iran’s nuclear aspirations (today’s Global Europe notes the EU is inching towards support for sanctions against Tehran), Nagorno-Karabakh – the U.S. and E.U. are “actively actively engaged in the OSCE Minsk Group” – and Bosnia-Herzegovina, he said, noting that Deputy Secretary of State James B. Steinberg and E.U. envoy Carl Bildt had both visited Sarajevo three times in recent weeks.
While welcoming the conclusion of the E.U.’s Lisbon process, there was a mildly skeptical tone to his comments, suggesting that while Europe may now have a telephone number to call, the U.S. wasn’t yet convinced that the E.U. was about to acquire the foreign policy coherence it needs.
“Let’s wait and see”, he said, noting that the U.S.’s own experience confirmed that it can take some time before individuals and institutions become fully functional.
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