America and Europe after 9/11 and Iraq: The Great Divide

By Sarwar A. Kashmeri

American foreign policy toward Europe is merrily rolling along the path of least resistance, in the belief that there is nothing really amiss with the European-American relationship that multilateralism will not fix. Not true, argues Kashmeri. The alliance is dead, cannot be fixed, and must be renegotiated. It has not grown to accommodate Europe's emergence as a major power. A kind of United States of Europe, with foreign priorities different from those of the United States, has arrived at America's doorstep. But America is still forging foreign policy for Europe using Cold War realities; both Democrats and Republicans expect the European Union to fall into step, and report for service as needed--under American leadership.

Europe, however, has other plans, and as it becomes more powerful on the world stage, competing visions of European leadership have emerged. The Iraq War has brought them into stark relief. For example, as Kashmeri points out, the Atlantic divide over Iraq was more about French-British competition for leadership of Europe than it was about a division between American goals and European goals. He portrays British foreign policy as out of touch with reality, as a policy that has done a disservice to the United States as a result of the Blair government's exaggerated and self-serving view of the British-American special relationship. Kashmeri concludes with prescriptions for forging a new alliance based on a special relationship with the European Union. This agenda is inspired by the thoughts of the leaders who spoke to the author specifically for this book, among them former president George H. W. Bush, former British prime minister John Major, James A. Baker III, Wesley K. Clark, Brent Scowcroft, Paul Volcker, U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel, and Caspar W. Weinberger.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0275993019
• ISBN13: 9780275993016
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Praeger
• Length: 152 Pages
• Weight: 0.83 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Perfect for college-level libraries strong in international politics.

The alliance between Europe and America is dead, commentator Sarwar Kashmeri maintains: it can't be fixed, and it must be renegotiated: that's the message of a title which considers different foreign policy priorities between the U.S. and Europe since 9/11, and divisions which grow ever greater as the years go by. America's trouble is that it's using Cold War strategies which are outdated in trying to handle changing European Union priorities - and America and Europe After 9/11 and Iraq: The Great Divide charts these differences and offers foreign policy ideas which vastly revamp the relationships between the U.S. and the Union. Perfect for college-level libraries strong in international politics.

Sarwar Kashmeri's book on the US-European Alliance

This book provides a compact, readable synopsis of post-World War II events that gave birth to the 60 year old alliance between the United States and Europe and the Cold War threats that helped hold the alliance together despite serious underlying issues. The author argues persuasively that the alliance is on the brink of disintegration, thanks largely to the Iraq war, and that no amount of traditional diplomatic tinkering will fix it. Instead, he believes that radical new approaches are necessary to establish different collaborative arrangements and provides concrete recommendations. --Excerpts from a "Valley News" newspaper review by Tom Blinkhorn, Hanover, NH.