Opinion : Saisissez cette occasion

La politique étrangère américaine, jusqu’ici focalisée sur une
guerre à court terme contre le terrorisme, est désormais tournée
vers une guerre à long terme contre la tyrannie. Après la
visite de Condoleeza Rice, l’Europe doit profiter de ce qui
pourrait n’être qu’une brève lune de miel, estime Timothy Garton
Ash. 

The early February 2005 visit of US secretary of state
Condoleezza Rice has left a positive impression. According to
Timothy Garton Ash Secretary Rice made « an impressive charm
offensive during her lightning tour of Europe. She has presented a
more elegant face, spoken a more nuanced language »

The « grand strategy » she unfolds at the very least deserves to
be studied carefully, writes Ash who detects a shift towards
not only being  » tough on terror but also tough on the causes
of terror »

Ash points to secretary Rice’s words in her Paris speech 8
February that « even more important than militaryand indeed
economic power is the power of ideas. » 

This approach Ash notes « also requires working more closely with
allies; hence the hand of friendship extended to Berlin and Paris.
So the emphasis has shifted from a short-term war on terror to a
longer-term war on tyranny. » 

According to Ash a « significant development » is happening
in American Policy: « We are talking about a long-term strategy
to foster peaceful change in the undemocratic societies of the
wider Middle East over the next two decades. »

However in light of the looming Iran crisis, Ash predicts that the
« transatlantic honeymoon » will not last long,
and thus « Europeans should seize this fragile moment of
opportunity to put on the table our own proposals for how best to
achieve our common goals. »