Bush: Europe Faces Risk of Terrorism
President Speaks in Germany, Then Goes to Moscow for Summit
By Steve Holland
Reuters
MOSCOW (May 23) - President George Bush called on his European allies Thursday to put aside their differences and transform NATO into a potent force to fight terrorism, saying to shirk the task invited ''certain blackmail.''
Against the backdrop of big anti-American protests in Berlin over U.S. policies ranging from Iraq to the environment, Bush warned that the United States and its 18 fellow NATO members were vulnerable to more attacks like those of Sept. 11.
''In this war we defend not just America or Europe. We are defending civilization itself,'' he told the German parliament in Berlin's restored Reichstag building before flying on to Moscow for a four-day summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
''We oppose an enemy that thrives on violence and the grief of the innocent. The terrorists are defined by their hatreds. They hate democracy and tolerance and free speech and women and Jews and Christians and all Muslims who disagree with them.''
In Moscow, the second stop of a week-long trip to Europe, Bush hopes to finally bury the legacy of the Cold War by signing up to big cuts in nuclear weapons. But he immediately ran into a row over Russia's role in building a nuclear reactor in Iran.
Bush reassured European allies Washington remained a friend despite major differences over Iraq, trade and the environment.
Unlike the hero's welcomes given to U.S. presidents visiting West Berlin when the Wall was standing, around 20,000 people demonstrated against Bush not far from his hotel Wednesday night. Protests turned violent as bottles and stones flew.
Officials said 44 people were hurt and about 50 detained.
Thursday, several hundred anti-war demonstrators stormed a railway station and disrupted traffic in central Berlin. A record 10,000 police were deployed to patrol the protests and guard cordons that turned the downtown into a fortress.
''Bush has declared war against half the world,'' said 27-year-old protester Kai Kroker. ''There's no counterweight to his power -- it's more dangerous than the Cold War.''
DANGERS FROM IRAQ, IRAN
At a news conference, Bush called Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a threat to civilization who must be confronted by all means available. But he assured German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder: ''I have no war plans on my desk.''
Friday, Bush and Putin will sign a landmark treaty to slash their nuclear arms to 1,700-2,200 each, from 5,000-6,000.
''Old arms agreements sought to manage hostility to maintain a balance of terror. This new agreement recognizes that Russia and the West are no longer enemies,'' Bush said in Berlin.
But he also suggested Moscow may be risking proliferating nuclear arms by helping build the atomic power plant in Iran, which Bush considers part of a global ''axis of evil'':
''Russia needs to be concerned about proliferation into a country that might view them as an enemy at some time and if Iran gets a weapon of mass destruction deliverable by a missile that's going to be a problem ... for all of us, including Russia.''
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov dismissed the comment.
Calling Sept. 11 ''a deep dividing line in our history, a change of eras as sharp and clear as Pearl Harbor or the first day of the Berlin blockade,'' Bush said America and Europe must throw off old suspicions and ''realize our common interests.''
''Dangers originating far from Europe can now strike at Europe's heart so NATO must be able and willing to act whenever threats emerge,'' he said.
Bush endorsed NATO taking in members from former Soviet bloc states in eastern Europe. NATO leaders will sign an agreement in Rome next week that includes Russia in some decision-making.
PROTEST IN PARLIAMENT
During the beginning of Bush's speech, members of the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) -- the successor to the East German Communist SED that built the Berlin Wall -- unfolded a banner reading: ''Mr. Bush and Mr. Schroeder, stop your wars.''
The banner was quickly torn down and after making a dismissive gesture toward the PDS deputies, Bush continued, stressing what Europe and America had in common.
''Those who exaggerate our differences hold a shallow view,'' he said.
Bush is under fire in Europe over what many view as U.S. unilateralism on key issues. Washington has, for example, pulled out of the Kyoto global warming treaty and abandoned a pact setting up an international criminal court.
European allies are also concerned about hefty U.S. tariffs on steel imports and U.S. policy on Iraq and the Middle East.
Bush gave no ground on any of those issues, calling the trade disputes a small part of ''our vast trading relationship.''
He said disagreements should not get in the way of broader common goals like fighting terrorism, bringing peace to the Middle East or helping solve the AIDS crisis in Africa.
In a message welcomed by Schroeder, Bush also stressed that the United States planned to increase overseas development aid by 50 percent over the next three budget years.
''To create a safer world, we must also create a better world,'' he said.
Despite criticism in Europe over his description of Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an ''axis of evil,'' Bush reiterated his view that the three were seeking weapons of mass destruction.
''Call it, as I do, axis of evil, call it by any name you choose but let us speak the truth,'' he declared. ''If we ignore this threat we invite certain blackmail and place millions of our citizens in great danger.''
Bush will also make his case for aggressively fighting terrorism in talks in coming days with Putin, French President Jacques Chirac and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
REUTERS@ Reut14:16 05-23-02
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