Britain and the Gulf War

...Whitehall, in its opposition to being corralled into a unified European foreign policy, worked to obstruct the tactic...

...Even Jacques Delors, the President of the European Commission, recognizes the changed atmosphere...

...Britain is also wondering whether it should continue to maintain its Army on the Rhine after the Germans displayed so little concern in defending vital common interests in the Gulf—particularly in the light of the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact and virtual elimination of a Soviet military threat...

...Thus the Gulf war may turn out to be as much of a watershed in international affairs as the end of the Cold War...

...Public opinion has sensed that Europe has been rather ineffectual," he recently observed...

...There is no doubt in Britain that the Germans are glad their constitution bars them from direct participation in the war...

...President François Mitterrand's failure to inform Prime Minister Major of a French unilateral bid to bring about a diplomatic solution to the takeover of Kuwait before the UN deadline for Iraq's withdrawal expired—although the two leaders had consulted personally at great length a few hours earlier—will rankle here for quite some time as well...

...Instead, he commended "the Beeb" for the endeavors and achievements of its war correspondents...

...Particularly undermined were the attempts by several heads of state to transform the EC into an entity to be reckoned with in world affairs...

...As for France, its hesitation in committing forces to the conflict will not be soon forgotten in London...

...British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd has joined spokesmen for other European governments in generally urging postwar diplomatic efforts to resolve, among other things, the Arab-Israeli dispute...

...he took office almost two months before the bombing commenced...

...But that's asking a lot—and no one in London is offering bets this will happen...

...Prime Minister John Major had somewhat longer to brace himself for war in the Persian Gulf...

...A significant factor has undoubtedly been that while American protesters have had some success in portraying President Bush as atrigger-happy villain, the effort to similarly target Prime Minister Nice Guy has been largely ineffective...

...Simultaneous news of the Belgians' shabby deals with Arab terrorists over hostages exacerbated the anger...

...Major's measured pronouncements on the Gulf conflict can of course in no way be compared with Churchill's wartime oratory...

...Because of its economic strength, Germany had previously been seen as becoming the driving force for expanding the purview of the EC...

...The Gulf war may have other consequences for Europe, too...

...The PLO, of course, threw in its lot with Saddam...

...The British, whose forces twice this century took heavy casualties freeing Belgium from enemy occupation, were astounded and outraged when the Belgians refused to resupply their troops in Saudi Arabia with ammunition...

...No practicable proposals for achieving a modus vivendi between the Israelis and the Palestinians have been put forward...

...The hope apparently is that if the Gulf coalition can be kept intact, its Arab members will participate in developing a peaceful new order for the region...

...He also has declined to adhere to the traditional prime ministerial practice of condemning the BBC for its coverage of antigovernment demonstrations...

...Just as Saddam's belligerence has brought the British together, however, it has been a disaster for the unity of the European Community (EC...

...The Foreign Office nonetheless supports the concept of a broad-ranging attempt to establish peace and security throughout the Middle East when Iraq is defeated...

...Yet the distress caused by the initial response—which was at best lackluster and at worst positively subversive of a firm, coherent stand—will be difficult to overcome...

...Europeans who believe this disrupts progress toward EC unity will simply have to live with the fact for the foreseeable future...

...But thanks to Saddam, George Bush and John Major have quickly developed a new relationship based on mutual admiration and full agreement...

...If anything, his manner may revive the old fiction that the British by nature shun excitement and hyperbole...

...But given the public mood, they have fully supported Major and the British units in the Gulf and have disavowed the antiwar critics of their party's left wing...

...London anticipates that as a reaction to French and German attitudes, Congress will shortly urge a very large reduction in U. S. troops expensively based on the Continent...

...He moves right to the point, employing the same dry, unexciting cadences and emphases that might be used in announcing government plans for motorway construction or old-age pensions...

...Even the opposition Labor Party has to this stage refrained from criticizing Britain's role in the Kuwaiti liberation...

...A determined effort is now being made to restore a sense of common purpose in confronting Saddam, who all EC member states agree in principle at least is an international outlaw and must be stopped...

...One junior British government minister bitterly snapped that the Community failed its first real test by "running for the shelters...

...Yet he appears to have substantially united Britons in pursuit of the international coalition's aims...

...The turn of events has vindicated London's earlier arguments that circumstances do not yet allow for the formulation of a unified European approach to international affairs...

...Washington had been in the process of restructuring its European relations to bring them more into line with shifting political and economic realities...

...Eschewing Thatcher-type jingoism, the Prime Minister has reported on the Gulf developments to Parliament and the nation in confident, calm, almost understated tones...

...Labor leaders initially favored delaying military action until it was clearly demonstrated that economic sanctions would not work...

...Indeed, the most ardent Europeans in the British Parliament—known as "Eurofanatics"—today concede that the chances for a single European foreign policy are slim...

...Certainly the belief here is that the situation in the Middle East will undergo a fundamental transformation after the mightiest Arab nation is cut down to size...

...Most prominent among the latter is Member of Parliament Tony Benn, whose zeal has degenerated into simplistic anti-Americanism and accusations of "hidden agenda" imperialism...

...Moreover, considerable sympathy is felt for Turkey, where President Turgut Ozal has complained of Bonn's reluctance to send help against a possible Iraqi attack...

...Despite the fact that the British have committed the second largest component to the Allied force, the antiwar movement has managed to gather far less popular support here than in the United States or elsewhere in Europe...

...He has made no attempt to profit politically from the split the war has caused in the ranks of the Parliamentary Opposition...

...We will have to face up to that lesson...

...That notion has now been shattered, much to the relief of most Britons...

...As a fellow NATO member Turkey had for 40 years contributed to the defense of West Germany against the Soviets...

...That meant shedding the longstanding British-American special relationship in favor of closer links with prosperous Germany...

...Nevertheless, there was much concern here about whether the new man was up to the job...

...Brussels, you will recall, is supposed to be the capital of a united Europe...

...Angered by Israel's stern policies in the West Bank and Gaza prior to Iraq's annexation of Kuwait, some senior European political figures had advocated bringing EC pressure to bear on Jerusalem that would compel it to deal with, and make concessions to, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO...

...Should a major pullout be decided upon, it would necessitate a complete reformulation of European defense policies...

...Nor can one imagine him crowing over an Iraqi setback the way Thatcher urged people here to "rejoice" with every British victory during the Falklands War...

...Norman Gelb writes regularly for The New Leader on British affairs...

...Again, the British stand seems to have been vindicated, since Israel—at the moment anyway—is once more being widely viewed as a gallant little nation facing powerful odds and as a reliable team-player...

...So far, though, Major has provided unwavering, intelligently defined leadership for Britain in its largest military involvement since World War II...

...Crucial decisions needed to be made, and he had only brief experience in senior government positions before moving into Number 10 Downing Street...

...WITH MAJOR AT THE HELM Britain and the Gulf War BY NORMAN GELB London Winston Churchill became Prime Minister of Great Britain the same day the armies of Nazi Germany began their blitzkrieg against Western Europe a half century ago...

...What is more, his style has contrasted sharply with that of his mentor and predecessor, Margaret Thatcher, refuting thepundits who had predicted he would be a limp imitation of the Iron Lady...

...The London Sunday Times called the reactions to the Iraqi invasion on the Continent "the shame of Europe...

...But of all the EC countries, Germany has met with the severest criticism...

...In the meantime, ties between the United States and Britain have been enormously strengthened by their joint operations in the Gulf...