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Recent
Stories
April
18, 2003
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Z:
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April
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April 19,
2003
Blair's War
on the Dollar
Tony
Blair: the Most Powerful Man in the World
by
ANTHONY GANCARSKI
The British Prime Minister endured such trials
in 2002 that he seemed destined to be ousted from his post, and
2003 didn't start much better for him. Pilloried throughout his
nation's media as Bush's lapdog, Blair looked to most in the
world like an effete figure at the helm of an irrelevant nation.
Some treated him with a measure of respect, hoping he'd play
good cop to the US President's embodiment of Nixon's "madman
theory". But only a measure -- most wondered where things
had gone so wrong for the formerly bright-eyed PM.
That said, the last month or so has been
something of a coup for Blair. The removal of Hussein, tricky
at first, moved with a prearranged swiftness by the time coalition
troops moved into Baghdad to what American television called
"pockets of resistance." With the antiwar position
momentarily discredited, a rapprochement of sorts was struck
with sparring partners like France's Chirac, who declared that
he was not put out by Hussein's removal. All's well that ends
well, and a resurgent Tony Blair seems poised to call in some
markers this year and beyond.
And, according to the Times of London
, Blair's starting to flex his long-dormant political muscle
in some interesting ways.
"TONY BLAIR's plans for a powerful
new full-time president of Europe look set to become reality
after the man charged with drafting a European Union constitution
backed the project yesterday.
"Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former
French President who chairs the convention on Europe's future,
supported the EU's biggest member states who argue that the Union
needs a president if it is to punch its weight on the international
stage."
Who's in on the initiative so far? France
[whose Chirac first publicly floated the idea] and the UK, of
course. Aznar's Spain and Rassmussen's Denmark, as well as Sweden.
Generally, smaller states see the proposal as one intended to
quiet their voices within the EU; this power grab, which isn't
what the small states agreed to when they joined, is as much
as acknowledged by the former French President. As the Times
puts it, "M Giscard made his views clear after protracted
talks with leaders gathered in Athens to sign the treaty ushering
in the ten new members. Asked how many countries opposed the
idea of a president, he said: 'When you assess these positions,
one thing to take into account is the number of states. But we
also have to take into account their populations, because we
operate in a democratic way here. And the majority of the population
is in favour of a somewhat more stable president.'"
The stability referred to here, of course,
is that of a monolith. Those who opposed the construction of
the EU on the grounds that the organization would sap their nations'
sovereignty have been proven right again in a key respect. Decisions
of war and peace, even more so than now, will be dominated by
the traditional powers of "Old Europe", with the smaller
states given little legal ground to object.
That much said, there is a payoff for
this close cooperation between Chirac's France and Blair's Britain.
If the US continues down its current reckless course of unilateral
intervention, further schisms will be triggered in the US/UK
alliance. Left to his own devices, Blair very well might have
scuttled the British pound for the Euro already; certainly, that
idea will pick up momentum with each move to undermine ties between
London and Washington. The more integration there is between
the EU and the UK, the better it is for the Euro and the worse
it is for the dollar. Thus, it could be said that the EU Presidency
will be strengthened at the expense of the United States and
the citizens thereof.
Anthony Gancarski is a regular CounterPunch columnist. He can be
reached at: ANTHONY.GANCARSKI@ATTBI.COM
Today's
Features
Uzma
Aslam Khan
The Unbearably Grim Aftermath of War:
What America Says Does Not Go
Robert
Jensen
Self-Determination in Iraq? Then the
US Must Leave
Dr.
Susan Block
The Rape of Iraq
Ron Jacobs
Aiming at Syria: Stop Them Before They Kill Again
Robert
Fisk
The Final Sacking of Baghdad
Col. Dan
Smith
Post-War Iraq: Asking the Right Questions
Ali
Abunimah and Hussein Ibish
A Cycle of Chaos and Confrontation: Misadventures of the NeoCons
Steve
Perry
War Web Log 4/15
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