31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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Below the belt
While Arab and Islamic countries were immersed in the tragedy unfolding in the Palestinian territories and pondering the decisions they would have to make, the West had only one thing to worry about: the minor US-German diplomatic crisis, which occurred when the details of a secret report written by the German ambassador to Washington were leaked. The report concerned the recent talks held between Bush and Schröder during the latter's last visit to America, in which the parties frankly assessed some Arab figures and conditions. The report induced a subtle tension in US-German relations, since it revealed secrets and opinions that were not meant for public consumption, especially not days before the German foreign minister's visit to the Middle East.
The meeting was attended by Bush, US Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice as well as Schröder, Michael Steiner, his top diplomatic aide, and Jürgen Chrobog, the German ambassador to the US. Powell, it is reported, described Arafat as "lost" and refusing to take the blame for any problem. Steiner described King Abdullah of Jordan as one of the most intelligent Arab leaders, but also one of the weakest. Most explosive, however, were Steiner's remarks about his meeting with Colonel Gaddafi in Libya last March, at which he claimed the Libyan leader had confessed to participating in terrorist activities at one time, but assured his vis-à-vis that he had put terrorism behind him and wanted to make Libya's new position known to the world.
This part was at the heart of the ensuing maelstrom, the report having been leaked at a time when the German courts are reviewing the bombing of a nightclub in Berlin in 1986, in which five Libyans are suspects. As soon as the report was published, verbatim, in a German newspaper, the judge summoned Steiner to testify. Of course this enraged Libya and has not improved relations between the German chancellor and his foreign minister, since the report was written by the German ambassador to the US, who has also been nominated for the position of deputy foreign minister. The foreign minister also belongs to the Green Party, which, it is often said, Schröder wants to expel from the government in the next elections.
This is one explanation, but it seems that there is more to the matter. Washington has already expressed its concern about current improvements in German-Libyan relations, and about some German firms' plans to begin digging for oil in Libya at a time when America is still trying to impose an embargo. The Bush administration, in other words, can be the only beneficiary of the scandal. The administration, in addition, is not particularly friendly towards the Green Party or its leader, Joschka Fischer. Furthermore, the report alluded to Schröder's view that Western aid to Russia should be stopped to help stem the drain of capital out of Russia and into banks abroad. Putin, of course, was enraged, describing Schröder's statements as an attempt to plant seeds of discord in Russian-EU relations.
Against the backdrop of events in the Middle East, such dramatic stories sound like entertaining anecdotes. In fact, they are the behind-the-scenes reality of diplomatic relations, and therefore affect the international scene, whether positively or negatively. They also reveal the lengths to which even friendly countries are prepared to go to in scoring points, whether or not victory means striking below the belt.
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