WASHINGTON (AP) – On the eve of his trip to Europe to patch the trans-Atlantic relationship, President Bush says he doesn’t believe the West is split between an “idealistic United States and a cynical Europe.”

“America and Europe are the pillars of the free world,” Bush said in his weekly radio address Saturday, the day before he leaves on a five-day trip to Belgium, Germany and Slovakia.

“Leaders on both sides of the Atlantic understand that the hopes for peace in the world depend on the continued unity of free nations,” he said. “We do not accept a false caricature that divides the Western world between an idealistic United States and a cynical Europe.”

Iraq will be a top agenda item during the president’s talks with European leaders and officials of NATO, the European Union and the European Commission. The United States wants to see a larger international role in Iraq, particularly in training its military and police.

U.S. hopes for a larger NATO role suffered a setback last Sunday when Germany rebuffed the alliance’s request for help to protect U.N. operations in Iraq.

France and Germany, which opposed the U.S.-led war that toppled Saddam Hussein, have prevented the alliance from developing a wider role in Iraq, and have refused to send their own troops, even on the training mission in Baghdad that NATO has authorized.

Germany has emphasized its efforts to help Iraq in other ways – through military and police training outside the country, economic aid and debt relief. France has stressed its command of NATO peacekeeping missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan.

In his radio address, Bush didn’t mention the NATO mission. Instead, he singled out nations that helped with the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq.

“In Iraq, our shared commitment to free elections has stripped the car bombers and assassins of their most powerful weapon, their claim to represent the wishes and aspirations of the Iraqi people,” he said.

“In these elections, the European Union provided vital technical assistance, NATO is helping to train army officers, police and civilian administrators of a new Iraq and 21 of our European coalition partners are providing forces on the ground.”

Outlining his goals for the trip, the president also said he would discuss how to best advance peace between Israel and the Palestinians; trade issues; and reducing European barriers to American agricultural goods.

“Even the best of friends do not agree on everything,” he said, adding that America and Europe need to cooperate to fight terrorism and poverty and promote trade and peace.

“That makes our trans-Atlantic ties as vital as they have ever been,” he said.

In advance of his trip, Bush on Friday spoke of Iran during interviews at the White House with broadcasters and correspondents from Russia, France, Belgium, Slovakia and Germany.

He said the United States does not intend to attack Iran to crush its suspected nuclear weapons project and expressed hopes that a European diplomatic initiative would persuade Tehran to abandon any such program.

When asked about an opinion poll showing that 70 percent of Germans believe the United States is planning military action against Iran, Bush replied: “I hear all these rumors about military attacks, and it’s just not the truth.”

He said he wants diplomacy to succeed in persuading Iran not to produce nuclear weapons.

“Listen, first of all, you never want a president to say ‘never.’ But military action is certainly not – it’s never the president’s first choice,” he said. “Diplomacy is always the president’s first – at least my first choice.”

Bush said he supports European nations’ efforts to persuade Iran to scrap its uranium enrichment program in exchange for technological, financial and political support.

He did not address U.S. reservations about Europe’s approach. The United States has refused to get involved in the bargaining with Tehran or to make commitments, insisting that Iran abandon its program.

“I believe diplomacy can work so long as the Iranians don’t divide Europe and the United States,” Bush said. “There’s a lot more diplomacy to be done.”

Copy the Story Link