Five days that shook world politics

There is no Cold War ahead. Yet the period between February 20 and 24 was extraordinary. Seldom have fault-lines in world politics surfaced with such clarity.

If the principal objective of President George Bush’s European tour (February 20-24) was to heal trans-Atlantic rifts stemming from the great differences over the Iraq war, it was a success. Europe was willing to let bygones be bygones. But it became apparent during Bush’s harmonious tour of “Old Europe” that profound differences remained between the European vision and the neo-conservative world view that the Bush administration subscribed to during its first term.