The View From Europe
Befuddled and Burdened
Bush's European tour, marked by male bonding and protests, ends as he faces turmoil at home
By Nicola Mitchell

June 5, 2002 -- LONDON (APJP) -- Us Brits have spent a long weekend watching spectacular celebrations that marked the Queen's Golden Jubilee. It's a shame Bush couldn't have dropped in to pay "her maj" a visit as part of his recent European tour, but Euro commentators agree he has far too much going on at home to spare a few minutes to celebrate -- even for the Queen of England.

Despite all of Colin Powell's attempts at lecturing and scolding Europe for its tendency to criticise America, his words apparently fall on deaf ears as once again protestors took to the streets to mark Bush's latest tour of Europe.

As the tour progressed and a bemused president tried to come to grips with the protestors, it became clear that less lecturing and more discussion might prove to be the way to Europe's heart.

It's not too much of a distant memory for Europeans to think of Bush as happy to play the role of country boy done good, only concerning himself with America's problems. And I think what grates on much of Europe the most is that Bush now feels the need to come and preach to Europeans about what they have been telling him for years.

Of course, the criticism he has received here pales into insignificance compared to the pounding he's currently receiving in the US.

Way back when the trip began it must have made a refreshing change to escape the daily inquisition to which he is currently subjected. At the start of the trip, while Bush was in Russia, the air was filled with testosterone as the male bonding that went on behind the scenes between Bush and Putin (or "Pootie Poot" as we've been told Dubya likes to call him) was easy for all to spot.

In Germany he received a more tepid response, with protestors taking to the streets.

In France, one of America's most vocal critics, the protestors were also out, if not in more muted tones than expected, something which may be related to the World Cup fever currently sweeping the continent.

But he had to go home sometime, and despite the attempts to charm Europe, the opinions being formed by the majority of left wing commentators is that of a man heading a disorganised administration and beginning to feel the strain.

He returned to the USA, sweeping brush in hand, to try and clear up the mess that had been made in his absence. The fact that the US Joint Chiefs Of Staff chose to voice their concerns on possible military action against Iraq while the boss was away has been an extremely telling sign of the current state of the administration.

But apart from the problems within his staff, he still needs to answer questions from the media, freshly awakened from their patriotic slumber. I still find it astonishing the amount of daily terrorist warnings the American public is receiving, my favourite one yet being the threat of attack by scuba divers -- no specifics, but we're just supposed to look out for them.

The administration and intelligence agencies are overloading us with information so that should the worst happen they can turn around and say, "See? We told you so!" But despite their best efforts, every day that goes by reveals another fatal flaw, another miscommunication, all of which leads back to the same questions about prevention.

So while Britain celebrates, Bush continues to talk war in more ways than one. He may be continuing to step up his pace on Iraq, but the war at home is going to be long, hard, and with many casualties. It just remains to be seen if Bush will be one of them.