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The Rift by Heimo von Hardung 355 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-1985; ISBN 1-4120-1608-8; US$28.00, C$36.00, EUR23.00, £16.00 Does America need Europe? Can anti-American attitudes overseas be explained by the simple fact that the Old Continent has been bypassed and is losing geopolitical importance?
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About the Book
THE RIFT analyses the reasons for the continuous drifting-apart of Anglo-Saxon and European governmental policies, in spite of the common threat of international terrorism.
The author points out that the disagreements between American and European diplomats are only the tip of the iceberg and that, below, insurmountable differences emerge on the level of geopolitical perceptions, in the area of technological achievements and in respect of military and economic power. Even a partial elimination of the present imbalance between the two entities would necessitate courageous strategic choices and the adoption of highly unpopular poilicies in Europe.
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About the Author
An American citizen since 1984, German-born Heimo von Hardung has acquired a doctor's degree in nuclear physics; speaking three languages he has worked in defence-related industries all his life. Having served for more than a decade as Chief Executive of a major international engineering conglomerate he founded his own consulting group in 1977 and has been an advisor to the boards of major industrial concerns ever since.
In parallel Mr. von Hardung has also assumed several semi-political positions and has occasionally been called upon by American and European government agencies. He has written several books on technological matters and is intermittently teaching at American and European universities. He alternates residences in California and France.
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Excerpt
INTRODUCTION
The attacks onto the Twin Towers and on the Pentagon on September 11, 2001 were - unfortunately - neither the first nor last act of international terrorism.
Intelligence services throughout the World obtain more and more evidence for the fact that the military actions taken in Afghanistan and in Iraq have not at all destroyed Al Qaeda and its associated organizations; recent information even suggests that their structure is now more efficient today than before.
Of course, Afghanistan and Iraq have been eliminated as major training ground for Al Qaeda operatives and as a supply source for advanced weapons and financial support; but contrary to affirmations by "Old World" politicians terrorist activities continue in Iraq and have spread to several other countries, including even those in the Far East. More particularly, it has become evident that the Middle East has become a breeding ground for several - solidly interconnected - terrorist organizations.
While the Anglo-Saxon coalition is fully aware of that situation and has made it part of its basic foreign policy, some other countries, in particular those of the "Old Europe" do not consider Al Qaeda a major, imminent threat to their national safety; consequently, they tend to adopt a more "tolerant" attitude towards those Middle Eastern and Far East countries that, very obviously, harbor and support terrorists.
This difference in attitude has created a deep rift between the Anglo-Saxon coalition on one hand and several European countries, particular France and Germany on the other.
The first serious clash in that direction happened at the level of the UN Security Council, when the French Minister of Foreign Affairs indicated that his country would veto any United States-proposed resolution to intervene militarily in Iraq.
In the meantime the respective diplomatic arguments belong to history.
But in spite of numerous efforts after the Anglo-Saxon intervention in Iraq - that is still being called "illegal" by the French (but not by the German) government - the rift continues to exist on political and military levels and, in a realistic analysis, has rather widened than narrowed in such areas as basic doctrines, technology and firepower.
Prominent experts of the Anglo-Saxon coalition are convinced that Al Qaeda is, indeed, more powerful today than before and the fierce guerilla resistance in Iraq that is assisted by numerous foreign terrorist groups supplies ample evidence for that.. New networks, new strategies and - above all - the probable access to some arms of mass destruction render lethal future attacks more and more probable.
Before the war, Iraq has been practically the only terrorist-harboring country that disposed of advanced technologies, such as toxic gases, Anthrax and other biological agents. Eliminating Iraq*s corresponding technical capabilities, therefore, appeared to deal a serious blow to the threat of international terrorism.
But since probably most of the respective technologies have been "exported" to other countries in the meantime, terrorists will now be able to obtain the corresponding know-how from several other sources in the near future.
This continued threat to the Free World imperatively calls for a comprehensive, international cooperation.
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