Three weeks since the beginning of the air strikes on Afghanistan, Europe is beginning to question the military strategy that the USA and Great Britain have adopted. The foreign ministers of the Fifteen met in Luxembourg on 29 October to review the international crisis. French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine recognized that the Europeans have given their support to the military operations in Afghanistan because they “were unable to propose any other policy”. The hope added Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Piqué is that “the coalition may not be weakened due to the errors committed in the bombardments”. Indeed, the diffusion of images showing Afghan children injured by the bombs, the damage caused by the bombardments on the civilian population and the opposition of some Islamic groups in many countries are causing a groundswell of timid but growing protest in Europe. But not being directly implicated in the military actions, the Fifteen have instead focused their attention on the peace process in the Middle East. “If the stalemate in the Middle East is not ended said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer this will undoubtedly jeopardize the solidity of the coalition”.
