Brussels and the war against terrorism - the response until the fall of Kabul

Abstract

EC foreign policy, in the prelude to the 'war against terror' and during its build up, until the dramatic fall of Kabul, manifested itself as a two-tier system, where one finds that the EC took measures supra-nationally and the Member States made their contribution each separately, the way each state deemed fit and appropriate, given the feared repercussions of the 11th September tragedy in New York. It seems that the EC as a community and several Member States played different but converging roles. Every responding Member State played the part it wished to play and no move was coincidental. Again, this time within the field of foreign policy, Member States played the game of variable geometry. The United Kingdom positioned itself early, well in advance of the other Member States, as one of the key players in the 'war against terror', featuring as a shoulder-to-shoulder ally of the United States, while the other Member States started threading warily, getting more assertive as the conflict in Afghanistan gradually tapered to an end, reaching its climax with the summit in Bonn.