Posted on 05/02/2006 4:22:33 AM PDT by Kurt_Hectic
US President George W Bush reportedly doesn't want to meet with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Norway also seems to have lost an influential role within NATO, apparently, some say, because of Norway's lack of enthusiasm for the war in Iraq. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg reportedly isn't welcome at the White House.
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported Tuesday that Bush's staff had turned down a request from Stoltenberg's office for a meeting between the two at the White House. Bush, according to the report, was too busy to make room for Stoltenberg in the foreseeable future.
NRK reported that Bush's staff wouldn't set up the meeting because of the Norwegian left-center coalition government's criticism of the war in Iraq, and Finance Minister Kristin Halvorsen's support for a boycott of Israeli products.
Jan Petersen, who was Norway's foreign minister in the last center-right government, told NRK that he feared a phone conversation Stoltenberg had with Bush shortly after last fall's election put a damper on relations between the US and Norway. In the conversation, Stoltenberg told Bush that Norwegian officers would be pulled out of Iraq.
Janne Haaland Matlary, a professor at the University of Oslo, said her sources also indicate that Norway no longer is part of the "inner circle" at NATO.
"My contacts in NATO and Washington say Norway was in the innermost circles in NATO, that we were a partner in this inner circle together with the US," Haaland Matlary told NRK. "Now these contacts say we aren't any longer."
Støre 'unaware'
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre told NRK that he wasn't aware that a request for a meeting with Bush was denied. He maintained that the US continued to be an important ally for Norway, while White House officials claimed Norway also was an important ally for the US.
Indeed, Stoltenberg's government often has been criticized within Norway for being too eager to please the US. On issues ranging from the relocation of the US Embassy in Oslo to mixed signals on whether government ministers will meet representatives from Hamas, Stoltenberg has been accused of being too accommodating to US interests.
This in turn has raised concerns about a rift within his coalition government. Stoltenberg's Labour Party needs to cooperate with Halvorsen's Socialist Left, which has a far more critical line towards the US than Labour. A snub by Bush actually might help Stoltenberg appease the more left-leaning members of his government, and voters, at a time when the conservative Progress Party is leading in the polls.
The former center-right coalition government led by Kjell Magne Bondevik of the Christian Democrats, meanwhile, maintained good relations with Bush, even though Bondevik's government went on record as opposing the US-led invasion of Iraq from the start.
Any chance of that happening?
I don't believe that NATO is dead. After the EU fails to build up a believable military reaction-force, NATO will be stronger than ever.
Europe needs USA and USA needs Europe. Europe needs USA more than USA needs Europe, but it's still a practical marriage that's going to last.
If not, Europe is toast...
Where is it written that the President has to meet with every leader who comes to town? If he doesn't want to meet with someone, especially if that country has not been supportive of the War on Terror, that's his prerogative. I guess Norway thinks it's immune to acts of terror on it's soil. The Netherlands and Denmark probably thought the same thing, too, once.
That's because they no longer need the protection of the US from the Soviet Union.
Believe me- a lot of norwegians think they are immune to terror! And that's the problem...
Indeed. But what is usually left out of the story when he is used to slam the whole nation (which is often) is that he never won a seat in Parliament in peacetime; was installed by the German invaders; and was viscerally hated and resisted by the vast majority of Norwegians. Thus it feels especially unfair to cite him as in any way representative of Norway, and it is highly inadvisable to do so to an adult male Norwegian's face! :-)
What is the matter.....does the truth hurt?
Are you denying that Quisling collaborated with the Nazis?
If so, I would urge you to look up newspapers of those WWII years rather than pursue your wishful thinking and re-writing of history.
Indeed. I appreciate your remarks.
There isn't a clear signal in this entire article.
"Look to Norway!" (President Franklin D. Roosevelt)
Yep, there's not enough of it IMHO.
Plain and simple:You're either with us or you're against us!
Yeah, that whole defeating the Nazis and Soviets with the enormous sacrifice of American life, limb, and property thing is no reason for them to show us any gratitude.
That being said, I'm glad my great-great grandfather got so pissed off at his family in Oslo that he came here (legally) and changed his last name to spite them. I don't like socialists, sardines, or extended winters, and Norway is chock full of all of those.
Hey Jens,
Complete the sentence.
You're either with us or _______ ____ ___ _______.
Yes, and unfortunately when the center-right parties do manage to win elections in Old Europe (setting France aside) these days, it seems to be only by the narrowist of margins, as most of the population leans to the left or green.
However, the center-right parties throughout Europe (again, setting France aside) do understand and value the relationship with the US and NATO.
This has been true not only for Norway (which in fact has historically been one of the strongest supporters of NATO and was the only NATO country that actually shared a border with the Soviets), but also for Anzar in Spain, Berlusconi in Italy, Merkel in Germany, etc.
The problem is that while the center-right parties themselves understand the importance of the American relationship and NATO, they have nevertheless lost the battle for public opinion on this point in their various countries, especially among younger people and students brainwashed by the leftwing media and university teachers. So the center-right does what it can within the constraints of public opinion.
Assuming, of course, there is an America left in 40-50 years. They might be dealing with "Republica del Norte" if things keep going the way they're going.....
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