The US antagonised its allies at the weekend by stepping up its hawkish language of "rogue states" and its criticism of European military capability at an international security conference.
A senior security adviser to President Bush told the conference in Munich that the US has "never been more willing, if necessary, to act alone".
"I can promise you that if we have to choose between protecting ourselves against terrorism or a long list of friends and allies, we will protect ourselves against terrorism," said Mr Richard Perle.
Russian Defence Minister, Mr Sergei Ivanov, attacked the US for its talk of an "axis of evil". He said there was no evidence that Iran, a Russian ally labelled a "rogue state" by the US, has terrorist links.
"Few people in the West like the fact that we have some commercial ties with the countries which you describe as rogue states," he said, adding that US allies like "Saudi Arabia or Gulf states . . . give finance to terrorist organisations".
NATO Secretary General, Lord Robertson, used his address to reiterate his demand for Europe to develop its military capabilities. "If we are to ensure that the United States moves neither towards unilateralism nor isolationism, all European countries must show a new willingness to develop effective crisis management capabilities," said Lord Robertson yesterday.
He dismissed European "rhetoric" on military spending, pointing out that Europe "still needs US help to move, command and provision a major operation".
"For all the political energy expended in NATO and in the EU, the truth is that Europe remains militarily undersized," he said.
He asked Washington to help Europe by easing what he called "unnecessary restrictions" on technology transfer and industrial co-operation.
Germany's Defence Minister, Mr Rudolf Scharping, dismissed criticism of Europe's defence capabilities as "the latest fashion" and said the real problem in Europe was a lack of political will.
His remarks come as plans to buy aircraft for Europe's rapid reaction force, a central plank of European common defence plans, have been thrown into doubt by a domestic political controversy in Berlin.
The purchase of over 196 Airbus A400 military transport aircraft has been endangered by Germany's inability to guarantee the full €8.6 billion required for its order of 73 planes. The eight countries behind the project have extended the deadline for Germany to guarantee funding until the end of March.
The legacy of last September's terrorist attacks dominated discussions among the 400 security experts at the weekend conference, which took place under tight security in the Bavarian capital.
City authorities banned all protests and deployed over 3,000 police in riot gear to guard the city centre as thousands of pacifists appeared on the streets. There were also anti-racists, Argentine anti-imperialists, communists opposed to privatisation in France and political and social rights campaigners from Greece.
Police said that despite a ban on demonstrations, about 7,000 protesters tried to gather on Saturday, prompting a 10-hour cat-and-mouse game with about 1,000 officers. Some 850 demonstrators were detained and 43 were to be charged.
Meanwhile, Turkey is believed to be the most likely candidate to take over from Britain as head of the international security force in Afghanistan. A German newspaper said yesterday that the French Defence Minister, Mr Alain Richard, had already discussed the plan with Ankara.
