So who's isolated now - the US? Or France and Germany?

Coalition to go into Iraq is gaining momentum.... Check tomorrow's Wall Street Journal.
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Europe Leaders Call for Unity
With U.S. on Its Iraq Policy

Public Letter From Eight Leaders Highlights
Growing Rift Between U.S.'s European Allies
By MARC CHAMPION
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


LONDON -- In a letter to be published in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, eight European leaders call for unity with the U.S. in its policy of stripping Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

The letter -- signed by the leaders of Spain, Britain, Italy, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Portugal -- highlights the deep rift among America's allies in Europe. The letter, which was written for The Wall Street Journal and then distributed to some other European newspapers, comes in the wake of public rebukes of U.S. policy delivered by France and Germany.

Those disputes have been widely characterized as pitting the U.S. against Europe as a whole, prompting some to question the long-term future of the transatlantic alliance. Today's joint comment appears to leave France and Germany isolated, rather than the U.S.

The signatories also mirror the distinction that U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld made in his dismissal of France and Germany last week as "old Europe." Mr. Rumsfeld contrasted these "problem" countries, with a "new Europe" that includes U.S. allies among the former Soviet bloc countries and is more supportive of U.S. policy on Iraq. Mr. Rumsfeld's characterization drew sharp criticisms from France and Germany.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Tony Blair said that France and Germany weren't asked to sign the letter. While the spokesman declined to comment on why they weren't invited, it seems clear that the French and German positions on Iraq were too far apart from the others to make a common approach feasible.

The eight leaders pay tribute to the U.S. role in protecting Europe from Nazism and Communism, and warn that success in battling terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction now depends on "unwavering determination and firm international cohesion." They support the need for tough U.N. action to force Iraq to disarm.

In language that appears to be directed primarily at France, the prime ministers also say: "We are confident that the Security Council will face up to its responsibilities." France -- one of five countries that holds a veto in the U.N. Security Council along with the U.S., Britain, Russia and China --recently said it saw "no justification" for war and hinted that it might use its power of veto to prevent one.

When reached late Wednesday, spokesmen for French President Jacques Chirac and the German foreign ministry said they didn't have time to obtain comment.

The joint communique, however, also reflects a gathering momentum toward accepting the need for military action since Hans Blix, the chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, on Monday gave an unexpectedly harsh progress report on Iraq's cooperation with the inspection process. Mr. Blix said Iraq had failed to show any intent to disarm.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia would be prepared to back tougher Security Council action against Iraq if it failed to cooperate with inspectors, reversing his previously more lenient approach to Iraq. Later Tuesday, U.S. President George W. Bush appeared to have given a further push to skeptical allies in his State of the Union address by offering to provide fresh evidence of Iraq's illicit weapons of mass destruction.