American Politics Journal

Act of Carnage: Aftermath
SPECIAL to American Politics Journal
The View from Europe
A Need for Leadership
By Nicola Mitchell

Saturday, Sept. 15, 2001 -- LONDON (APJP) -- As the horror of the past few days is slowly sinking in, Europe has begun to rally around and do whatever it can to show its support, and in the meantime, all eyes are slowly beginning to turn towards Bush to see just exactly how he is going to handle the task ahead.

Friday saw a virtual shutting down of most European countries. At 11am, 3 minutes silence was held across the whole continent as everyone came together to express their sorrow at the tragedy that has befallen America. Many shops and business closed for the day as people of all races and religions stood side by side to express their sadness, Britain not being witness to such an outpouring of public grief since the death of princess Diana.

And now the initial shock is beginning to fade, all eyes are firmly focused on the new President to see exactly how he handles the task in front of him, with many believing he has already failed at the first stage.

One of the main things noted by many Euro commentators is his lack of absence. After the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, many tabloid newspapers carried headlines such as "where is our Queen" in order to vent public frustrations at her absence at a time when the country needed her the most, today this has been replaced by cries of "where is the President?"

Yesterday Bush managed to make his way to New York - 4 days after the attacks on the city. I'm sure his visit did manage to boost morale at a time when it was needed but it could have been done much sooner. Yet again his predecessor managed to upstage him by meeting with people at the scene days earlier, despite the fact he was in Australia when the attacks took place. Clinton may have had his faults as a President, but if there was one thing he could do, it was understand the needs of the people and put them at ease, make them feel as though he was really there for them - a talent Bush just doesn't have.

One of the things that has shocked me the most was his absence when the attacks first took place. The President in the White House is such a powerful political symbol that it seems to me to be one of the first places a President should go when his country is trouble, after all it was safe enough for his father, who was there on a visit, and the Vice President to still be inside, but instead he was being ferried around from air base to air base. The White House later claimed this was because there was "clear and credible" evidence that the White House and Air Force One were targets. If Air Force One was a target, what was he doing flying around in it in the first place?

I've never been a huge fan of Bush or his policies, and I don't want to seem overly critical of a President with such a huge task on his hands, responsible, or at least in part, for making decisions that I could never imagine having to make, but his lack of availability is a worry, I mean even this weekend his is spending his time at Camp David instead of at the seat of power.

Meanwhile, as for Britain's role in the aftermath, Tony Blair has promised Bush all the support he wants, both military and otherwise. He is also continuing to prove himself to be an eloquent speaker as he comes to the aid of the many British families who have suffered losses as a result of the devastation at the World Trade Centre.

But as for Americans, they want answers, and they need a leader. Bush knows he has a lot to prove to his critics, and again I can't even imagine some of the decisions the administration is going to be forced to make, but I just hope that in the rush to prove himself, he doesn't inflict war on an enemy that is still unknown to us, endangering the safety of many Americans, and Europeans too, for decades to come.