Spanish Envoy Works to Overcome Foreign Policy Differences With U.S. by Craig Mauro As relations between the United States and Europe begin to thaw after an icy two years, Spainís new ambassador comes to Washington with a long history of managing ties across the Atlantic. In the late 1990s, Carlos Westendorp y Cabeza oversaw Bosnia and Herzegovinaís post-war transition as the international communityís high representative to the country, his highest-profile post in a long career of diplomacy. The job entailed overseeing one of the largest U.S.-European peacekeeping and reconstruction operations in many years. "I was working very closely with the Americans. Without the Americans nothing would have been done" in Bosnia, Westendorp said during an interview last month in his corner office at the Spanish Embassy in Foggy Bottom. "The European Union and the United States together did a lot for this country, which is now on a good track." Before Bosnia, Westendorp, who turns 68 this month, served as the European Unionís secretary of state for four years. During that time he worked extensively with U.S. officials on forging the Transatlantic Agenda, which the Clinton administration and the European Union signed in 1995 to l ay out common goals in promoting peace, stability and democracy around the world. Given that track record of working with the United States, Spainís new government tapped Westendorp this summer to be its ambassador to Washington. He presented his credentials to the White House in September, arriving at a time when U.S.-Spanish relations are in need of mending. Spain was a key member of the U.S.-led coalition that invaded and occupied Iraq almost two years ago. That changed abruptly after Socialist party candidate JosÈ Luis RodrÌguez Zapatero defeated Prime Minister JosÈ Maria Aznar in elections last March. One of President George W. Bushís closest allies in Europe was voted out of office. Zapatero had campaigned on a promise to withdraw Spainís 1,300 troops from Iraq, which he promptly did upon taking office. Westendorp insists the troop pullout fulfilled an electoral mandate and was not a response to al Qaeda-linked train bombings in Madrid that killed 191 people just days before the election. "I think our American friends understood that. They didnít like it. They were disappointed. But it was something that a new government with a new electoral basis, with the full support of its citizens, has to do," Westendorp said. "What we are telling our American friends is that we understand their disappointment, but letís not elaborate on this. Letís elaborate on the future. We have a lot of things to do together." Westendorp may be turning his energies now to revitalizing Atlantic ties, but he also deeply believes in the importance of Europe. He played an active role in negotiating Spainís entry into the European Community in the 1980s, later serving as Spainís first ambassador to the European Union until 1991. He said he hopes Spain becomes the first country to ratify the proposed European constitution in a referendum next month. Westendorp said Spainís foreign policy rests on two pillars: being an active member of the European Union and maintaining strong relations with the United States. Aznar, the former prime minister, violated that informal convention by putting too much weight on one pillar, a move that ultimately lead to his downfall, Westendorp said. Having won a second term with an absolute majority in Parliament, Aznar decided to send troops to Iraq despite the fact that 90 percent of Spaniards were against the war. "When you have an absolute majority, you tend to practice the Frank Sinatra doctrine. That is to say, ëI do it my way,í" Westendorp said. "So [Aznar] did that in a way that he departed from what was always, and is now, a consensus in our foreign policy, which is based on [the] two pillars." Electoral defeat "was the price Aznar had to pay for this very unbalanced foreign policy," the ambassador added. "We are not against our relationship with the U.S. being good, but we want also to keep the basic fundamental consensus in our foreign policy. We would like to go back to the basics." The United States and Europe belong to the "same family," Westendorp said. They are interdependent economically and politically. Europeís collective security depends on the United States, he said, and Spainís efforts to fight terrorism also rely heavily on transatlantic cooperation. "As in any family, we can quarrel sometimes. We share the same objectives but sometimes we disagree on the way to attain these objectives," he said. "We are not dogmatic. If our tactic proves to be useless, or gives no result, we are ready to modify it, to change it. This is what we want really to do with the United StatesÖ. The only way in a family to solve problems is by talking." Westendorp pointed out that Spain, the rest of Europe and the United States also share the same values. "But we [sometimes] interpret them differently," he said. "We believe in democracy. We believe in human rights. We believe in freedom of the press. America is the first democracy in the world. Democracy works here well. But Europe has lived longer than the United States, and we have had an evolution in how to interpret these values. Believing in the same things, our interpretation sometimes differs." Domestically, Spain has had to combat its own terrorist threat for decades. The Basque separatist group ETA sent a message last month that it is still active, detonating small bombs in seven cities across Spain. No one was killed. Westendorp said ETA may still be active, but it is on its last legs. Unfortunately, the March train bombings in Madrid heralded a new terror threat to Spain, that of Muslim extremists. "We have to prepare to fight against this new threat, together with our allies. We donít think that we can combat terrorism by waging war abroad," Westendorp said. The envoy described what he calls Spainís alternative view to political scientist Samuel Huntingtonís oft-cited concept of a "clash of civilizations" between the West and the Muslim world. "Spain has launched the idea of creating an ëalliance of civilizations,í" he explained. "It is just an idea, a very ambitious one. We have to work together with our allies, with the United States, other members of the international community, to work on many issuesócultural, religious, economicóin order to try to create an understanding between two religions, two civilizations, which can cooperate instead of being enemies. "Terrorism has no justification, but terrorism has an alibi when there are inequalities in the world, when there is poverty, when there is despair," he continued. "This is why something like an alliance of civilizations, or a common fight against hunger in the world, will deprive terrorism of this alibi." Spain also shares the U.S. goal of democratizing the Middle East, and Westendorp said his country has much to offer in this area, noting that Spain is one of the most conspicuous European negotiators in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and has good relations with other countries in the region, such as Syria and Libya. "One necessary condition, but not sufficient, is peace between Palestine and Israel," he said. "We are very much encouraged by recent events. I think there is a light of hope for peace there. We think the United States has to pull up its sleeves and together with us, the European Union, work on the peace process." Iraq, of course, will remain a pivotal issue in U.S.-Spanish relations. Westendorp said Spain still has a stake in resolving Iraq. "One thing is clear: There is a mess in Iraq. And if there is a mess in Iraq, we are not interested in keeping this mess forever, so we have to do our utmost to help, to get out of this mess." He added that Spain could, if it is asked, consider helping in ways that donít involve sending Spanish troops to Iraq. Spain is already the fourth-largest donor to Iraqís reconstruction fund. It could also consider sending electoral observers or training Iraqi police and soldiers outside of Iraq. Has Spain been asked to help? "It takes time," the ambassador answered with a smile. "We want to be friends. We want to prove it. We are going to be a very loyal ally. But you know, friendship and love is a matter of two, like tango." Craig Mauro is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C.