Reflecting on the United States’ 2003 drive to forge the “coalition of the willing,” no resource was left unused in strong-arming other nations to join America’s noble quest to spread freedom (at least, spreading freedom has become the mission’s justification in hindsight).

Strangely enough, no matter how hard they were pushed, it seems some countries just didn’t like the idea of Iraqis having freedom but instead were more concerned with other issues that they saw as critical. Perhaps finally seeing these issues in the same light, President George W. Bush has decided to resort to real diplomacy. Nevertheless, although Bush is now desperately trying to downplay armament and pass the peace pipe, it appears he is underestimating the size of the rift he’s created between the United States and its traditional allies.

Recently touring Europe, President Bush has been putting on a charade of smiles, handshakes and promises. One might be tempted to give credit to the Bush administration for apparently making a 180-degree turn in its approach to diplomacy, but then, one might have forgotten the circumstances that have made such a drastic change all but necessary. As most people recall, it was his administration that dug the hole Americans are currently in through its arrogant and inconsiderate handling of issues such as the Kyoto Treaty, negotiations with North Korea and, most notably, the invasion of Iraq.

Add to the equation such current matters of Euro-American division as negotiations with Iran, arms sales to China and methods of approaching the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and it becomes obvious that President Bush simply could not have put off new diplomatic efforts any longer. Now the question at hand is whether any amount of diplomacy could suffice in healing American foreign-policy wounds incurred from 2001-2004.

Having fully expended Colin Powell’s hard-earned credit to accomplish its most desired initiatives in the first term of office, the Bush administration has since established a new Cabinet with a new secretary of state and a new attitude. To announce that the United States is now willing to work with other nations toward common goals, Condoleezza Rice recently declared that “the time for diplomacy is now” — a declaration that, through its very necessity, defined President Bush’s previous mentality regarding diplomacy as well as his current need for it.

The Bush administration seems to believe that since it has now gotten what it wanted, it may as well mend a few fences. To his surprise, George W. Bush will find that the chasm he created between the United States and its traditional allies during his first term in office has become nearly unbridgeable.

As he delves into international issues that have been bereft of U.S. leadership for four years, President Bush has a lot on his plate. Can the president and Jacques Chirac possibly come to a compromise over one dinner regarding France’s plans to sell weaponry to China against Washington’s wishes? Will Bush be able to keep Germany’s desire for NATO reforms in check during a single morning spent with Gerhard Schroeder? Is “W” going to get Russian democracy back on track through a few hours of conversation with Vladimir Putin? Although the answers to these questions are unclear, one thing is certain: while the Bush administration was busy bullying the world into U.S. initiatives, many of the foreign-policy issues it had put on the back burner were starting to boil over and can now be considered crises.

Unless George W. Bush shows an unprecedented willingness to compromise, it’s unlikely that the goals of his latest international endeavor will come to fruition. With the mentality that he can simply flip a switch to make the world forget his previous strict adherence to unilateralism as the solution to all problems, Bush is going to find it difficult, if not impossible, to truly reunify the United States and Europe — a scary thought, given the importance of the issues at hand. The United States may barely still have an opportunity to turn a foreign-policy corner, but as long as George W. Bush is at the helm, don’t expect that to happen.

Rob Rossmeissl ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science.