Paris, France (CNSNews.com) - Europeans took part Monday in memorial services across the continent in remembrance of the victims of 9/11, but politicians and media commentators also used the opportunity to question American policies in the fight against terrorism.
According to opinion polls, most Europeans remain opposed to America's actions in Iraq. In a recent survey of Europeans by the German Marshall Fund, 77 percent of respondents said they disapproved of how America handles its international affairs. The Spanish Newspaper El Pais wrote, "five years after [9/11], it is a more dangerous world," and accused the Bush administration of carrying out a "neo-conservative" foreign policy, using the attacks as a pretext. Spain's former conservative government participated in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, but the Socialists won an election days after the March 2004 al-Qaeda bombings in Madrid and soon afterwards withdraw Spanish forces.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel also questioned U. S. polices in the campaign against terrorists, saying "the ends cannot justify the means. Respect for human rights, tolerance and respect for other cultures must be the maxim of our actions, along with decisiveness and international cooperation," she said.
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