Bush Faces Iraq Critics In Europe

President Bush dismissed the rift with Europe over Iraq as a "passing disagreement of governments" on Monday and urged greater trans-Atlantic cooperation, including more support for the fledgling Iraqi government.

"Now is the time for the established democracies to give tangible political, economic and security assistance to the world's newest democracy," Mr. Bush said in a speech intended for both European and American consumption.

Mr. Bush began a five-day European trip in Brussels, home to both the European Union and NATO. He also planned to dine privately here with French President Jacques Chirac, one of his most outspoken critics on the Iraq war.

Despite his appeal to bury past differences, divisions remain over postwar Iraq, how to confront Iran's nuclear ambitions, a European proposal to end a 15-year arms embargo with China and a treaty on global warming spurned by Washington.

Still, as CBS News Correspondent Susan Roberts reports, European leaders are equally optimistic the president's visit will open a new period of cooperation.

"Even in those issues where we do not agree, there is a will to discuss them positively, constructively (and) if possible, overcome those differences," said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

Mr. Bush's aides conceded that much work needed to be done. But the president's words were clearly conciliatory. And his advisers said it was hoped they would lead to greater, and cooler, dialogue.

"As past debates fade, and great duties become clear, let us begin a new era of trans-Atlantic unity," Mr. Bush said in a prepared speech. Excerpts were released before delivery.

"No temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on earth will ever divide us," he said.

The site for Mr. Bush's speech was the Concert Noble, a 19th-century government building used for banquets and meetings.

"Our greatest opportunity, and our immediate goal, is peace in the Middle East," said Mr. Bush, who supports a separate Palestinian state alongside Israel. "We also know that a free and peaceful Palestine can add to the momentum of reform throughout the broader Middle East."

Before the speech, the president made a courtesy call on King Albert II and Queen Paola and Belgium Prime Guy Verhofstadt. Later, he was to meet with NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

"Great to be back," Mr. Bush exclaimed as he walked across a courtyard toward the office of the prime minister, who opposed Mr. Bush's decision to launch a war in Iraq. Inside, they posed for pictures, and Mr. Bush talked about Verhofstadt's biking skills. "He's a great biker," Mr. Bush said. "I need a little training."

Mr. Bush attends meetings of both the European Union and NATO on Tuesday, visits Germany on Wednesday and goes to Slovakia on Thursday. In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Slovak Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said he regretted the rift that has widened between some European countries and the United States over Iraq.

"It was not easy to decide to go to Iraq, to Afghanistan ... but reality shows that it was the right decision at the right time," Dzurinda said, refusing to budge in his support of Washington.

In calling for more "tangible" support for Iraq, Mr. Bush said, "All nations now have an interest in the success of a free and democratic Iraq, which will fight terror, be a beacon of freedom, and be a source of true stability in the region."

While in Slovakia, Mr. Bush will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin has alarmed Western leaders with his crackdown on political dissent and rolling back of some democratic reforms.

The president reprised some of the themes he sounded in his inaugural address when he began his second term in January, vowing to work to spread democracy and freedom through the world.

"We ... have a call beyond our comfort: we must raise our sights to the wider world," Mr. Bush said. "Our ideals and our interests lead in the same direction. By bringing progress and hope to nations in need, we can improve many lives, and lift up falling states, and remove the causes and sanctuaries of terror."

An alliance of 88 environmental, human rights, peace and other groups planned two days of protests in Brussels to demand "no European complicity" in a U.S.-designed world order.

Brussels police readied 2,500 officers — 1,000 more than the usual number for the three or four summit meetings that bring European Union leaders to the Belgian capital every year.

Washington strongly opposes Europe's plans to lift the arms embargo against China. Mr. Bush has been cool toward Europe's negotiations to persuade Iran to abandon its suspected nuclear weapons program. The White House prefers asking the U.N. Security Council to punish Tehran.

Hard feelings linger from Bush's opposition to the Kyoto climate change treaty and the International Criminal Court.

An issue where the allies may find common ground is a demand that Syria withdraw its forces from Lebanon — a declaration prompted by the assassination of a former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, in a massive bombing in Beirut last week.