U.S. consulting with Europeans

[Rose Siding]

LONDON — The White House has been meeting quietly with European ambassadors to Washington each week since October in an effort to include key allies in policy deliberations, European officials said yesterday.
The meetings were described by officials of the countries that participated as "brainstorming sessions."
...
Another official said all the participants have been pleased with the discussions, which have a different topic every week. The subjects are not limited to U.S.-European relations and include the Middle East, terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
The ambassadors of Britain, France and Germany are frequent participants, with envoys from Cold War foes, such as Poland, attending on occasion.
...
Officials said the United States usually was represented at the meetings by Daniel Fried, the NSC's director for European affairs, and some officials said National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley had attended some meetings.
The sessions are held in addition to regular briefings conducted by the NSC for various groups of ambassadors, such as those from the 28 countries that are part of the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq or those from a particular geographic region.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20050203-105651-5899r.htm

[TwilightZone]

1. Um, excuse me, but isn't that exactly what Bush said Kerry would do?

Didn't Bush whine incessantly that Kerry would allow the leaders of other countries to influence our policies?

Yeah, I thought so.

[Sparkly]

2. But it looks like these are just ambassadors.

The White House could be meeting with people at the helms of these governments rather than ambassadors. I can't quite figure this one out.

[Rose Siding]

3. Is this in place of cooperation within the UN or NATO?

Maybe it's another stab at making global institutions irrelevant. It says that rummy's 'new Europe' is *sometimes* included.

Jr's very own exclusive League of Nations?