The abject failure of basic diplomacy had greatly contributed to the tragedy of recent transatlantic divisions on Iraq, the chairman of BP plc, Mr Peter Sutherland, told a conference in UCC yesterday.
In the modern world, a policy of "every nation for itself" was a recipe for disaster and this should be recognised on both sides of the Atlantic, said Mr Sutherland, who is also chairman of Goldman Sachs International.
"For long-term allies, whose people share essential values, to divide so publicly on a very important issue will be viewed by future historians with incredulity," the former EU commissioner told the conference titled "The World After 9/11". "It is vitally important that we should examine the causes of our failures now or we may be condemned to repeat them in the not too distant future."
Unilateralism was a charge often levelled at the US, and not just in recent times. Mr Sutherland argued that the US had always been ambivalent about multilateralism, pointing to the debate about international trade in the late 1940s as an example.
But the US had served as a fundamental player in developing international law. He said that while Europeans had grown more critical of US global leadership, perhaps surprisingly American support for a strong European partner had increased.
He insisted Europeans had to take some degree of blame for the lukewarm relationship between the EU and the US in the post-September 11th world. After September 11th, the EU had been united in support for the US.
But Europe had failed to develop a proper debate and position on Iraq, he said.