After 9/11, European and American leaders were united in the face of terrorist mass murder. But, as Denis Staunton reports from Brussels, trans-Atlantic relations have returned to that of mutual suspicion
Bells will toll and prayers will be spoken throughout Europe today in memory of those who were murdered in the US on September 11th. But as Europe's leaders renew their pledges of solidarity with Washington in the fight against international terrorism, they know that, one year on, the transatlantic relationship is under almost unprecedented strain.
In the days which followed last year's attacks, the Europeans were swift and unequivocal in their support for Mr Bush. France's President Jacques Chirac was the first European leader to fly to Mr Bush's side but he was quickly followed by Britain's Mr Tony Blair and others. In Brussels, an emergency meeting of EU leaders promised to support Washington in taking military action against those responsible for the attacks.
The EU introduced tough, anti-terrorism measures, freezing assets of those believed to be involved in terrorism and introducing a European Arrest Warrant to make extradition simpler.
At the same time, the EU's foreign policy chief, Mr Javier Solana, the External Affairs Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, and other EU politicians launched a diplomatic offensive to persuade Arab leaders to back an attack on al-Qaeda and Afghanistan's Taliban regime.
Few EU member-states sent troops to Afghanistan but all offered political support to Washington in what one senior European politician described as "an inevitable and necessary act of vengeance".
Europe's public opinion was never quite as enthusiastic as its politicians in supporting the war in Afghanistan. But it was not until pictures emerged from the US prison camp for captured Afghan and al-Qaeda fighters in Cuba's Guantanamo Bay that sympathy for Washington began to evaporate quickly.
The image of manacled, blindfolded prisoners in open-air cages sat uneasily with US rhetoric about fighting for freedom and humane Western values.
Mr Bush's support for Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, drove a further wedge between Washington and Brussels, where most opinion-formers are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Disputes over Washington's imposition of tariffs on imported steel and US attempts to secure immunity for its soldiers from the International Criminal Court in The Hague increased transatlantic tensions.
But it is Mr Bush's determination to remove Iraq's President Saddam Hussein from power that has exposed the rift with Europe most dramatically.
For the US, Iraq is a rogue state led by a man who has tortured and murdered his own people and represents a threat to his neighbours and the rest of the world. Many in Mr Bush's intimate circle believe that the only effective response to Mr Saddam's threat is to remove him from power.
European politicians have no illusions about the Iraqi leader and they would rejoice at his political demise. But many, such as Germany's Foreign Minister Mr Joschka Fischer, believe that a US-led invasion of Iraq could destabilise the entire region, sparking insurrections against pro-Western Arab governments and wrecking any remaining chance of a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.
What worries the European's most, however, is Washington's perceived disregard for the role of the UN in securing world order.
When they met in the Danish town of Elsinore last month, EU Foreign Ministers demanded that Iraq should admit UN weapons inspectors without delay. They stressed, however, that any decision on military action must be taken by the UN Security Council.
At the heart of Europe's anxiety over Washington's approach to world affairs is a concern that the multilateral system of resolving international disputes should not be undermined.
If Washington flouts international agreements and thumbs its nose at bodies such as the World Trade Organisation and the UN, Europe feels its own influence in the world diminishing.
If Iraq again impedes the work of UN weapons inspectors and Washington seeks a Security Council mandate for military action, most European governments are likely to offer support. But no matter what happens in Iraq, the conflict between the US and Europe over how to maintain order in the world is far from any resolution.