What will this mean? What discussions, debates, arguments will it engender across the political and international spectrum?
In the near-term, it appears that it will not - thankfully - result in the capitulation of any European countries to bin Laden's demands. I don't really think there was too much fear of that. Despite what the right has insisted, Europeans (new or old) really do want to fight terror. They just didn't want the distraction of Iraq.
In the longer-term I wonder how right-wing governments - most especially, but not solely, here in the US - will use this pronouncement. As a cudgel to convince voters that to "change horses in mid-stream" would be tantamount to being pro-terrorism is my guess. This offer of a truce to Europe fits so well into BushCo.'s attempts to get American's to "stay the course" that with a little tin foil one could almost wonder at the timing of it all.
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