PARIS, Feb 22: A top US official admitted on Friday that “misunderstandings” had weakened European support for Washington’s global war on terror, but insisted that recent transatlantic sniping had now been replaced by intensive dialogue.

Elizabeth Jones, US assistant secretary for European and Eurasian affairs, said in Paris on the final leg of a five-day European visit that it was clear that the US message had not been understood abroad.

Cracks in relations with the main allies in the US fight against terrorism in the wake of the September 11 attacks became apparent after President George W. Bush on January 29 also put a so-called “axis of evil” — Iran, Iraq and North Korea — in his crosshairs.

In the following days Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and EU external affairs commissioner Chris Patten said Washington’s foreign policy was “simplistic” and bordered on unilateralism, prompting US Secretary of State Colin Powell to snap back that Vedrine was “getting the vapours”.

But Jones, whose trip included Ireland and Britain, and who met senior French diplomats late Thursday but not Vedrine, said her aim was “to get past all those comments” and restore ties by better communicating Bush’s strategy.

The “axis of evil” comment, she said, was designed for US domestic consumption to give Americans an idea of the enormity of the task before them.

She added that, while Iraq and Iran have long been sources of concern for the United States, in her meetings with European diplomats “we haven’t spent any time talking about North Korea”.

And the question of what action the United States might take against Iran and Iraq was linked to the whole situation between Israel and the Palestinians and what consequences it might have in the region, Jones said.

Europe has shown good cooperation on Afghanistan and particularly on supplying intelligence on the activities of Muslim militants in Europe that may have ties to the Al Qaeda network, she said.—AFP