The Financial Times report said:

"Colin Powell, US secretary of state, arrived in Brussels on Thursday to try to heal one of the deepest post-second world war rifts in the transatlantic relationship" (Read about it here).

Yet, this wasn't what the Bush administration was saying. The official reason given by the administration for Powell's sudden, unexpected trip to Europe to visit the EU leaders was to gain their support for the rebuilding of Iraq.

So, why did the Financial Times report say the reason for Powell's visit was to heal the deep rift in the transatlantic alliance?

This is what I think: Powell was suddenly sent to Europe in a desperate attempt to stop the splitting of the EU beast's 10 horns.

The EU beast currently has 10 horns -- the 10-nation military alliance known as the Western European Union. Since these nations already share a mutual defense treaty -- an attack against one is an attack against all -- the idea was to make this alliance the permanent military wing of the EU. 

Where the idea was to become a reality was the Convention on the Future of Europe. The Convention was to bring together delegates from the 15 member states and work out an acceptable way to make this 10-nation alliance the official military wing of the new, super EU due on the scene in 2004. 

But, just as the idea was about to become reality, the Iraqi war came along and split the 10-nation alliance apart. Britain, Spain and Portugal decided to support America in the Iraqi war. France, Germany and Belgium not only refused to support the war, they actively fought against the war and American interests.

Now a showdown is looming in the EU. The president of the Convention, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, is scheduled to meet with the 15 EU heads later this month in a desperate attempt to find a way to keep the 10-nation alliance together (Read about it here).

In the mean time, German foreign minister Joschka Fischer is warning, if things don't go the way Germany, France and Belgium want at this meeting, these nations may just decided to go it alone and create their own, independant military wing  (Read about it here).

So, I believe this coming meeting between Giscard and the EU heads explains the sudden decision by the Bush administration to fly Collin Powell to Europe.

It's Washington's attempt to prevent the splitting of the horns