I agree completely with Timothy Garton Ash about the stupidness of constructing a contraposition between good Europe and bad America, or the other way round. But this should not lead to the conclusion that there are no differences of opinions, values and prospects. These differences are not between Europe and America but within both of them . I also feel uncomfortable between the division of the world in " liberal democracies" and the others. ALso within the liberal democracies there is debate about the direction of development. Countries that are not part of these " liberal democracies" are developing the same conflicts.
The conflict is about global human values (and what these global human values are about) or the negation of global human values.
It is more than funny that the reactionary Bush Government takes in the discussion about global human values the most left wing position. Taking literally " export of democracy" is something what was historically a goal of the left starting with the French revolution. ...More to this later, and also with more system.....