I spent two years in Germany (1984-86) and fell in love with it.
The country is absolutely beautiful, and the most impressive thing to me is that I only say litter one time, and it was a McDonald's bag.
The truth is that the German people don't like Americans; they like our money. This may not be true of you individually, but it is true of the nation. I know it, because I saw it, and we still see it today.
In my opinion, the best favor the US will ever do for the Germans is to remove our military troops.
It would cause Germany to have to better consider its allies, and it'd give the US more troops to place closer to hotbeds.
It'd thrill me to see troops pulled out of Germany and placed in Afghanistan.
Germany's biggest threat is it's John Kerry "Global Test" mentality.
In the end, one must stand up for himself, whether France and Germany like it or not.
bump!
I think you are wrong that Germans just like Americas money, because I have heard not one who said that he did not like the Americans he personally met. I also disagree that America should pull out all troops, having two dozens of thousands soldiers here means having a good strategic and symbolic presence in Europes heart.
Then I agree with you, that Germany (and others) will have to take over more responsibility regarding the world security. Only having few thousand soldiers in Afghanistan is too little for someone who wants to have a say in the Security Council.
They sure were rude to me as an American, but if I spoke Russian they were civil. I do admit, Lufthansa is a class airline.