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New German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to improve her country's relations with President Bush, buoyed by an emerging international effort aimed at halting Iran's nuclear program.
While Merkel has indicated Germany will not always agree with the United States

And, therein lies the problem. So far, in her zeal to "improve her country's relations with President Bush", she has had one disasterous meeting weith Sec. State Condi Rice in which she was exceptionally confrontational. Additionally, she has blasted Bush over Gitmo and blah, blah, blah.

W, being somewhat gullible in international relations, will have the meeting with her in which she will, doubtless, try to make headlines (and gain the approval of the anti-American Leftist Party), by confronting Bush over something that has nothing to do with Iran.

I find it fascinating that Bush is so willing to be trashed over and over again by the Euroweenies until they need the US to do something to protect their hineys - like blow up Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities. Then, suddenly, Bush is their best buddy until their goal is achieved and they can go back to trashing him as (in Harry Belafonte's words) "the world's biggest terrorist".

Hopefully, Bush will someday learn to keep all of the Euroweenies at arm's length and quit letting himself be used as the global whipping boy.

Wow- the part with not calling and congratulating Schroeder in 2002 is a good one. Those two really had a lot of love for each other! :)

Of course Merkel has to say "we don't always agree with the US." The new nationalist thought in Europe is largely based on opposition to the US. Merkel was portrayed as an American @sscrawler. She must make this statement. She must state that she is no puppet. Now- back to reality: Our geopolitical interests are IDENTICAL!

Free trade; safe and open water/air ways; regional/national security and stability; copy and patent rights; free movement of ideas, people, goods and services; free and open access to vital strategic resources such as cesium, oil and gold. ALL – EVERY SINGLE ONE of our geopolitical interests are the same.

Of course Germany CAN’T loose face. Of course Iraq was wrong, Michael Moore, Halliburton, Bush oil cowboy, Abu Gahrib and “Kein Blut fuer Oel” is the official party line and will have to remain so. Like Vietnam, over which Germans place judgment but have no clue, they can’t see the bigger picture in this GWOT – nor do they really want to. Even if you present all the facts in a sequential logical way, if you give concrete examples, empirical data etc to support the case in favor of action against Iraq; It will all be argued away with a statement like “Bush lied, people died!.” OK-got it. Saddam was a nice guy, there was no genocide, no torture chambers, Iraq was no threat and the US should have stayed there in definitely, paid the cost of being there, UN mandates and the armistice was being abided too, and there are no terror connections of course, and NO, NOT ONE WMD was found right? Tell that to the US troops that have been exposed several times now. Schroeder and Fischer ran Germany down that road so hard, so long and the German anti-American undertones which are always present, running silently in the background will no longer allow for any sensible German position on Iraq anymore. Germany is stuck on stupid as far as Iraq is concerned; however the future looks a bit more promising then the last few years.

The EU was given the lead with negotiating with Iran for a reason. As these negotiations fail, and they will, the EU itself will be forced to draw the obvious conclusions. Hence the politician in Brussels or Berlin will find it less advantageous to play the anti-American card in politics as Schroeder/Fischer (elsewhere as well) did. Since it was the Germans themselves that came to this “glaring” and “obvious” reality, they can’t go back and play the games they did with the US. Accusations of no true intent for peaceful conflict resolution, the exploitation of Abu Gahrib by the senior leadership (As Schroeder/Fischer did on numerous times making statements) will be less likely. It will still be the US that carries the disproportional weight when it comes to military action, we will still be the ones with the dead, the cost and as in Serbia (Also a German “requested” campaign) will end with the egg in the face. ---However, at least our geo-political ally won’t feel the urge to fall into our back!---

Red6