Oh please. confederatetrappedinmidwest has it exactly rihgt. Europe is so jealous of the US, and while they would probably never wish 911 on their worst enemy, they were secretly happy that the US had it's "comeuppance." And don't waste your breath trying to tell me how Germans stood in solidarity. That lasted like two f&*king minutes until we wanted to invade Iraq and then the Germans staretd crying like a bunch of bitches...probably because they were swinging from Saddam's nutsack. And BTW, your mom can't paint worth a sh&$.
Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. We helped and still help with our (of course limited - Germany is a small country) means in Afghanistan.
Personally I regret the stance of most of my compatriots on Iraq since I believe it was nessecary to get rid of Saddam Hussein because he was simply a man-eater. On the other hand there is obviously no connection between him and 9/11. I am well aware that some people in your country try to construct a alliance between him and Bin Laden. Anyway this is rather unlikely to me and nobody has given a conclusive proof for this predication so far. Therefore Iraq is for sure a party we Germans are not obligated to dance on.
Why?
The alliance that connects our countries, the NATO, is only restricted to defensive actions. You just have to read Article V of the NATO Treaty. To fulfill its duties Germany helped and helps the US in Afghanistan after 9/11 because the war there was and is a defensive action:
http://www.centcom.mil/sites/uscentcom1/CoalitionPages/Germany.htm
If Saddam Hussein would have attacked the US or any other of our allies directly we would have helped with everything we have. Defensive help and actions are not the question. This much is for sure.
But... ...Saddam Hussein did not attack you - he was attacked. The preemptive strike of the US in Iraq is something that is offensive. Offensive wars are strictly forbidden in the German constitution, the so called "Grundgesetz". Besides of this legal problem there was absolutely no majority among the German people to support offensive actions. Nobody in my country believed in large amounts of WMDs or that Saddam Hussein was a eminent danger to Germany or the US. He was a danger to Israel, but this is also a different party. Since our gouvernment is (like it should be in every other democracy) a instrument of its voters, it was clear that it was never possible for our country to take part in a American "alliance of the willing". José Maria Aznar is a tragic example for what happens to those who ignore openly the will of their people.
As I already said personally I would have appreciated a German contribution to the Iraq war. Not because of some WMDs that never have been found, but because of the fact that there was a bloody dictator that slaughtered ruthlessly his own people. But... ...I would have only supported this if there would have been a majority of my compatriots to support this war just like I do. This was definitly not the case. To me our working democracy is much more important than to join into a war that was not really nessecary to our own or the security of our allies.