Posted on 04/19/2003 2:57:45 PM PDT by jern
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Saturday he deeply regretted "exaggerated remarks" critical of U.S. moves against Iraq (news - web sites) that soured his relations with President Bush (news - web sites).
In a further attempt to repair U.S.-German relations strained by his outspoken criticism, Schroeder said he was confident the dispute over Iraq would not cause long-term problems between the two countries.
"I deeply regret there were exaggerated comments -- also from cabinet members of my previous government," Schroeder told Der Spiegel magazine when asked if there were "grounds for self-criticism" for damage he caused to U.S.-German relations.
The declaration was the furthest Schroeder has gone in trying to mend fences with the U.S.
He and his center-left government had criticized U.S. steps against Iraq right up until the war started. In early April, Schroeder began making a slow retreat, saying for the first time he hoped U.S.-led forces would win the war quickly.
Last week he said: "It is always good for mankind when a dictator is removed."
In speeches in his re-election campaign last year, Schroeder derided plans to attack Iraq as a military "adventure" that would "set ablaze" the Middle East, and angered Washington by refusing to send German troops to Iraq under any conditions.
Schroeder said Germany would not "click its heels" and follow the United States into a war.
His stinging criticism of the Bush government, including accusations it changed the goal of disarming Iraq to one of overthrowing President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites), was hugely popular in Germany and helped Schroeder come from far behind in surveys to beat challenger Edmund Stoiber in the September election.
Tensions were further worsened just before the election when Schroeder's Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin reportedly compared Bush's political tactics with those of Adolf Hitler -- an analogy she partially denied. Schroeder accepted her resignation shortly after winning a second term.
But Schroeder's sharp language sent the traditionally close relations between the world's first and third largest economic powers into a tailspin. Commentators in Germany called the last eight months an "ice age." Bush Administration officials have called the ties "poisoned."
SCHROEDER'S U-TURN
Bush pointedly did not congratulate Schroeder on his narrow victory. The two have not spoken since November. German media have reported Bush has declined to take calls from Schroeder.
"Even though differences of opinion on this question were so serious, it does not impair transatlantic relations," Schroeder said. "I think political leaders on both sides are professional enough to recognize relations are on a solid foundation."
Schroeder dismissed criticism he was making a U-turn to mend the dispute only after it became clear the United States would win the war.
"I view politics from a rational point of view, and do not like to ride in slipstreams," Schroeder said. "I don't have any problem at all cultivating contacts with the American president. They're necessary and desirable. But to measure this question on how long a handshake lasts is ridiculous."
Several German newspapers and television networks focused on a brief handshake between Schroeder and Bush at a NATO (news - web sites) meeting in November as an indication of the state of the ties.
I will forgive Germany when there has been a complete accounting of the details of who was cooperating with Iraq prior to this war, IF they come out relatively clean. Regardless of apologies or pseudo-apologies.
It is nearly cliche by now to state that the world has changed, but what was not obvious was that to a great degree what it has changed into is not solely a product of U.S. policies, but to those of France, Germany, Turkey, Belgium, and certainly Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Japan, Poland, Denmark, Bulgaria, the Czech republic, and a host of others. This is not a new alignment set in concrete, but it is proof that the old one is shattered beyond repair and no apology can bring it back. Unnoticed in all this portrayal of the U.S. as a maddened elephant run amok is that the power within Europe has shifted, and it cannot be pretended that it will shift back due to wishful thinking.
Excellent post and reminder of some of the factors in this realignment.
The way things are looking, that's gonna be a mighty big IF.
I am boycotting france and russia, so far that much I know. Whether I stop contemplating a BMW is going to depend on the evidence from Iraq over the next 6 months...
one word Lexus.
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