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CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel told U.S. President George W. Bush on Saturday she would be willing to support a third round of U.N. sanctions against Iran if Tehran continues to resist demands to halt sensitive nuclear work. Merkel, in a visit to Bush's ranch in Crawford, also said she would consider possible cuts in her country's brisk trade flows with Iran should other efforts fail to secure Tehran's cooperation over its nuclear program. Bush agreed with Merkel that diplomacy was the best way to resolve the standoff with Iran. "We were at one in saying that...

A Day in the Life of President Bush (with photos): 11-10-07 Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island Transcript: 11-10-07 - President Bush and Chancellor Merkel of Germany Participate in a Joint Press Availability - Prairie Chapel Ranch - Crawford, Texas QUOTE(s) OF THE DAY "First on al Qaeda, we do share a common goal, and that is to eradicate al Qaeda. That goal obviously became paramount to the American people when al Qaeda killed 3,000 innocent souls on our soil. And since then, the United States of America, along with strong allies and friends, has been in pursuit of...

BERLIN (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Sunday he gained a glimpse into German Chancellor Angela Merkel's soul when they met in Washington last week. Bush told ARD television that Merkel had described her youth in communist East Germany at a White House dinner on Wednesday. "She spoke of her childhood, of her father who was a pastor, of the (communist youth group) young pioneers, of her school life. And I have to say I got a glimpse into her soul, into how she feels," he said. Reuters translated his comments from a German transcript of the ARD...

US President George W. Bush said Thursday at the American Jewish Committee conference in Washington that the United States had a strong and inalienable obligation to ensure the security of Israel, referring to the threats Iran had made against the Jewish state. Bush repeated his pledge that the United States will not deal with the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority as long as Hamas refuses to disavow terrorism and to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. The US president also said that he would keep pushing for a strong resolution at the United Nations to curb Iran's nuclear programs. "America will continue to...

AP) WASHINGTON President Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel presented a united front Wednesday on the need to stifle Iran's nuclear ambitions but tread cautiously in public on their uphill push for possible U.N. sanctions. "We spent a lot of time on Iran -- after all, we're close allies in trying to make sure that the Iranians do not develop a nuclear weapon," Bush said after his Oval Office meetings with Merkel. "We will continue to consult with our partners as to how to achieve a diplomatic solution to this issue." Other than Merkel's statement that it is crucial to...

President Bush discussed our nation's strong, and growing, economy. Fact Sheet: Growing Our Economy: Keeping Taxes Low and Restraining Spending.On the South Lawn, Bush honored 2005 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. He met with members of Congress to discuss energy policy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel met with President Bush at the White House. Vice President and Mrs. Cheney are in Lithuania where the VP will meet with leaders in the region regarding furthering democracy there. The Vice President's visit to Vilnius is the first stop in a three-nation, six-day trip that includes bilateral meetings with leaders...

When President George W. Bush met with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in the Oval Office this month, the talk turned to Merkel's childhood under Communism, then wandered into the subject of Bush's latest bedtime reading: "Mao: The Unknown Story," an 814-page biography that presents the Chinese dictator as another Hitler or Stalin. Participants in the meeting say that Bush spoke glowingly of the book, a 10-year project by Jung Chang, the author of the hugely successful memoir "Wild Swans," which has sold 10 million copies worldwide, and her husband, John Halliday, a British historian. "Mao" has been at the...

Ever wonder which books President Bush is reading? He provided a clue to Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany in the Oval Office this month, when talk turned to Merkel's childhood under Communism. Bush said he had just read "Mao: The Unknown Story," an 814-page biography that presents the Chinese dictator as the moral equivalent of Hitler or Stalin. Bush reportedly spoke glowingly of the book, a 10-year project by Jung Chang, the author of the hugely successful memoir "Wild Swans," which has sold 10 million copies worldwide, and her husband, John Halliday, a British historian. "Mao" has been at...

Snip . . . As far as the future is concerned, the new government will work with all its strength for a close, honest, open and trusting relationship in the trans-Atlantic partnership." snip... The views of Messrs. Guessgen and Naumann are depressingly typical, in two senses. As a 2005 Pew Research Center survey of global attitudes showed, only 41% of Germans take a favorable view of the U.S., and a whopping margin of Germans--58% to 28%--feel the world is less safe without Saddam Hussein. But they are also typical in that they indicate the degree and extent of ignorance and...

Germany's new Chancellor Angela Merkel, due for a warm welcome in the Bush White House tomorrow, represents a new political phenomenon in her country. Her government embraces her conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) with their Bavarian allies in the Christian Social Union, and the Social Democrats, the first time such lineup in 37 years. It is quite unlike its predecessor, the Red/Green coalition of 1998-2005, in which the ranks were filled with "sixty-eighters,"offspring of the 1968 anti-Vietnam War and anti-establishment student revolt, in whose new-leftist hearts dislike and distrust of America lingered. Germany's relations with Washington have nearly always been better...

Good morning, Madame Chancellor. Here you are, Germany's Angela Merkel, on your first trip to Washington, D.C., preparing for your meeting with President Bush. As you look out of your Blair House window over Lafayette Square toward the White House, consider the historicity of the era: the beginning of Mr. Bush's sixth year leading his country, and the beginning of your first year leading your country in the so-called war on terror. Or is that the war on Guantanamo Bay? I get them confused. That's because in just about every account of your American trip -- biggish news in Europe...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2006 – German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Bush pushed for U.N. sanctions against Iran in a news conference today at the White House. Bush said Iran's desire to develop a nuclear weapons program posed a "grave threat to the security of the world." "I'm not going to prejudge what the United Nations Security Council should do. But I recognize that it's logical that a country which has rejected diplomatic entreaties be sent to the United Nations Security Council," Bush said. The so-called "EU-3" --Britain, France and Germany -- have tried unsuccessfully to convince Iran to quit...

he President met with Germany's new Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office today, they spoke about a wide range of issues including Iran, Iraq, Ariel Sharon and Club GITMO in Cuba. After their meeting in the Oval Office the two leaders held a press conference East room of the White House. The President also hosted a visit to the Oval Office by the U.S. Solheim Cup womens Golf Team. The President also met with Business leaders in the Oval Office to discuss relief efforts in Central America

Bush: Iran aiming for nukes, Israel's destruction U.S. President George Bush holds joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, warns: 'Iran trying to clandestinely develop nuclear weapon,' says Iran armed with nuclear weapons is 'step closer' to stated agenda of trying to destroy Israel U.S. President George Bush, speaking at a Washington press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said: "Iran armed with a nuclear weapon poses a great threat to the security of the world. Countries such as ours have a great obligation to step up, working together to send a message to the Iranians that their behavior,...

WASHINGTON Jan 13, 2006 — New German Chancellor Angela Merkel says she raised disagreements Friday over detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in her meeting with President Bush. The two leader acknowledged differences but said that they had open and candid discussions about many issues of mutual concern such as Iran's nuclear ambitions and helping to rebuild Afghanistan. Iran's decision to resume enrichment and bar U.N. inspectors is of grave concern for both countries and the shared effort aimed at halting Iran's nuclear program has helped strengthen relations between the U.S. and Germany. Alito's Confirmation Seems Likely Bill Clinton on AIDS,...

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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, her White House meeting Friday came on the heels of a decision by European allies to confront Iran - an approach that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed. ------[snip]-------      The U.S. and German unity over Iran is as tight as their disagreement over Iraq was wide when Gerhard Schroeder was Germany's chancellor. ------[snip]------      [Cathleen] Fisher [deputy director of the American...

WASHINGTON - New German Chancellor Angela Merkel is seeking to improve her country's relations with President Bush on Friday, buoyed by an emerging accord designed to halt Iran's nuclear program. ADVERTISEMENT While Merkel has indicated Germany will not always agree with the United States, her White House meeting comes on the heels of a decision by European allies to confront Iran — an approach that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice endorsed. Their unity was as tight as their disagreement over Iraq was wide when Gerhard Schroeder was Germany's chancellor. An election in September put Merkel at the head of a...

In an interview with SPIEGEL ONLINE, Gary Schmitt of the conservative American Enterprise Institute discusses Angela Merkel's popularity among the American right. Just having a leader the Bush administration respects, he says, will help improve relations. Ex-chancellor Schröder, on the other hand, was "running things out of his back pocket."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel can look forward to the red-carpet treatment in Washington next week as US President George Bush -- who never got on with her predecessor Gerhard Schröder -- hopes to signal a fresh start. But a top German official warns that despite improving trans-Atlantic ties, America's reputation among the European public is waning.