American Views Abroad

 
American needs meet German ambitions, an opinion piece by Gunther Hellmann who teaches political science at J W Goethe University in Frankfurt, can be read at www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/22/opinion/edhell.html. 'The future of German-American relations hinges to a large extent on the question of whether a new balance can be struck between Washington's desire for supportive partners and Berlin's desire for co-equal leadership. Four factors caution against too much optimism. First, the strategic outlook on the world has always differed in crucial ways between Washington and Berlin. In recent years it has sharpened.'

William Pfaff argues in last Sunday's Observer that Bush's 'trip will fail because he and his administration do not understand what really divides most continental European governments from the United States today. At the same time, Europeans are mostly unwilling to confront these issues because of the trouble with Washington they imply.' The issues are 1) the definition of the crisis. 'Few Europeans believe either in the global 'war on terror' or the 'war against tyranny' as Washington describes them.' 2) American claim to global domination and 'it's hostility to Europe's acquiring political or military power commensurate with European economic power.' 3) The 'US repudiated the system of absolute state sovereignty that has governed international society since 1648, and is the basis of modern international law.' The article is particularly important because it gets to the heart of the differences. The US sees its role as benevolent and of divine origin. Add to that the principle that 'creative destruction' will produce a new order in the world. In contrast, the EU is committed to preserving international order. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,6903,1418474,00.html.

Der Spiegel's English site has 'With a Hush and a Whisper, Bush Drops Town Hall Meeting with Germans.' www.spiegel.de. It reports on how 'the White House got cold feet. Bush's strategists felt an uncontrolled encounter with the German public would be too unpredictable..... The Germans insisted that a free forum should be exactly that.' An interesting article to read and think about. Should a town hall meeting be so organized that no question comes as a surprise, no real debate takes place and no criticism is expressed publicly or issues discussed in detail?
- posted by Gloria @ 6:04 PM