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Differences simmer during Bush's Berlin visit
©Washington Post BERLIN -- President Bush arrived in the German capital Wednesday night to begin a weeklong European tour aimed in large part at seeking greater support for the war on terrorism. Protesters staged noisy but mostly peaceful demonstrations as German officials played down policy divisions between the United States and Europe. From the airport the president was driven under heavy guard to central Berlin, where thousands of police had cordoned off a secure zone, and went to a cafe near the Brandenburg Gate for ice cream and apple strudel with Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. His main program begins today and includes an address to the German Parliament. About 20,000 people, most of them young, protested Bush's visit, but were kept far from his hotel. Some waved signs in German and English declaring "Stop Bush's global war" and "War is terror." A few demonstrators, some of them hooded youths and others pro-Palestinian, clashed with riot police. Bush and German officials sought to play down disagreements between the 15-country European Union and the United States over such issues as trade, global warming, an international criminal court, Russian debt, European military spending and U.S. military power. Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer invited U.S. journalists to the Foreign Ministry in the former East Berlin on Wednesday and pronounced the allies "closer than ever" on issues such as the Middle East and the transformation of NATO into an alliance to deal with terrorism. And Bush, in interviews with European journalists, spoke of NATO as "very relevant" in the post-Cold War world. Before leaving the White House, he spoke of his "friends" in Europe, saying, "I appreciate the friendship with the European people, our strong alliance." Yet for all that, Fischer added, "the bad message is of course we have some issues." Notable is what to do about Iraq. U.S. officials have said repeatedly that action, perhaps military action, is needed to prevent it from using weapons of mass destruction. European governments have been cool to that approach, instead stressing diplomacy and the possible return of U.N. weapons inspectors to Iraq. Another concern for Europeans is that Bush's overtures to Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, could complicate the European-U.S. alliance that was the centerpiece of the Cold War era. Europeans are wary of Bush and Putin making decisions on their own about European security. "All in all, only Europe will be a viable partner for the United States," Fischer said. "Not even the biggest nation states can." Fischer said Germany is not worried that Russia "will be an alternative to the United States and Europe," but, he added, "we are closely watching." Fischer objected to U.S. urgings that Germany spend more money on its military. He argued that the money was needed to bring former communist states in Eastern Europe into NATO and the European Union. "We can't spend the same euro twice or three times," he said, referring to the new common currency used by 12 European countries. The German foreign minister said he has been branded a "traitor" by some in his movement for backing the U.S. military action in Afghanistan with German troops. "For Germany, it was a tremendous step and it was not easy," Fischer said, arguing against the demonstrations in Berlin's streets. "You can't talk or negotiate with al-Qaida," he said. From Germany, Bush is set to fly to Moscow to sign an agreement today with Russia to cut each country's nuclear arsenal by two-thirds. In Moscow, the Foreign Ministry said the final text of the agreement had been worked out in talks between senior U.S. and Russian officials.
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From the Times wire desk
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