E-MAIL THIS LINK
To: 

Fischer finds Washington ‘open’
Again, not exactly WoT, but interesting
With US troops facing continuing problems in stabilizing Iraq, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fisher Thursday said Washington had developed more insight into the need for cooperating with the international community. "There is more openness, that’s what I’m taking home with me," Fischer told reporters after his visit in Washington this week.
"They had a little name tag for me and everything!"
His comments reflected an overall improvement in transatlantic relations, which suffered a deep frost after the German-French initiative that earlier this year blocked UN support for invading Iraq. But Fischer, who spent half an hour with US President Richard Cheney, also said it was unclear when German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder would meet U.S. President George Bush, and added he had not discussed the matter with Cheney. "It wasn’t my role to sort out matters while I was here," Fischer said, brushing off his knees. Unlike the warm surprise Bush gave the opposition politician Roland Koch in May, when the US president popped into the room to greet the Hessian prime minister, Bush did not darken the doorway during the German foreign minister’s meeting with Cheney at the White House complex.
Darken the doorway? Sounds ominous.
But Fischer said German-American relationships had a "strong basis", with "more openness" above all on the issue of how Europe and the United States can develop common perspectives in securing peace in the Mideast and Afghanistan. Fischer also said Germany’s commitment to the stabilization forces in Afghanistan continued "within the boundaries of the as little as possible". Given the high number of losses of American soldiers in Iraq, Fischer warned against self satisfaction among critics. "If this peace is not won, it will have fatal consequences," he said.
Light dawns.
Fischer repeated his past urging to have the United Nations play a key role in stabilizing Iraq, which would legitimize the process. Washington said Wednesday it was exploring the possibility of seeking anew a UN mandate for Iraq’s postwar period. He added that US involvement was esesential to enforce security and order in Iraq.
Posted by: seafarious 2003-07-19
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=16691