Letter: Anti-Americanism worsens relations

Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2002 | 9:11 a.m.

One day after German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder won re-election, he took steps to mend his country's bruised relationship with the United States. In an attempt to repair some of the damage from the anti-American direction of his campaign, Schroeder said he will not include Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin in his new cabinet. It was Daeubler-Gmelin who outraged the White House last week after she likened President Bush to Adolf Hitler, saying Bush was using talk of war to distract attention from his domestic problems in the same way Hitler did.

Schroeder's decision was no feat of courage, though. He waited to make his announcement until after the election was over. It was anti-American sentiment, after all, that helped Schroeder secure victory. But Germans shouldn't be shocked that Americans, who helped liberate Germany from Hitler's rule, would find a comparison to Hitler to be highly offensive -- even if it was only meant for domestic consumption in a political campaign.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, in Europe this week for a meeting of NATO defense ministers, refused to meet with his German counterpart because of the anti-American criticism. But Rumsfeld should have met with the German defense minister and given him an earful instead of the silent treatment. The reality is that Germany is an important, longtime ally. The split over Iraq shouldn't be minimized, but the administration should remain engaged with Germany and other nations that still have misgivings about U.S. policy on Iraq. The way to persuade them about the necessity of Saddam Hussein's overthrow is through continued dialogue, not a go-it-alone foreign policy.