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German leader seeks to regain trust at White House
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-13 14:47
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's criticisms over U.S. treatment of suspected
militants may cloud her attempt to restore trust in German-American relations
when she meets U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday.
Three years after the countries' divisive clash over the Iraq war, the new
German leader has pledged to work with Bush rather than against him, as her
predecessor often seemed to do.
Washington has welcomed the overtures for a fresh start, especially as the
traditional allies have increasingly found common ground on priorities for Bush
-- stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan and curbing Iran's nuclear ambitions.
But with many Germans angry over what they see as Washington's use of legal
technicalities to allow abuse of suspected terrorist detainees, Merkel has also
signaled she will not be content with mere soothing talk of reconciliation.
Before her first U.S. trip since becoming chancellor in November, Merkel said
the U.S. prison for suspected militants at Guantanamo Bay should not exist
indefinitely.
Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler said Merkel, the first German leader to
have grown up under the repressive communist government of East Germany, would
not hold back from criticizing Guantanamo on her trip to Washington.
The Bush administration, which is sensitive to criticism of its war on
terrorism, established the prison at a U.S. Navy base in Cuba to handle hundreds
of suspects without giving them prisoner-of-war status or ready access to the
criminal justice system.
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