Obama Meets With German Leader Merkel
President Barack Obama thanked German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday for her country's "sacrifice" in keeping forces in Afghanistan, noting she was being honored as the first German leader to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
Merkel, who met Obama shortly before her appearance on Capitol Hill, said she wanted to use the White House session and her speech to Congress to express gratitude for American support "throughout the process leading up to German reunification."
Monday marks 20 years since the Berlin Wall was pulled down, leading to the reunification of Germany. The German capital had been divided among the victorious European allies at the end of World War II and quickly became a symbol of the Cold War.
Merkel also was making the case in a skeptical Congress on the need for a global deal on climate change. She found a ready audience, however, in Obama, who has made combating warming a top priority.
"The United States, Germany and countries around the world, I think, are all beginning to recognize why it is so important that we work in common in order to stem the potential catastrophe that can result if we continue to see global warming continue unabated," Obama said.
The last time a German leader addressed a single house of Congress was a speech by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1957.
The theme of solidarity that Obama referenced during a brief photo session before their meeting was about Germany's commitment to Afghanistan, a delicate issue for Merkel. The United States has urged European countries to step up efforts in NATO's operations, but the war is unpopular in Germany.
Merkel is speaking a week after she was sworn in for a second term. Her formation of a new center-right coalition has created some expectations in Washington that the coalition would make it easier for Merkel to support the United States on Afghanistan and other foreign policy issues, including reining in Iran's nuclear program.
Annette Heuser, executive director of the Bertelsmann Foundation Washington, a nonprofit organization that focuses on trans-Atlantic cooperation, said political pressures in Germany against the war in Afghanistan remain the same for Merkel.
"On Afghanistan, it will be a big challenge for her to balance the speech for both an American and a German audience," Heuser said.
Despite some skeptical lawmakers, climate change may be less contentious. Ahead of her trip, Merkel said she would look to build support for the climate change deal, which will be under negotiation during a December meeting in Copenhagen. World leaders had hoped the meeting would seal a follow-on agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, but now expect it will take longer.
The United States did not sign the Kyoto document, even though former Vice President Al Gore was a negotiator behind it. On Tuesday, Gore said he believed Obama will attend the Copenhagen talks to emphasize his administration's commitment to the environment. "He hasn't told me he will go, but I feel certain he will," Gore said in an interview on ABC television's "Good Morning America."
"The world will be watching Copenhagen, and the fight against climate change is one of the most urgent tasks worldwide," Merkel said in a weekend video message posted on the Internet.
U.S. commitments have been tied up in legislation slowly making its way through Congress and unlikely to be completed before the conference. The House has passed a version of a bill that has been criticized as not going far enough, while the Senate is just beginning work on its version of the legislation.
Obama has promised to return the United States to a position of leadership on managing climate change after years of U.S. resistance to capping emissions that scientists believe contribute to global warming.
Merkel and Obama have demonstrated a friendly and pragmatic relationship, but there have been few signs that they have forged particularly close ties.