Washingtonpost.com: Live Online

U.S.-German Relations
With Wolfgang Ischinger
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United States of America
Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2002; 1 p.m. ET

The Bush administration has greeted with a studied chill the reelection of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, who propelled himself to a narrow victory by declaring firm opposition to a U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

What is the future of U.S. German relations? German Ambassador to the U.S., Wolfgang Ischinger, was online Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m. ET, to discuss the recent elections and international diplomacy.

Ischinger has published a number of articles on foreign policy, security and arms control policy as well as on European policy issues. He serves on several boards, including the East-West Institute in New York and AFS Germany (American Field Service). He is also the Chairman of the Ambassadors Advisory Board of the Executive Council on Diplomacy in Washington, D.C.

The transcript follows.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

washingtonpost.com: In the wake of the German election and Gerhard Schroeder's apparently popular rejection of German involvement in a U.S. attack on Iraq, senior Bush administration officials say that relations between the two countries have been "poisoned." Do you agree? What's the harm of the current state of relations between the two countries.

Wolfgang Ischinger: I think poisoned is probably too strong a word. Of course, we had a problem and maybe we continue to have a little problem but I believe that both governments have already started to remedy that situation because it is in the interest of both countries to continue to pursue very intensive cooperation in every field -- not just crisis management in the Middle East. We have been great partners in the past. The Germans owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the Americans and on that basis I am absolutely confident that within a short period of time we will again be seeing each other as important and very good partners.

Cincinnati, Ohio: Mr. Ambassador,

This is not so much a question as it is a comment: Your online chat is an absolutely excellent idea. As Honorarkonsul in Cincinnati I will be following your comments, so that I can better respond to those who ask me questions about U.S./German relations.

MfG, Richard E. Schade

Wolfgang Ischinger: Thank you for your reaction which is very encouraging. In fact, the German embassy has made an important effort to use modern communication methods, including our own Web site: www.germany.info to inform Americans about where Germany stands, what's going on in Germany, what the best advice is for traveling to Germany and on many other topics relating to Germany.

San Diego, Calif.: Ambassador Ischinger:

What would you see as your mission if President Bush makes the decision to begin war with Iraq (and assuming a green light from the U.N.)?

Wolfgang Ischinger: Assuming there was a green light from the UN to take military action against Iraq, every country would need to see how it could cooperate with others to help implement the objectives of the UN. My own government has already made clear that it would in this case not be in a position to deploy troops because we have been over-extended already in this area with 10,000 German soldiers serving abroad as part of international peace missions. There may be other ways in which my own country could work with the UN in such a situation, but I think it is too early to speculate what precise shape and form such German cooperation could have.

Arlington, Va.: Do you feel that the rift between Germany and America was one more of election rhetoric and media generation than true break in relations? After all a healthy discussion improves relations in the long run.

Wolfgang Ischinger: I certainly do not believe that what has happened has led or will lead to a true break in relations. What we do have is a substantive difference about the best way to go forward together in that region and on the specific issue of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. There have indeed been unfortunate remarks made at the end of the German election campaign, but Chancellor Schroeder has already made the necessary decisions to make clear that such remarks are unacceptable and not an indication of German policy or a reflection of how Germans feel about Americans.

Washington, D.C.: I'd just like to pass on thanks to your government's opposition to an unjust war in Iraq. Especially since our government is ignoring it's citizens whom are calling for peace, please continue speaking out against the proposed actions which would violate the UN charter.

Wolfgang Ischinger: Thank you for your comment. I believe that it is a legitimate part of my work as ambassador in Washington to express the German view as part of the larger debate which Americans are having among themselves about the best way to deal with the Iraq issue. I have had the impression that as we explain our position we are actually in very good company. Because our questions have often been identical to those asked by such senior and respected representatives of the Washington foreign policy establishment -- as, for example Brent Scowcroft or former Sec. of State James Baker.

Cincinnati, Ohio: We know that the Ambassador has a busy schedule, but would he possibly consider traveling to places in the country, especially in the Midwest, where German-Americans are concentrated,and addressing issues of interest? For example, I do not ever recall that a German Ambassador was in Cincinnati, Ohio, although it is one of the major German-American centers.

Wolfgang Ischinger: If this in an invitation for me to come to Cincinnati, it is herewith accepted with delight. :)

I do regard it as part of my job not to stay inside the beltway, but to travel throughout the United States as much as my schedule permits. Just last week I was in Chicago, New York City and at Princeton University. Next week, I will speak in Boston and I hope a visit to Ohio can be organized in the very near future.

St. Louis, Missouri: Mr. Ambassador, I'm Ulrike Schlafly, a native of Cologne, now living in St. Louis.

It seems to me that U.S.-German relations are at a worse state than they've ever been since I moved to America over 20 years ago. I find it incredible that the Justice Minister of the current government accused President Bush of acting like Hitler; and she wasn't fired immediately.

My question: What would you recommend to people like me, Germans now living in the U.S. who love both countries, to help repair relations between these two friendly allies?

Wolfgang Ischinger: I feel that people like you, Germans living in the U.S., as well as the millions of German Americans can make important contributions to reinforce the perception in the American public that Germany will remain as reliable and as important a partner and an ally in the future as that has been the case over the last 50 years.

washingtonpost.com: There is a common discourse in Washington, articulated most recently by Robert Kagan, that Europe is militarily weak and thus incapable of responding effectively to the dangers of the post-Sept. 11 world? Can Europe chart an international policy independent of the United States without a larger military?

Wolfgang Ischinger: Clearly, our military capabilities are not what they should be and cannot compete with America's military. However, crisis management in the world requires not only the ability for active military intervention -- it requires also the ability to keep the peace. It requires a commitment to nation-building and it requires a willingness to work with countries and governments in the regions affected by conflict or by failing states. In all of these areas, European contributions have been no less important than American contributions. For example, as we try to rebuild and stabilize the Balkans the European contribution is today more significant than the American one. In Afghanistan, European financial and other contributions are often underestimated in the American debate. I believe that we are carrying a fair share of the global burden if we look beyond the capacity of military action.

Dallas, Texas: How can Chancellor Schroeder reconcile his unwillingness to engage in regime change in Iraq with the BND's assessment that Iraq will possess nuclear capability within the next few years? Is it the position of the German government that Iraq's possession of nuclear weapons is NOT a threat to international security?

Wolfgang Ischinger: We share the concern that the development of weapons of mass destruction by Iraq represents a serious threat, but we believe that an important effort can and should be made in the framework of the United Nations to continue to contain and to deter Saddam Hussein. My country is prepared to continue to assist in the implementation of such an effective inspection regime which we have supported in the past.

Only if all the efforts to re-establish an effective inspection regime fail and only if the UN Security Council determines that the only course of action available to the international community is military action can military action be considered as a last resort.

Bloomfield Hills, Mich.: Richard Perle, the chairman of the Defense Policy Board, the Pentagon's advisory panel, yesterday in an interview with the German Handelsblatt newspaper asked that Chancellor Schmidt should resign from office because of his opposition to Bush's Iraq policies during the recent German election campaign.

Do you believe Mr. Perle's suggestion was appropriate?

Wolfgang Ischinger: I cannot really believe that my good friend Richard Perle said that or if he said it, that he really meant it. And I'm quite sure that no one in a position of responsibility in Washington shares that view.

Somewhere, USA: Do you consider NATO -- and even the UN -- to still be effective coalitions?

Wolfgang Ischinger: Germany remains strongly committed to an effective NATO alliance. Together with other allies we moved to adopt the so-called Article 5 decision at NATO a year ago, meaning that NATO partners regarded the U.S. as a country that had been attacked and deserved the help and the support from its allies. I hope that as we look at future crises the U.S. government will work with its partners at NATO to make NATO a relevant actor in crisis management in Europe and beyond.

There are many ways for NATO to be involved, for example -- we are even studying at present ways for NATO resources to be made available to the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, of which Germany is a leading member.

With respect to the UN, it is not a coalition, but more a forum for international decision-making. In particular, we have strongly supported the security council of the United Nations as the appropriate world body for decisions regarding international peace and stability.

Hickory, N.C.: Does the German government have any plans to further encourage the United States government to support the Kyoto Protocol in order to reduce harmful global greenhouse gases? And if so, what are the plans?

Wolfgang Ischinger: We are not going to give up our hope that at some point in the future the U.S. may change its mind and become part of the very large number of countries around the world who have decided to work together to combat global warming. As a matter of fact, according to polls I have seen, Americans are as worried about the phenomenon of global warming as Germans, Japanese or Australians.

Lyme, Conn: How concerned are you about the stability of the Russian government? Are you worried about dramatic policy reversals that could shift Russia away from closer friendship with European nations? Or does Russia seem to have become a firm ally of Europe?

Wolfgang Ischinger: As someone who has been quite involved in our relationship with Russia, I am delighted to see how much Germany and the United States agree today on how best to deal with Russia. We tend to believe that President Putin has embarked on a very important journey to move his country toward modernization, toward the rule of law and in a more general sense, toward the West. This decision provides a historic opportunity for the U.S. and her partners in Western Europe to create a very different relationship with Russia then the one that existed during the decades of the Cold War.

It also provides an opportunity to create what President Bush 41 called the dream of a Europe whole and free. Because at least the Western part of Russia is also part of Europe.

washingtonpost.com: What was your reaction to the new National Security doctrine of the United States which calls for preemptive military action against threats to the America?

Wolfgang Ischinger: From a professional point of view this new strategic document is an almost revolutionary attempt to deal with the new threats which we are facing together, in particular, the threat of international terrorism. With respect to the idea of preemptive military action I would have a few questions. It is one thing if such a doctrine is defined as an instrument of last resort as the U.S. faces the kinds of dangers which we have been confronted with on 9/11. In my view, this could amount to a redefinition of the right to self defense in the framework of the UN charter, and that would be acceptable. It would be a very different and less attractive idea in terms of world order if states around the world thought that they could take preemptive action as they deal with their own regional problems, that would go beyond the right of self defense and would be detrimental to international order. We must be sure that the right of self defense will not be turned into a right to attack. That is surely not what this new strategic document proposes as an international doctrine and it is important that that be sufficiently clarified.

Wolfgang Ischinger: Let me first say how impressed I am with the many really good questions that have been sent in and I regret that I cannot directly respond to all of them. Let me also say that I appreciate the many expressions of concern and of friendship which I have received from Americans during these past few weeks and I want to assure all of our friends in this country that we will work very hard with the U.S. government to continue and to highlight the very good and close cooperation which has existed between Washington and Berlin. I am aware that our efforts to identify and to pursue the perpetrators of 9/11 are of particular importance to Americans and to Germans and we have been making great progress in our own investigative work in Germany. I am personally proud to serve here in Washington in such an exciting and historic time and to be able to maintain and further strengthen the transAtlantic cooperation and a sense of closeness between Germans and Americans.

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