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The Guardian headline said “Obama gets rock star welcome” One Berliner called it “an Anti-Bush rally”, and the Financial Times Deutshland called it an “ad for the war on terror “. In a speech laden with cold war rhetoric, Democratic Presidential hopeful Barack Obama stood before more than 200,000 people in Berlin on thursday and summoned Europeans and Americans to work together on many issues, from Iraq and Afghanistan to the “War on Terror” and climate change.
Andreas Zumach of Die Tageszietung: European politicians are somewhat glad about the general statements Obama made on the need for improving the Euro-Atlantic alliance again. They have read about what he said on more cooperation on global issues like climate change, on the US in the future more obeying international law. They are very wary, especially the ones in Germany, France, and the other big European countries, about the clear message he sent on Afghanistan, where he very clearly and undiplomatically said, "We need more of your troops in Afghanistan," which means more war fighting done by the Europeans in a war that's bound to be lost.
BioAndreas Zumach , based in Geneva, correspondent for the newspaper Die Tageszeitung , as well as German, Swiss, and Austrian newspapers, radio and television. His work comprises UN-relevant topics, issues of security and globalization, arms control, and human rights. His special interest is in the UN’s role in the conflicts in the Gulf states and in the former Yugoslavia. Zumach has published numerous books on these issues. His most recent book, Die kommenden Kriege – Ressourcen, Menschenrechte, Machtgewinn – Präventivkrieg als Dauerzustand? (The coming wars – resources, human rights, power gains – preventive war as a permanent state) , was published in Cologne in October 2005. |
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