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Obama to press Europe on security in Berlin
A man holds a banner reading ‘Obama For Chancellor’ before a speech of Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama during his visit in Berlin July 24, 2008. |
U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama is expected to call on Europe to do more in hotspots like Afghanistan when he speaks in Berlin on Thursday in his only formal address of a week-long foreign tour.
Obama held talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on issues ranging from the global economy to Iran, Iraq and Middle East peace on a trip he hopes will burnish his foreign policy credentials and boost his election chances against Republican challenger John McCain.
His evening speech at the “Victory Column” in Berlin’s Tiergarten park is already being compared in the German media to former President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 “Ich bin ein Berliner” address.
Thousands of Germans and some tourists, wearing Obama buttons, “Yes We Can” t-shirts and carrying campaign balloons, streamed towards the podium where he will speak. Under sunny skies, people drank beer and ate sausages in a summer party atmosphere.
“Obama stands for political change,” said Dero Steinbach, 49, from the western city of Gelsenkirchen, who was visiting Berlin with his family.
“For him this is clearly a way to boost his foreign policy profile, but it’s also good for Germany. It’s quite special that he’s chosen to speak here.”
In the 45-minute open-air appearance, Obama will ask Europe to shoulder more of the burden to help deal with global security threats, an aide to the Democratic senator told Reuters.
Obama has described the situation in Afghanistan as precarious and both he and McCain have said Europe must step up its efforts there. Merkel has said there are limits to what Germany, which has about 3,500 troops in Afghanistan and expects to raise that later this year, can do.
A small crowd of people cheered Obama as he arrived at the Chancellery. He and Merkel, who were meeting for the first time, shook hands, smiled and made small talk before holding talks that a German spokesman said touched on Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Middle East peace, climate change and the global economy.
BRANDENBURG GATE DEBATE
Merkel opposed the Obama campaign’s initial plan to hold the speech at the Brandenburg Gate, the historic landmark that stood on the eastern side of the Berlin Wall for decades and became a potent symbol of the Cold War.
She has said the landmark — where President Ronald Reagan famously urged Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to “tear down this wall” — is a place for presidents, not candidates to speak and her advisers tried to convince the Obama campaign to hold the speech at a university or other low-key location.
A Pew Research Center poll showed Germans favor Obama over McCain by a 49 point margin. But some German officials have said Obama, who could become the first black U.S. president, risks disappointing Europeans because their expectations are so high.
Around 700 policemen are providing security and traffic around the “Siegessaeule”, a 230 foot (70 meter) high column built to celebrate 19th century Prussian military victories over Denmark, France and Austria, has been blocked off.
German television stations provided full-day coverage of the visit and some will broadcast the 7 p.m. (1700 GMT) speech live.
Seven hours before the address, tourists and locals were already queuing up and preparing for a party. On the road to the Victory Column, workmen unloaded beer barrels and built stands decorated in the “Stars and Stripes”.
“I’m excited, Obama has charm and charisma and can give us the confidence to like America again,” said 18-year old Berlin student Stella Semmelrath. Not everyone, however, was impressed.
“It seems to me like a big show. Americans just want to be loved again but I’m skeptical about it all and have to get to work,” said local resident Juergen Schumann, 51.
Source: Reuters
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